The authority of Science Vs. The authority of The Church (A History of Western Philosophy The period of history which is commonly called"modern "has a mental outlook which differs from that of the medieval period in many ways. Of these, two are the most important the diminishing authority of the church, and the increasing authority of science The authority of science, which is recognized by most philosophers of the modem epoch, is a very different thing from the authority of the church since it is intellectual not govemmental. No penalties fall upon those who reject it; no prudential arguments influence those who accept it. It prevails solely by its intrinsic appeal to reason It is, moreover, a piecemeal and partial uthority; it does not, like the body of Catholic dogma, lay down a complete system, covering human morality human hopes, and the past and future history of the universe. It pronounces only on whatever, at the time appears to have been scientifically ascertained, which is a smal island in an ocean of nescience. There is yet another difference from ecclesiastical authority which declares its pronouncements to be absolutely certain and eternally unalterable: the pronouncements of science are made tentatively on a basis of probabi lity and are regarded as liable to modification. this produces a temper of mind very different from that of the medieval dogmatist. 科学的权威与教会的权威 吾人所谓“现代”,其思想观点,实大异于中古。其中,主要区别有二,一曰教会之权威日 衰,二曰科学之权威日增。…科学的权威,已为近世多数哲学家所承认。此一权威,殊不同 于教会的权威。科学权威,理智的力量也。人于科学权威,可以拒绝,可以接受。拒绝 无须受惩罚。接受,无须出于保身家保名誉之考虑。科学所以有权威,唯一原因,是科学 有内在的足以令人折服的力量。再者,科学的权威,明一理有一理之权威,明二理有二理 之权威。科学的权威,止于已明之理:不若天主教义,乃包罗万象之体系,道德准则,人 生理想,甚至世界之过去与未来,无一不在此体系之内。科学如有所见,仅以此时此物已 有科学实证者为限。知识,海洋也;科学之所知,一小岛耳。科学的权威,尚有一点不同于 教会的权威。教会每有宣示,必曰此千真万确,万事不移。科学作出的判断,曰此是暂时的 结论,此有盖然性,科学的结论可加以修正,此是科学家共有的见解。科学家之思想,截然 不同于中古时期固执教义之士,盖在于此。(许国璋译) 回溯历史,所谓“现代”时期,其精神姿质,与中古时代迴异。殊途之中,两点极为突显 是教会权威之渐弱,二是科学权威之兴起…… 科学权威,已为诸多现代哲人认可。之所以异于教会权威,因其源自理智,而非苛政。如予 以否认,无有刑罚相报,若坦诚接受,亦不受察言左右。本心而论,科学权威之兴起,乃 是对理性的吁求。再者,科学权威须待日积月累,渐次进益。点点零星,尚未成一体统 不若天主教义,煌煌奥经,贯通今古,下有尘世之道德与理想,上及寰宇之过往和未来。 而科学所言之事,皆须当下论证判明。寥寥者,实如无涯学海中,小岛一粒而已。此外,两 者之间,另有一别。教会规矩,信誓旦旦,不容挑战,因而止步不前。科学论说,有盖然性 或可修正,因而日臻完善。倾于科学者,其性情心智,远不同于中古卫道者,正在于此。 (顾忆青译)
The Authority of Science Vs. The Authority of The Church （A History of Western Philosophy） The period of history which is commonly called "modern" has a mental outlook which differs from that of the medieval period in many ways. Of these, two are the most important: the diminishing authority of the Church, and the increasing authority of science… The authority of science, which is recognized by most philosophers of the modem epoch, is a very different thing from the authority of the Church, since it is intellectual, not governmental. No penalties fall upon those who reject it; no prudential arguments influence those who accept it. It prevails solely by its intrinsic appeal to reason. It is, moreover, a piecemeal and partial authority; it does not, like the body of Catholic dogma, lay down a complete system, covering human morality, human hopes, and the past and future history of the universe. It pronounces only on whatever, at the time, appears to have been scientifically ascertained, which is a small island in an ocean of nescience. There is yet another difference from ecclesiastical authority, which declares its pronouncements to be absolutely certain and eternally unalterable: the pronouncements of science are made tentatively, on a basis of probability, and are regarded as liable to modification. This produces a temper of mind very different from that of the medieval dogmatist. 科学的权威与教会的权威 吾人所谓“现代”，其思想观点，实大异于中古。其中，主要区别有二，一曰教会之权威日 衰，二曰科学之权威日增。…科学的权威，已为近世多数哲学家所承认。此一权威，殊不同 于教会的权威。科学权威，理智的力量也。人于科学权威，可以拒绝，可以接受。拒绝， 无须受惩罚。接受，无须出于保身家保名誉之考虑。科学所以有权威，唯一原因，是科学 有内在的足以令人折服的力量。再者，科学的权威，明一理有一理之权威，明二理有二理 之权威。科学的权威，止于已明之理：不若天主教义，乃包罗万象之体系，道德准则，人 生理想，甚至世界之过去与未来，无一不在此体系之内。科学如有所见，仅以此时此物已 有科学实证者为限。知识，海洋也；科学之所知，一小岛耳。科学的权威，尚有一点不同于 教会的权威。教会每有宣示，必曰此千真万确，万事不移。科学作出的判断，曰此是暂时的 结论，此有盖然性，科学的结论可加以修正，此是科学家共有的见解。科学家之思想，截然 不同于中古时期固执教义之士，盖在于此。（许国璋译） 回溯历史，所谓“现代”时期，其精神姿质，与中古时代迥异。殊途之中，两点极为突显， 一是教会权威之渐弱，二是科学权威之兴起…… 科学权威，已为诸多现代哲人认可。之所以异于教会权威，因其源自理智，而非苛政。如予 以否认，无有刑罚相报，若坦诚接受，亦不受察言左右。本心而论，科学权威之兴起，乃 是对理性的吁求。再者，科学权威须待日积月累，渐次进益。点点零星，尚未成一体统。 不若天主教义，煌煌奥经，贯通今古，下有尘世之道德与理想，上及寰宇之过往和未来。 而科学所言之事，皆须当下论证判明。寥寥者，实如无涯学海中，小岛一粒而已。此外，两 者之间，另有一别。教会规矩，信誓旦旦，不容挑战，因而止步不前。科学论说，有盖然性， 或可修正，因而日臻完善。倾于科学者，其性情心智，远不同于中古卫道者，正在于此。 （顾忆青 译）