耶魯大學演講

1、Goodmorningandwelcome:tomycolleagueshereonstage,tothefamilymemberswhohavejoinedustoday,andespeciallytotheYaleCollegeClassof2020.各位同事、各位家長，尤其是2020屆的本科新生們，早上好！歡迎你們參加今天的活動。Twenty-twentyatermthatinevitablybringstomindperfecteyesight.Andnowthatallofyouarewearing2020asyourclasslabelinYaleCollege,Iamconfid

2、entyourintuitionandyourmentalacuitywilldevelopheretoanequivalentlevelofstrength.Theadmissionsofficeassuresmethateverythingpossiblehasbeendonetoguaranteethisoutcome.2020這個數(shù)字總會讓人浮想聯(lián)翩。如今它已成為你們在耶魯?shù)陌嗉壌枺蚁嘈艧o論是你們的直覺、思維敏銳性，還是意志力，都會在這里得到提升。招辦的工作人員向我保證，你們是經(jīng)過層層篩選以后勝出的佼佼者。Nonetheless,Idliketoreflectonyour“firs

3、tdayofschool”aboutwhatmightimpedeyourinsightandwhatmightadvanceitinthecourseofyoureducationhere.盡管如此，我還是想在開學第一天這個特殊的日子里，好好思考一下，你們在耶魯就讀期間，什么可能削弱你們的洞察力，什么又有可能讓它得到提升？Formanyyears,Itaughtintroductorypsychologytolargenumbersoffreshmen.Inthepartofthecoursedevotedtosocialpsychology,Iwouldaskmystudentstocon

4、siderwhatweknowabouthelpingothersinvariouskindsofsocialsituations.Specifically,whyisitthatweofferassistance,orfailtoofferassistance,inemergencies?多年來，我為很多新生上過“心理學入門”。每次講到與社會心理學相關(guān)的內(nèi)容時，我總會問學生，他們是怎么看待在不同社會情境中幫助別人這個問題的。同樣是在緊急情況下，為什么有時我們會出手相助，有時卻又袖手旁觀？IwouldbeginwiththetragicandwellknowncaseofKittyGenove

5、se,atwenty-nine-year-oldwomanwholivedinKewGardens,Queens,andwasmurderedtherein1964.Hercasereceivedenormousattentionandcommentary,andyouhaveprobablyheardsomeversionofherstory.AsreportedintheNewYorkTimes,thirty-eightindividualswatchedthemurderfromtheirapartmentwindows,butonlyonecalledthepolice,andbyth

6、enitwastoolate.我想從一個大家都知道的悲劇KittyGenovese事件說起。1964年，29歲的Kitty在位于紐約皇后區(qū)KewGarden的家中被害，這一案件引起了廣泛關(guān)注和熱議，也許你也聽說過關(guān)于此事的好幾個版本。據(jù)紐約時報報道，有38個人從自家窗戶看到了行兇過程，但只有一人報警，且報警時為時已晚。Overtheyears,Ihavedescribedthisshockingincidentmanytimes.Sohaveothersocialpsychologiststeachingsimilarcourses,andsodidthesocialscientistswho

7、soughttoexplainhowwitnessescouldexhibitsuchcallousindifferencetoahorrificcrimetakingplacebeforetheireyes.這些年來，我多次描述這一令人震驚的案件，其他講授類似課程的社會心理學家們也是如此，還有一些社會學家試圖據(jù)此分析為什么目擊者們會如此冷漠無情，竟然能眼睜睜地看著這樣的犯罪行為發(fā)生，卻無動于衷。Heresthetrouble:thestandardaccountoftheKittyGenovesecaseiswronginsomeofitscrucialdetails.問題在于：標準版Kit

8、tyGenovese案件描述在某些關(guān)鍵細節(jié)上出了錯。Kittysbrother,BillGenovese,producedafilmlastyearcalledTheWitness.Init,hedocumentsthatsomebystanderswerenotindifferent:onewitnessshoutedoutthewindowattheattacker,anotherwitnessheldKittyinherarmsasshedied,andseveralcalledthepoliceduringtheattack.Kitty的弟弟BillGenovese，去年制作了一部名為

