经济学人34:非理性信仰 Irrational belief

 　　Books and Arts; Book Review;The power of faith；Irrational belief；

　　文艺；书评；信仰的力量；非理性信仰；

　　The Believing Brain: From Ghosts and Gods to Politics and Conspiracies¹—How We Construct Beliefs and Reinforce Them as Truths. By Michael Shermer.

　　《有信仰者》：从鬼神到政治阴谋——我们是怎样形成信念并固以视之为真理。——麦可·薛默著。

　　Michael Shermer is a psychologist, cyclist, one-time fundamentalist Christian², founder³ of Skeptic⁴ magazine and, currently, the author of a monthly column with the same name published in Scientific American. He has built a professional career out of casting a rationalist's eye over some of the wackiest beliefs that humanity has to offer.

　　麦可·薛默(Michael Shermer)是一位心理学家和骑自行车爱好者，曾经一度是基督教原教旨主义者、《怀疑论者》杂志的创始人，而现在是《科学美国人》中与其同名的每月专栏的作家。他已成就了他的职业生涯，因为他以理性的眼光审视人们情不自禁流露出来的某些极为荒谬的信念。

　　But his latest book is more than just a display case full of specimens⁵ collected by a man fascinated by the paranormal. Mr Shermer is interested in how such beliefs come to be held, and why they can persist even in the face of what, to others, can seem to be the overwhelming evidence that contradicts them.

　　然而他的最新著作不仅仅是装满了着迷于超自然的他所收集案例的展示柜。而且薛默先生还展示了他感兴趣的是人们是怎么怀有这样的信念以及为什么他们在面对似乎有压倒性证据去反驳他们时还固执己见。

　　The first part of the book is a mixture of psychology⁶ and trendy neuroscience research that presents the evidence for Mr Shermer's central claim: that, instead of shaping belief around painstakingly⁷ gathered, soberly judged evidence, people most often decide upon their beliefs first, and then use an impressive range of cognitive⁸ tricks to bend whatever evidence they do discover into support for those pre-decided acts of faith.

　　该书的第一部分是心理学和盛行的神经科学研究的大杂烩，提供了证明薛默先生主要观点的证据：也就是，四处煞费苦心收集来的成形信仰和冷静判断的依据。人们很多时候首先决定自己的信念，然后，无论他们所发现证据是否去支撑他们以前决定的信仰行为，他们也利用一些令人印象深刻的认知骗局去扭曲事实。

　　In the second part of “The Believing Brain” Mr Shermer applies those observations to the almost infinite variety of weird⁹ and wonderful beliefs that people hold, from alien abductions to government conspiracies to bring down the World Trade Centre—and, inevitably¹⁰, to religion (a chapter on politics, by contrast, feels misplaced and forced). He is an able skewerer of sloppy¹¹ thinking. The section on conspiracy¹² theories, for instance, memorably¹³ exposes the bizarre leaps of logic¹⁴ that adherents¹⁵ often make: “If I cannot explain every single minutia¹⁶ [about the collapse¹⁷ of the twin towers]…that lack of knowledge equates¹⁸ to direct proof that 9/11 was orchestrated by Bush, Cheney, Rumsfeld and the CIA.”

　　在《有信仰者》第二部分，薛默先生引用了这些对人们所怀有的几乎所有怪异信仰的观察结果，从外星人绑架到炸毁世界贸易中心的政府阴谋，不可避免地也谈及到宗教（相比之下，政治这一章让人感觉有点错位和牵强）。他是一个能干的凌乱思维整理者。例如， 关于阴谋论部分，明显出现逻辑思维的断层：信徒们常常认为“如果我不能解释出[关于双子塔倒塌]的每一细节... ...这认识的缺失相当于直接证明9/11是布什、切尼、伦斯斐和中央情报局精心安排的。

　　A common risk with this kind of book is that the author comes across as overly smug and superior; just look at how the duke of debunkers, Richard Dawkins, is sometimes perceived, even by his fans. Mr Shermer is aware of this risk, and is at pains to reassure¹⁹ readers that his conclusions apply to everyone, even himself. In a chapter on alien abductions, he recounts an abduction story of his own. Exhausted²⁰ after cycling 1,259 miles in 83 hours as part of an endurance challenge called the Race Across America, he becomes convinced that the motorhome carrying his support team is actually an alien spacecraft, and that his team's pleas for him to come inside and get some rest are merely a cunning pretext²¹ to get him to co-operate with a spot of alien probing. Surprised when the interior of the mothership turns out to closely resemble a General Motors motorhome, Mr Shermer consents to lying down. On waking a couple of hours later, he is able to joke about the experience with his team-mates.

　　这类书籍的常见风险是，作者看上去好像过于自以为是和过于哗众取宠;只要看看揭露真面目者的公爵理查德·道金斯有时给人的感觉就明白了，甚至连他的粉丝也有这种感觉。薛默先生是意识到这种风险，并煞费心思地使认为“作者的结论适用于每个人，甚至他自己”的读者安心下来。在关于外星人绑架那章中，他讲述了他自己的绑架故事。经过被他称为战横穿美国的长征的83小时1259英里的骑行耐力挑战后，他筋疲力尽。他开始相信，装载着他支持的球队的房车实际上是一艘外星飞船，他的球队那让他进去歇歇的请求仅仅是一个狡猾的借口好让他与之合作一起探索外星船。当他发现母舰内部酷似通用汽车房车，薛默先生十分惊讶并同意躺下歇会。他在两个小时后醒来，他还能拿这经历来和队友们开玩笑。

　　That experience gives one useful definition of a sceptic, as Mr Shermer understands the term: one who is aware of the fallibility of intuitions, and willing to take steps to minimise them. It remains²², sadly, an uncommon²³ combination.

