與一位大陸學者的對話 Dialogue with An Athesist

Recorded by TC Lo 盧天賜 (2011年二月)

AT: 一位無神論者 (Atheist) 的見解/問題
TC: 盧天賜用英文回答, 高玲譯成中文

AT:
本人相信科学的原因可以归结为一句话:因为科学是最能被我们检验的知识体系。
TC:
This is a philosophical statement. This is not a scientific statement. If your entire thought is based on science, then why do you use a philosophical statement as your foundation? When you say “science is the most testable knowledge system,” you have implied all other knowledge systems are scientific knowledge system; this obviously is not true. Are history, psychology, poetry not part of the knowledge system? Setting apart science as the only discipline of certainty is in itself not a scientifically verifiable truth. 
这是一个哲学声明,而不是科学声明。如果你的整个思维是建立在科学的基础上,那你为什么用哲学声明作为基础呢?当你说“科学是最能被我们检验的知识体系”,你隐含着所有的知识体系都是科学的知识体系,显然这是不正确的。比如历史,心理学,诗歌,这些不属于这个知识体系,对吗?

AT:
科学的知识体系众所周知,它由科学事实与科学理论两方面构成。由于它在这两方面都是开放的,都在不断的扩充,因此它会永不停止地揭示世界的奥秘。
TC:
You are making a correct statement. But the problem is that some of “scientific facts” may not be facts due to the limited accumulated knowledge at that time. Another thing is that “scientific theory” may not be right due to incomplete observations. For example, Newton’s Law of motion is incorrect when object is moving at near speed of light. Statistics shows that scientific theory in average needs to be revised every twenty years.
你说的对。但问题是,在每个时期因为当时知识积累的有限,有些所謂 “科学事实” 有可能不是事实。另一方面,由于观察的不完全彻底,“科学理论” 未必都正确。例如,当物体在近光速移动时,牛顿的运动定律是不正确的。统计显示,科学理论平均每二十年就需要修改。

AT:
世界上最经得起检验的知识,就是科学事实中可重复检验的科学实验结果。
TC:
No one can repeat history. Is history not part of the knowledge system? If what you say is right, then no one can solve a murder case. Furthermore, in logic, there are at lease two avenues to arrive at reality: deductive logic and inductive logic. They are not repeatable scientific tests. After all, I don’t see any numbers, equations, functions, and any scientific notations in your assertion “The most testable knowledge is scientific facts–世界上最经得起检验的知识,就是科学事实” Is this what you think as the most testable scientific truth?
没有人能重复历史。历史豈不是知识体系的一部分吗?如果你的论述是对的,那么就没有人能破解一宗谋杀案。此外,在逻辑上至少有两个途径可以得到结论:演绎推理和归纳推理。它们与重复的科学试验不同。在你的宣言 “世界上最经得起检验的知识,就是科学事实” 中, 並沒有找到數字, 方程式, 函數, 和科學符號, 此宣言豈非经不起检验嗎?

AT:
在任何时间、任何地点,只要你具备了实验所规定的条件,遵守实验步骤,你就能重复该实验结果。
TC:
You are merely stating the definition of natural science. When we come to the question of the origin of the universe and morality, you know this statement does not apply. You seem to imply that whatever this statement does not apply is not real. Yet you lack of scientific proof for the validity of the statement you just made.
你只是阐述了科学的定义。当我们提到宇宙的起源或道德等问题,你知道这语句不适用。你似乎在暗示,只要这项声明不适用地方,是不真实存在的。然而,你缺乏科学论证来证明你的声明的有效性。

AT:
无论你是什么信仰,想否定这部分知识都找不到借口;即使向你所信仰的神祈祷一万次,都改变不了这个结果。
TC:
If God has to be subjugated to scientific laws, he is no God. C.S. Lewis put it well, “Men became scientific because they expected law in nature and they expected law in nature because they believed in lawgiver.” You believe in law but refuse to admit that there is a law giver—this is the crux of the problem. Can natural laws (and moral laws) come by themselves?
如果神还要受制于科学规律,那祂就不是神。路易斯说得好,“人变成了科学性,因为他们相信在大自然中有规律;他们相信大自然中有规律,因为他们相信有位规律制定者”。你相信规律,但拒绝承认有规律制定者—这就是问题的症结所在。难道自然律(和道德法律)来自它们本身吗?

