首页
外语
计算机
考研
公务员
职业资格
财经
工程
司法
医学
专升本
自考
实用职业技能
登录
外语
There are as many definitions of philosophy as there are philosophers—perhaps there are even more. After three millennia of phil
There are as many definitions of philosophy as there are philosophers—perhaps there are even more. After three millennia of phil
admin
2020-03-28
63
问题
There are as many definitions of philosophy as there are philosophers—perhaps there are even more. After three millennia of philosophical activity and disagreement, it is unlikely that we’ll reach consensus, and I certainly don’t want to add more hot air to the volcanic cloud of unknowing. What I’d like to do in the opening column in this new venture is to kick things off by asking a slightly different question; What is a philosopher?
【R1】________
Socrates tells the story of Thales, who was by some accounts the first philosopher. He was looking so intently at the stars that he fell into a well. Some witty Thracian servant girl is said to have made a joke at Thales’ expense—that in his eagerness to know what went on in the sky he was unaware of the things in front of him and at his feet. Socrates adds, in Seth Benardete’s translation, "The same jest suffices for all those who engage in philosophy. "
What is a philosopher, then? The answer is clear> a laughing stock, an absent-minded buffoon, the butt of countless jokes from Aristophanes’ "The Clouds" to Mel Brooks’ "History of the World". Whenever the philosopher is compelled to talk about the things at his feet, he gives not only the Thracian girl but the rest of the crowd a belly laugh.
【R2】________
But as always with Plato, things are not necessarily as they first appear, and Socrates is the greatest of ironists. First, we should recall that Thales believed that water was the universal substance out of which all things were composed. Water was Thales’ philosophers’ stone, as it were. Therefore, by falling into a well, he inadvertently presses his basic philosophical claim.
But there is a deeper and more troubling layer of irony here that I would like to peel off more slowly. Socrates introduces the "digression" by making a distinction between the philosopher and the lawyer, or what Benardete nicely renders as the " pettifogger".
【R3】________
By contrast, we might say, the philosopher is the person who has time or who takes time.
Theodoras, Socrates’ interlocutor, introduces the "digression" with the words, "Aren’t we at leisure, Socrates?" The latter’s response is interesting. He says, "It appears we are. " As we know, in philosophy appearances can be deceptive.
【R4】________
Pushing this a little further, we might say that to philosophize is to take your time, even when you have no time, when time is constantly pressing at your back. The busy readers of The New York Times will understand this sentiment.
【R5】________
Socrates says that those in the constant press of business, like lawyers, policy-makers, mortgage brokers and hedge fund managers, become "bent and stunted" and they are compelled "to do crooked things". The pettifogger is undoubtedly successful, wealthy and extraordinarily honey -tongued, but, Socrates adds, "small in his soul and shrewd and a shyster. " The philosopher, by contrast, is free by virtue of his or her other-worldliness, by their capacity to fall into wells and appear silly.
A. he philosopher’s clumsiness in worldly affairs makes him appear stupid, or, "gives the impression of plain silliness. " We are left with a rather Monty Pythonesque definition of the philosopher: the one who is silly.
B. The lawyer is compelled to present a case in court and time is of the essence. In Greek legal proceedings, a strictly limited amount of time was allotted for the presentation of cases. Time was measured with a water clock or clepsydra, which literally steals time, as in the Greek kleptes, a thief or embezzler. The pettifogger, the jury, and by implication the whole society, live with the constant pressure of time. The water of time’s flow is constantly threatening to drown them.
C. But the basic contrast here is that between the lawyer, who has no time, or for whom time is money, and the philosopher, who takes time. The freedom of the philosopher consists in either moving freely from topic to topic or simply spending years returning to the same topic out of perplexity, fascination and curiosity.
D. It is our hope that some of them will make the time to read The Stone. As Wittgenstein says, " This is how philosophers should salute each other: ’ Take your time. ’ "
E. Socrates believes that the philosopher neither sees nor hears the so-called unwritten laws of the city, that is, the mores and conventions that govern public life. The philosopher will disregard the societal titles given to a person.
