主题：【原创】炮打工业党：《论工业社会及其未来》 -- 万年看客

THE MOTIVES OF SCIENTISTS

科学家的动机

87. Science and technology provide the most important examples of surrogate activities. Some scientists claim that they are motivated by "curiosity," that notion is simply absurd. Most scientists work on highly specialized problem that are not the object of any normal curiosity. For example, is an astronomer, a mathematician or an entomologist curious about the properties of isopropyltrimethylmethane? Of course not. Only a chemist is curious about such a thing, and he is curious about it only because chemistry is his surrogate activity. Is the chemist curious about the appropriate classification of a new species of beetle? No. That question is of interest only to the entomologist, and he is interested in it only because entomology is his surrogate activity. If the chemist and the entomologist had to exert themselves seriously to obtain the physical necessities, and if that effort exercised their abilities in an interesting way but in some nonscientific pursuit, then they couldn't giver a damn about isopropyltrimethylmethane or the classification of beetles. Suppose that lack of funds for postgraduate education had led the chemist to become an insurance broker instead of a chemist. In that case he would have been very interested in insurance matters but would have cared nothing about isopropyltrimethylmethane. In any case it is not normal to put into the satisfaction of mere curiosity the amount of time and effort that scientists put into their work.

87，科学和技术为替代活动提供了最重要的例子。一些科学家宣称，他们的动机是“出于好奇”，这个概念十分荒谬。大多数科学家研究的都是高度专业化的问题，并非任何正常好奇心的对象。例如，一个天文学家、数学家或一个昆虫学家会对三甲基丁烷的特性感到好奇吗？当然不会。只有化学家才会对此感到好奇，因为化学是他的替代活动。化学家会对一种新发现甲虫的适当分类感到好奇吗？这个问题只有昆虫学家有兴趣，他对此有兴趣也仅仅是因为昆虫学是他的替代活动。如果化学家和昆虫学家不得不认真努力从而获得物质必需品，而且如果这种努力需要他们以非科学研究的有趣方式发挥自己的能力，那么他们根本不会关心三甲基丁烷或甲虫分类。假设研究生教育的资金缺乏导致原本可能成为化学家的人成为了保险经纪人。在这种情况下，他会对保险事宜很感兴趣，但不会再关心什么三甲基丁烷了。科学家们单纯以好奇心为理由将如此大量的时间和精力投入自己的工作是难以服人的。

88. The "benefit of humanity" explanation doesn't work any better. Some scientific work has no conceivable relation to the welfare of the human race - most of archaeology or comparative linguistics for example. Some other areas of science present obviously dangerous possibilities. Yet scientists in these areas are just as enthusiastic about their work as those who develop vaccines or study air pollution. Consider the case of Dr. Edward Teller, who had an obvious emotional involvement in promoting nuclear power plants. Did this involvement stem from a desire to benefit humanity? If so, then why didn't Dr. Teller get emotional about other "humanitarian" causes? If he was such a humanitarian then why did he help to develop the H-bomb? As with many other scientific achievements, it is very much open to question whether nuclear power plants actually do benefit humanity. Does the cheap electricity outweigh the accumulating waste and risk of accidents? Dr. Teller saw only one side of the question. Clearly his emotional involvement with nuclear power arose not from a desire to "benefit humanity" but from a personal fulfillment he got from his work and from seeing it put to practical use.

88，“造福人类”,这个解释也同样靠不住。一其他科学领域则显然有着造成危险的可能性。然而，在这些领域的科学家们对他们的工作就像开发疫苗或研究空气污染的同行们一样热情。考虑爱德华.泰勒博士（Edward Teller）的例子，他对于参与促进核电厂建设十分热情。这种感情投入是否源于造福人类的愿望呢？如果是这样的话，那么为什么泰勒博士没有对其他 “人道主义”事业进行同样的感情投入呢？如果他是人道主义者，那么他为什么要帮助发展氢弹呢？与许多其他的科学成就一样，核电厂是否真正能够造福人类是非常值得商榷的。廉价电力的好处能够超过核废料累积和危险事故带来的危害吗？泰勒博士看到的只是问题的一个侧面。显然他对于核电的情感投入并非源于“造福人类”的愿望，而是源于他的工作以及将核电投入实用所带来的个人价值的实现。

89. The same is true of scientists generally. With possible rare exceptions, their motive is neither curiosity nor a desire to benefit humanity but the need to go through the power process: to have a goal (a scientific problem to solve), to make an effort (research) and to attain the goal (solution of the problem.) Science is a surrogate activity because scientists work mainly for the fulfillment they get out of the work itself.

89，一般来说科学家都是这样。可能其中也有少数例外，但总体而言他们的动机既不是好奇也不是造福人类，而是完成权力过程的需要。

90. Of course, it's not that simple. Other motives do play a role for many scientists. Money and status for example. Some scientists may be persons of the type who have an insatiable drive for status (see paragraph 79) and this may provide much of the motivation for their work. No doubt the majority of scientists, like the majority of the general population, are more or less susceptible to advertising and marketing techniques and need money to satisfy their craving for goods and services. Thus science is not a PURE surrogate activity. But it is in large part a surrogate activity.

90，当然实际情况并没有如此简单。其他动机对于许多科学家来说也有作用，例如金钱与地位。有些科学家或许对地位有着无法满足的欲求（见79段），这一点为他们的工作提供了最主要的动机。无疑，大多数科学家也像大多数公众一样多少易于受到广告与营销手段的影响，也需要金钱来满足他们对于商品和服务的需要。因此科学研究并不完全是替代行为，但在相当程度上是这样。

91. Also, science and technology constitute a mass power movement, and many scientists gratify their need for power through identification with this mass movement (see paragraph 83).

91，此外，科学技术也构成了群体权力运动，许多科学家都通过认同这一运动来满足自己的权力需求（见83段）

92. Thus science marches on blindly, without regard to the real welfare of the human race or to any other standard, obedient only to the psychological needs of the scientists and of the government officials and corporation executives who provide the funds for research.

92，因此科学盲目地前进，不考虑人类种族的真正福祉或任何其他标准，仅仅服从科学家以及提供研究资金的政府官员与企业高管的心理需求。