AT:
科学理论是依据既有科学事实提出的系统学说,因此它并没有科学实验结果那么颠扑不破,可以被证伪,可能被修改。
TC:
If systematic theory is derived from scientific facts, then what is the process? It must be a process of logical deduction or logical induction. Logical process is not scientific process. Logical process is a layer above the scientific process. Process is tangible. Behind any tangible thing must be an abstraction. You must have an idea (intangible) first, before you can build a super computer (tangible object) like WATSON. Hence, behind the universe, there must be a MIND. Do you know that in religion there is such thing as “Systematic Theology”?
如果系统的理论是从科学事实推导而来的,那么它的过程是什么?它必须是一个逻辑演绎或逻辑归纳的过程。逻辑过程不是科学过程。逻辑过程比科学过程更高一个层次。过程是有形的。任何有形东西的背后必须是一个抽象的概念。你必须首先有一个想法(无形),然后再建立一个像沃森一样的超级计算机(有形)。因此,宇宙背后,存在着智力(智慧)。在基督教教義止, 有一门叫 “系統神學”, 作知道嗎?

AT:
证伪的过程还是收集和分析科学事实的过程,被修改过后的理论还是必须依据新的既有科学事实,这就决定了科学理论只会越来越经得起检验。
TC:
You dwell on the validity of the scientific process that no one argues. Behind the physics there is a metaphysics which you repeatedly ignored. Shocking news for you: in the realm of Quantum physics, there is an aspect of philosophy and mete-physics. Scientists still yet not find a “unified theory” that applies to things at cosmic level as well as “atomic level”. Robert Jastrow is a famous scientist. He once said, “For the scientist who has lived by his faith in the power of reason, the story ends like a bad dream. He has scaled the mountains of ignorance; he is about to conquer the highest peak; as he pulls himself over the final rock, he is greeted by a band of theologians who have been sitting there for centuries.”
你详细论述了科学的过程有效性,其实没有人对它持反对意见。在物理学的背后,有一个你一再忽视的超物理学(或翻做形而上学)。令人震惊的是:在量子物理领域中就有哲学和超物理学的成份。科学家们至今仍然没有找到一个“统一理论”,可以适用于大到宇宙,小到原子。名科學家羅伯持加斯曹說, “對那些只靠推理來攀登無知的山的科學家们, 他们的故事是以惡夢作结束—當他们爬登到山峯尖顶时却發現一群神學家巳坐在那裡等待他们達數世纪之久了.”

結論: 科學非萬能

科學萬能?最大科學家也不同意這種說法。愛因斯坦曾說:「人不能單靠科學尋獲聖經的神,科學家單慿科學方法,不可能發現神,或証明神存在–這證明不了甚麼,只不過證明他們採用的方法錯了。」

有一部分科學家沒有宗教信仰, 或者是唯物論者有 “科學主義 (Scientism)” 的態度, 認為科學是唯一獲得知識的途徑, 是萬能的, 宗教信仰可以在博物館陳列了, 對人類生活沒有它的必要了. 其實科學與科學方法有它的限度與限制. 下列是自然科學無法处理的例:

  • 審美觀: 是質的問題, 不是量的問題. 欣賞: 圖畫, 交響曲, 彫刻, 舞蹈, 電影, 詩詞.
  • 道德的良善好壞.
  • 愛與愛情.
  • 玄學問題 (Metaphysical issues); 超自然問題; 超自然現象 (e.g. 地心吸力) 等都是知其然, 但不知其所以然.
  • 科學可探討 (What; When; How) 但不可以答复 Why. 為什麽宇宙存在? 人活著為什麼?

參看: 劉杰垣 (Stephen C.Y. Liu) 註, “科學與基督徒信仰—-過去, 現在與未來”; pp.332-333.

(譯者 高玲 註:元理论研究先在西方国家兴起。“元” 的西文为 “meta”,意即“……之后”、“超越”。它与某一学科名相连所构成的名词,意味着一种更高级的逻辑形式。具体说来,又可区分为两层含义:一层含义是指这种逻辑形式具有超验、思辨的性质。这源于 “metaphysics” 一词。据说,后人在编辑整理亚里士多德的著作时, 首次运用 “metaphysics”--“物理学之后”,作为亚里士多德《物理学(physics)》之后著作的名称。它探讨的是超经验的世界本体的终极原理。我国《易•系辞上》有 “形而上者谓之道,形而下者谓之器” 的说法 ,于是 “metaphysics” 就被译为 “形而上学”。从此,形而上学被等同于本体论,它要回答宇宙的起源、世界的本源、人的本质、生命的绝对价值和终极意义等问题,其中充满了思辨的色彩。形而上学因而也常常代表着思辨哲学。就西方哲学的历史而言,其起点是本体论(形而上学)占主导地位的古希腊哲学, 于是形而上学往往又成了哲学的代名词。)

About Tin-chee Lo

Graduated from: National Taiwan University and Carnegie Mellon University. • Retired from IBM as engineer, scientist, and inventor since 2006. • Training: Computer Engineering (Semiconductor Devices, Circuit design, Memory design, Logic design, system-on-a-chip). • Interests after retirement: Christian apologetics, writing and teaching, and the art of painting.
This entry was posted in Philosophy/Religion. Bookmark the permalink.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published.

*