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  3. Learning for Its Own Sake For me, scientific knowledge is divided into mathematical sciences, natural sciences or sciences de

Learning for Its Own Sake For me, scientific knowledge is divided into mathematical sciences, natural sciences or sciences de

admin2010-02-20  53
问题                                Learning for Its Own Sake
   For me, scientific knowledge is divided into mathematical sciences, natural sciences or sciences dealing with the natural world (physical and biological sciences), and sciences dealing with mankind (psychology, sociology, all the sciences of cultural achievements, every kind of historical knowledge). Apart from these sciences is philosophy, about which we will take shortly. In the first place, all this is pure or theoretical knowledge, sought only for the purpose of understanding, in order to fulfill the need to understand that is intrinsic and consubstantial to man. What distinguishes man from animal is that he knows and needs to know. If man did not know that the world existed, and that the world was of a certain kind, that he was in the world and that he himself was of a certain kind, he wouldn’t be a man. The technical aspects of applications of knowledge are equally necessary for man and are of the greatest importance, because they also contribute to defining him as man and permit him to pursue a life increasingly more truly human.
   But even while enjoying the results of technical and the results of technical progress, he must defend the primacy and autonomy of pure knowledge. Knowledge sought directly for its practical applications will have immediate and foreseeable success, but not the kind of important result whose revolutionary scope is in large part unforeseen’, except by the imagination of the Utopians. Let me recall a well - known example. If the Greek mathematicians had not applied themselves to the investigation of conic sections, zealously and without the least suspicion that it might someday be useful, it would not have been possible centuries later to navigate far from shore. The first men to study the nature of electricity could not imagine that their experiments, carried on because of mere intellectual curiosity, would eventually lead to modern electrical technology, without which we can scarcely conceive of contemporary life. Pure knowledge is valuable for its own sake, because the human spirit cannot resign itself to ignorance. But, in addition, it is the foundation for practical results that would not have been reached if this knowledge had not been sought disinterestedly.
The author points out that the Greeks who studied conic sections ______.
选项 A、invented modern mathematical applications
B、were interested in navigation
C、were unaware of the value of their studies
D、worked with electricity
答案C
解析 从文中“If the Greek mathematicians had not applied themselves to the investigation of conic sections，zealously and without the least suspicion that it might someday be useful，it would not have been possible centuries later to navigate far from shore．”可看出，古希腊人既没有发明现代数学应用(A)，也没有对航海感兴趣(B)，更没有用电工作(D)，而是并不了解他们研究的价值。所以答案应为C。
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