9、目擊者(TheWitness)的紀錄片。根據(jù)他在這部電影中所展示的實拍場景，并非所有旁觀者都冷漠無情：一個目擊者在窗口大聲呵斥兇手，另一個目擊者在Kitty離世時將其抱在懷中，也有其他目擊者在此期間報了警。Sowhatdoesitmeanthatsocialscientistshavebeenretellinganincorrectversionofthisstoryforoverfiftyyearsasaparadigmaticexampleofextremebystanderindifference?那么，為什么五十多年來，社會學家們一直在不斷復述這個故事的失實版本，并將其作為旁觀者極端冷

10、漠的典型案例？Well,amongotherthings,itmeansthatinadvertentlywehavebeenperpetuatingwhatcouldrightlybecalledafalsenarrativeaversionofeventsthat,whilepartlytrue,hadbeenshaped,inthiscasebyanewspaperreport,toelicitstrongnegativeemotionslikeanger,fear,ordisgust.暫且不論其他，這至少意味著，在不經(jīng)意間，我們已經(jīng)被“失實表述”混淆了視聽。這種“失實表述”雖然部分真實

11、，但已被歪曲，就像上述案件被報道歪曲了一樣，因為報紙想激起人們憤慨、恐懼、憎惡等強烈的負面情緒。Asaninvestigatorofhumanemotions,Iknowthateventhemostnegativefeelingscanbeimportanttooursurvival.Angereffectivelysignalsthatagoalisbeingblocked.Fearmotivatescautionandpreparation.Disgustmovesusawayfromthingsthatcanmakeusill.作為一名人類情緒的研究者，我知道即使是最負面的感受對我們而

12、言也不可或缺：憤怒能有效地警示在實現(xiàn)目標路上有阻力；恐懼提醒人們謹慎行事并有所準備；憎惡讓我們對壞人壞事敬而遠之。However,sometimesourfriends,familymembers,politicians,advertisers,pundits,andotherslooktomanipulateouremotionsfortheirownpurposes.Anger,fear,anddisgustcanbehighlyeffectivewaystodriveeyeballstowebsites,consumerstoproducts,orvoterstothepolls.然而，

13、有時我們的朋友、家人，還有政客、廣告主、各路專家會出于各自目的而操控我們的情感。憤怒、恐懼、憎惡這些情緒可以有效驅(qū)使我們?nèi)ゴ蜷_網(wǎng)頁、購買商品、為政客投票。Mysenseisthatwearebombardeddailybyfalsenarrativesofvariouskinds,andthattheyaredoingagreatdealofdamage.Inanationalelectionseason,youdonotneedtolookveryhardtofindthem.我們每天都在經(jīng)受著各種各樣“失實表述”的狂轟濫炸，它們的殺傷力不容小覷。當前正值美國的大選季，你可以毫不費力地找到種

14、種這樣的案例。Itisnotmypurposetodaytomockthebiggestwhoppersorawardinocchiosforthebiggestdistortions.Rather,Iamonlyhopingtopersuadeyouthatadvocatesonanysideofaquestioncanbetemptedtoexaggerateordistortorneglectcrucialfactsinwaysthatserveprimarilytofuelyouranger,fear,ordisgust.我說這些的目的，不是為了嘲諷說謊之人，也不是為了給歪曲事實者貼上

15、匹諾曹的標簽。我只是想讓你們明白，選擇任何一種立場都可能導致夸大、歪曲或者忽略一些重要的事實，從而助長憤怒、恐懼和憎惡的情緒。IfIamcorrect,thenanimportantaspectofyoureducationherewillbelearninghowtorecognizeandaddressthesekindsofaccounts.如果我的上述說法成立，那么你們在此接受教育的一個重要內(nèi)容就是：學習如何辨別和應(yīng)對這些失實表述。Inthecourseofthat,youshouldpayespeciallycloseattentiontothenarrativesthatseemt

16、oalignbestwithyourownbeliefs.Totheextentyouholdstrongpoliticalorculturalorreligiousoreconomicbeliefs,youwillsimplybelikealltherestofusifyougravitatetowardexplanationsthatseemtoprovideconfirmationforthosebeliefsortodemonizethosewhoholddifferentones.在此過程中，你們應(yīng)該特別留心那些與你自己的想法高度一致的表述。如果你在政治、文化、宗教或經(jīng)濟議題上持有堅