F. As Alfred North Whitehead said, philosophy is a series of footnotes to Plato. Let me risk adding a footnote by looking at Plato’s provocative definition of the philosopher that appears in the middle of his dialogue, " Theaetetus," in a passage that some scholars consider a " digression". But far from being a footnote to a digression, I think in this moment Plato tells us something hugely important about what a philosopher is and what philosophy does.
【R1】
选项
答案
F
解析
第一段中“There are as many definitions of philosophy as there are philosophers--perhaps there are even more. ”,阐述了“哲学因哲学家而被赋予了更多的定义”,在结尾提出“What is a philosopher?” ,哲学是什么的问题,接下来的一段是先介绍哲学,然后再一步步地过渡到哲学家,故选F。
转载请注明原文地址:https://kaotiyun.com/show/YiWd777K
本试题收录于:
公共英语五级笔试题库公共英语(PETS)分类
0
公共英语五级笔试
公共英语(PETS)
相关试题推荐
AnotherearlyNativeAmericantribein(31)isnowthesouthwesternpartoftheUnitedStateswastheAnasazi.ByA.D.800theA
AnotherearlyNativeAmericantribein(31)isnowthesouthwesternpartoftheUnitedStateswastheAnasazi.ByA.D.800theA
AnotherearlyNativeAmericantribein(31)isnowthesouthwesternpartoftheUnitedStateswastheAnasazi.ByA.D.800theA
AnotherearlyNativeAmericantribein(31)isnowthesouthwesternpartoftheUnitedStateswastheAnasazi.ByA.D.800theA
AnotherearlyNativeAmericantribein(31)isnowthesouthwesternpartoftheUnitedStateswastheAnasazi.ByA.D.800theA
AnotherearlyNativeAmericantribein(31)isnowthesouthwesternpartoftheUnitedStateswastheAnasazi.ByA.D.800theA
Periodicallyinhistory,therecomeperiodsofgreattransitioninwhichworkchangesitsmeaning.Therewasatime,perhaps10,
Periodicallyinhistory,therecomeperiodsofgreattransitioninwhichworkchangesitsmeaning.Therewasatime,perhaps10,
随机试题
(2019年邹城)下面现象中属于想象的有()
IBM从计算机终端供应商转变为网络咨询、服务商,体现了()
(英语类考生必做)Mrs.Psneezesviolently.Mrs.Qsays"Blessyou!"Mrs.Psays"Thankyou."Again,thishardlyseemstobeacase
最直接联系核苷酸合成与糖代谢的物质是
下列关于国际税法内容的陈述,正确的有()。
、在证券回购协议中,可以作为标的物的有()。
甲上市公司主要从事丁产品的生产和销售。自2006年以来,由于市场及技术进步等因素的影响,丁产品销量大幅度减少。该公司在编制2007年半年度财务报告前,对生产丁产品的生产线及相关设备进行减值测试。(1)丁产品生产线由专用设备A、B和辅助设备C组成。生
公安机关的权力,是指公安机关为履行职责,依法采取的权威性措施和手段。然而,公安机关的权力是在法定职责限度内行使的,并受相应的制约,所以公安机关的权力不能称为公安机关的权限。()
南极臭氧层的恢复可能要到2065年。科学家研究表明,氯、溴排放的下降速度没有预期的那样快。今年9月南极臭氧层空洞的面积达到1000万平方英里大小,相当于整个北美洲。北极臭氧层的破坏程度小于南极。北极臭氧层的恢复可能要到2040年。南极冬季的严寒导致氯转化成
A、Thenoiseinthelibrary.B、Thecrowdedroom.C、Theheatintheoffice.D、Thedisturbedsleep.C语义理解题。女士说;“今天太热了,我都没法工作了。我希望办公
最新回复
(
0
)