17、定的立場，樂于接受那些能證實你原有觀點、妖魔化相反意見的論調(diào)，那就會像很多人一樣，掉入認知陷阱。Allofusarestronglypredisposedtoacceptaccountsthatalignwiththeopinionswealreadyhold,andtoignoreordismissthosethatdonot.Socialmedia,theblogosphere,andthepoliticalprocessareincreasinglydrenchedwithsuchnarratives,inflamingournegativeemotionsandpresentingre

18、albarrierstoreasonedinvestigation,productiveexchangesbetweendifferingviews,andthesearchforcommongroundonthemostchallengingproblemsfacingourglobalsocieties.我們都強烈傾向于接受與我們原有觀念相符的故事版本，忽略或者拒絕接受那些不相符的。社交媒體、博客圈和政治活動正充斥著失實表述，為負能量煽風點火，既阻礙著理性調(diào)查，也阻礙著不同意見的充分交流，甚至還會妨礙我們對全球共同面臨的挑戰(zhàn)性問題達成共識。So,youarenowembarkingonan

19、ambitiousandhopefulefforttounderstandtheworld,yourplaceinit,andwhatyoucancontributetoforwardprogress.Howcanyouaddresstheseductivepoweroffalsenarratives,especiallyinatimewhengravemistrustonmanysidesseemstobefuelinsevermoreofthem?你們現(xiàn)在意氣風發(fā)，滿懷希望地想理解這個世界，找準你在其中所處的位置，并弄明白如何為它的進步貢獻你的力量。那么，當你對不同意見產(chǎn)生重大懷疑時，怎么

20、去抵制失實表述的魅惑呢？ItwillnotsurpriseyouthatIamhighlyawareoffalsenarrativescirculatingaboutstudentslikeyourselvesandhighereducationingeneral.Ihaveathickshelfofcontemporarybooksassuringmethatstudentsateliteuniversitiesaremerelyexcellentsheep,thataliberalartsdegreeisatickettounemployment,thattrulyinspiredandc

21、ourageouslearnersdropoutofcollegetofoundtechcompanies,thatmillennialscannotmakedecisionswithoutconsultingtheirparents,thatcollegeprofessorshaveuniformpoliticalviews,thatstudentsthesedaysarefragilehothouseflowers,thatitisnotpossibletoachieveaninclusivecampusculturewithoutgivinguponfreespeech,andthato

22、urcollegesanduniversitiesarecutofffromreality.我對那些在你們這樣的年輕學子，以及整個高等教育界頗有市場的“失實表述”高度警惕。我有滿滿一架子關(guān)于當代社會的書，它們試圖讓我相信：頂尖名校的學生不過是優(yōu)秀的綿羊文科生畢業(yè)就等于失業(yè)真正有想法有勇氣的學生都輟學去創(chuàng)業(yè)了沒有主見的“千禧一代”需要父母出謀劃策大學教授的政治觀點千篇一律現(xiàn)在的學生都是柔弱的溫室花朵不放棄言論自由就不可能形成開放包容的校園文化我們的高等學府是與現(xiàn)實隔絕的象牙塔，等等。Inresponse,IwanttoclaimthatyourYaleeducationwillnotonlyen

23、largeyourimagination,advanceyourknowledge,andpropelyourcareer,butalsothatitwillbeabsolutelycriticaltoyourcapacityforplayingapositive,leadershiproleintheseincreasinglypolarizedandfractioustimes.作為回應(yīng)，我想說，你們在耶魯所受的教育不僅會釋放你的想象力，增進你的學識，推動你的職業(yè)生涯，更會提高你的領(lǐng)導力，讓你在這個兩極分化加劇的浮躁時代發(fā)揮更加積極的作用而這種能力無疑相當重要。Inparticular,y

24、ouareabouttobetaughtbyoutstandingteachersandmentors,whoselivesandcareersconstituteapowerfulwitnessforthevalueofadisciplined,reasoned,andcarefulsearchforlightandtruth.特別值得一提的是，你們的老師和導師都非常出色。他們的生活經(jīng)歷和職業(yè)生涯有力地見證了訓練有素地、理性審慎地追尋光明和真理是多么有價值。Whatunitesourfaculty(fromengineeringtoeconomicstoEnglishtoenvironmen

25、talstudies)isastubbornskepticismaboutnarrativesthatoversimplifyissues,inflametheemotions,ormisdirectthemind.我們的老師(無論是工程專業(yè)、經(jīng)濟學專業(yè)，還是英語專業(yè)、環(huán)境學專業(yè))，都秉承著同一價值觀，那就是，任何簡單粗暴、煽風點火、歪曲誤導的表述都值得懷疑。Nooneisfreeofbiases,ofcourse,butasacommunityofscholarswesubscribetotheidealofjudicious,searchinginquiryintheserviceofre

26、asoneddiscourseaboutthemattersweinvestigateandcareaboutthemost.Wewouldbelostasacademicswithoutthisideal,andourglobalsocietieswouldbelostifuniversitiesstoppedbeingplacesdefinedbythisideal.當然，沒有人能完全擺脫偏見。但是，作為學者，我們力求審慎，對于所調(diào)查和最看重之事能有理有據(jù)地表達意見。如果學術(shù)界喪失這一理想準則，我們就會迷失；如果高等學府失去這一準則，整個世界都將迷失。Icouldsupplyyouwith

27、alonglistoftheYalefacultywhohavespentdecadesoftheirlivesinlaboratories,archives,libraries,andfieldsettingscollectingevidencetochallengesomereceivednotion,somedistortednarrative,orsomecommonwisdomthatturnedouttobehighlyquestionable.Herearesomeexamples:我可以提供一份長長的耶魯教師名單，這些耶魯人數(shù)十年如一日地在實驗室、檔案館、圖書館和田野調(diào)查的現(xiàn)場

28、，尋找證據(jù)，挑戰(zhàn)已經(jīng)被廣為接受的觀點、失實的表述，以及高度可疑的所謂常識。以下是一些例子：Manypeopleassumethatourlegalsystemwasbuiltalmostentirelyonaseculartradition.ButYalesprofessorofmedievalhistory,AndersWinroth,countersthefalsenarrativethatcontemporarylegalreasoningisaradicaldeparturefrommedievalcanonlawbyshowingthatinmanywaysitisrootedini

29、t.很多人認為我們的法律系統(tǒng)幾乎完全建立在世俗傳統(tǒng)之上，當代法律中的質(zhì)詢體系是對中世紀經(jīng)典本質(zhì)性的背離。但耶魯中世紀歷史學教授AndersWinroth反駁了這個失實表述，他提供了很多證據(jù)，證明當代法律其實根植于中世紀傳統(tǒng)。ImportantcosmologiesofthepastdependedontheassumptionthattheplanetEarthisuniqueintheuniverse.AstronomyprofessorDebraFischerhasdiscoveredmany“worlds”(calledexoplanets)orbitingaround“suns”ins

30、olarsystemsspreadthroughoutourgalaxy.過去，宇宙天體學的重要理論多建立在“地球是宇宙中獨一無二的星球”這一假設(shè)之上。天文學教授DebraFischer卻發(fā)現(xiàn)銀河系中有很多類似于太陽系的、行星圍繞恒星而轉(zhuǎn)的結(jié)構(gòu)。Medicalresearchersassumedformanyyearsthatgenderhaslittletodowiththeprevalenceandcourseofmostillnesses,andthatfindingsfromstudieswithmenautomaticallygeneralizetowomen.CarolynMazu

31、re,thedirectoroftheWomensHealthResearchCenteratYale,hasbeeninvestigatingcriticaldifferencesthatgendermakesinawiderangeofbiologicalsystemsandtranslatesthosefindingsintonewhealthpractices.醫(yī)學研究者們多年來一直以為性別與疾病傳播基本無關(guān)。耶魯婦女健康研究中心主任CarolynMazure，一直在研究性別在大范圍的生物體系中造成的重要差異，并將其運用到新的健康醫(yī)療實踐中。Mostclassicallytrained

32、economistshavemodeledhumandecisionsastheresultofcarefulcalculationsofcostsandbenefits.NobelPrizewinnerRobertShillerhasemergedattheforefrontofthosewhochallengetheideaofrationalindividualsandmarkets,forcingmajorrevisionstothetheoryofhumanbehavioronwhichhisfieldisbased.大多數(shù)科班出身的古典經(jīng)濟學家將仔細計算成本和利益過程作為人類決策的

33、模型。諾貝爾獎獲得者RobertShiller挑戰(zhàn)了個人和市場是理性的這一觀點，推動了人類行為理論的重大修正。WhenIwasagraduatestudentinpsychology,thedominantnarrativeheldthathumanslearnvirtuallyeverythingfromexperience.ButpsychologyprofessorKarenWynnhasbeenteachingusthathumaninfantshavesurprisinginnatecapacities.Five-montholdsappearabletomakerudimentar

34、yarithmeticcalculations.AndpsychologyprofessorLaurieSantos,thenewheadofSillimanCollege,hasbeenshowingusthatmonkeys,too,seempre-wiredforsuchcomplexstatesasresentment,envy,andcognitivedissonance.當我還在讀心理學研究生的時候，當時主流的說法是人類所學到的一切幾乎都來源于經(jīng)歷。但是心理學教授KarenWynn告訴我們，嬰兒有令人驚訝的天賦，5個月大的嬰兒就能做初步的運算。西利曼學院的新院長、心理學教授Laur

35、ieSantos,則向我們展示了猴子也先天地具有憎恨、嫉妒、認知失調(diào)等復雜狀態(tài)。IwillclosemylistofexamplesbyreferencingprofessorofAfricanAmericanandAmericanstudiesHazelCarby.Herfirstbook,ReconstructingWomanhood,wasanexceptionalexplorationofthewaysinwhich19thcenturyblackwomenwritersinAmericaconfrontedandtransformedthedomesticandliteraryide

36、alsofwomanhoodinwhitesociety.ProfessorCarbywroteatellingremarkinherforewordtoabookcalledSilencingthePast,highlightingthepowerofchallengingfalseorincompletenarrativesaboutthemarginalized:“Welearnhowscantyevidencecanberepositionedtogeneratenewnarratives,howsilencescanbemadetospeakforthemselves.”最后我要提到

37、研究非裔美國人和美國學的教授HazelCarby。她的第一本著作重構(gòu)女性特質(zhì)(ReconstructingWomanhood)研究了19世紀美國黑人女作家是如何在白人主導的社會中，改變女性的家庭和文學形象的。Carby教授還在為另一本書所作的序中，有力地評說了對邊緣人群失實和片面的描述：我們看到了不充足的證據(jù)是怎么重新組合,從而產(chǎn)生一種新的表述，看到了沉默是如何產(chǎn)生的Peoplenaturallyconstructnarrativestomakesenseoftheirworld.Ihavebeenconcernedtopointoutthatintimesofgreatstress,fals

38、enarrativesmaydominatethepublicmindandpublicdiscourse,inflamingnegativeemotionsandfanningdiscord.Inourtimesespecially,awidearrayofinstantaneoustransmissionsrapidlyamplifysuchnarratives.Asaresult,wesometimesfindthatanger,fear,ordisgustcanblindustothecomplexityoftheworldandtheresponsibilitytoseekdeepe

39、runderstandingsofimportantissues.人們會很自然地建構(gòu)起對自己有利的表述。但在面臨壓力時,“失實表述”就會控制公眾的理智,操控輿論,煽動消極情緒,激化矛盾,我對此深感憂慮。特別是在我們這個時代,失實信息會在瞬間傳播,成倍放大。由此,我們發(fā)現(xiàn)有時憤怒、恐懼或者憎惡會遮蔽我們的雙眼,讓我們無視世界的復雜性,放棄尋求對于重大議題的更深入的理解。OnepointofyourYaleeducation,then,isforyoutobecomeamorecarefulandcriticalthinkertolearnthedifficult,painstakingskillsyouwillneedinordertoevaluateevidence,todeliberatemorebroadlyandmorecarefully,andtoarriveatyourownconclusions.因此,耶魯教育的