　　这经验给出了怀疑论者的很好的定义，正如薛默先生理解术这语一样：一人意识到直觉的不可靠性，并乐意采取措施尽量减少直觉的偏差。可惜，这仍是一种不寻常的组合。

1 conspiracies   

n.阴谋，密谋( conspiracy的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• He was still alive and hatching his conspiracies. 他还活着，策划着阴谋诡计。 来自辞典例句
• It appeared that they had engaged in fresh conspiracies from the very moment of their release. 看上去他们刚给释放，立刻开始新一轮的阴谋活动。 来自英汉文学

2 Christian   

adj.基督教徒的；n.基督教徒

参考例句：

• They always addressed each other by their Christian name.他们总是以教名互相称呼。
• His mother is a sincere Christian.他母亲是个虔诚的基督教徒。

3 Founder   

n.创始者，缔造者

参考例句：

• He was extolled as the founder of their Florentine school.他被称颂为佛罗伦萨画派的鼻祖。
• According to the old tradition,Romulus was the founder of Rome.按照古老的传说，罗穆卢斯是古罗马的建国者。

4 skeptic   

n.怀疑者，怀疑论者，无神论者

参考例句：

• She is a skeptic about the dangers of global warming.她是全球变暖危险的怀疑论者。
• How am I going to convince this skeptic that she should attention to my research?我将如何使怀疑论者确信她应该关注我的研究呢？

5 specimens   

n.样品( specimen的名词复数 )；范例；（化验的）抽样；某种类型的人

参考例句：

• Astronauts have brought back specimens of rock from the moon. 宇航员从月球带回了岩石标本。
• The traveler brought back some specimens of the rocks from the mountains. 那位旅行者从山上带回了一些岩石标本。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 psychology   

n.心理，心理学，心理状态

参考例句：

• She has a background in child psychology.她受过儿童心理学的教育。
• He studied philosophy and psychology at Cambridge.他在剑桥大学学习哲学和心理学。

7 painstakingly   

adv. 费力地 苦心地

参考例句：

• Every aspect of the original has been closely studied and painstakingly reconstructed. 原作的每一细节都经过了仔细研究，费尽苦心才得以重现。
• The cause they contrived so painstakingly also ended in failure. 他们惨淡经营的事业也以失败而告终。

8 cognitive   

adj.认知的，认识的，有感知的

参考例句：

• As children grow older,their cognitive processes become sharper.孩子们越长越大，他们的认知过程变得更为敏锐。
• The cognitive psychologist is like the tinker who wants to know how a clock works.认知心理学者倒很像一个需要通晓钟表如何运转的钟表修理匠。

9 weird   

adj.古怪的，离奇的；怪诞的，神秘而可怕的

参考例句：

• From his weird behaviour,he seems a bit of an oddity.从他不寻常的行为看来，他好像有点怪。
• His weird clothes really gas me.他的怪衣裳简直笑死人。

10 inevitably   

adv.不可避免地；必然发生地

参考例句：

• In the way you go on,you are inevitably coming apart.照你们这样下去，毫无疑问是会散伙的。
• Technological changes will inevitably lead to unemployment.技术变革必然会导致失业。

11 sloppy   

adj.邋遢的，不整洁的

参考例句：

• If you do such sloppy work again,I promise I'll fail you.要是下次作业你再马马虎虎，我话说在头里，可要给你打不及格了。
• Mother constantly picked at him for being sloppy.母亲不断地批评他懒散。

12 conspiracy   

n.阴谋，密谋，共谋

参考例句：

• The men were found guilty of conspiracy to murder.这些人被裁决犯有阴谋杀人罪。
• He claimed that it was all a conspiracy against him.他声称这一切都是一场针对他的阴谋。

13 memorably   

难忘的

参考例句：

• The book includes some memorably seedy characters and scabrous description. 这本书包含了一些难忘下流的角色及有伤风化的描述。 来自互联网
• Horowitz could play Chopin memorably. 霍洛维茨可以把肖邦的作品演奏得出神入化。 来自互联网

14 logic   

n.逻辑(学)；逻辑性

参考例句：

• What sort of logic is that?这是什么逻辑？
• I don't follow the logic of your argument.我不明白你的论点逻辑性何在。

15 adherents   

n.支持者，拥护者( adherent的名词复数 )；党羽；徒子徒孙

参考例句：

• He is a leader with many adherents. 他是个有众多追随者的领袖。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The proposal is gaining more and more adherents. 该建议得到越来越多的支持者。 来自《简明英汉词典》

16 minutia   

n.微枝末节，细节

参考例句：

• They are take great pains for the every minutia.他们为每个细节煞费苦心。
• Much of his early work is concerned with the minutiae of rural life.他早期的许多作品关注的是农村生活中一些鸡毛蒜皮的琐事。

17 collapse   

vi.累倒；昏倒；倒塌；塌陷

参考例句：

• The country's economy is on the verge of collapse.国家的经济已到了崩溃的边缘。
• The engineer made a complete diagnosis of the bridge's collapse.工程师对桥的倒塌做了一次彻底的调查分析。

18 equates   

v.认为某事物（与另一事物）相等或相仿( equate的第三人称单数 )；相当于；等于；把（一事物） 和（另一事物）等同看待

参考例句：

• He equates success with material wealth. 他认为成功等同于物质财富。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• This equates to increased and vigor, better sleep and sharper mental acuity. 也就是说可以起到增强活力，改善睡眠，提高心智的作用。 来自互联网

19 reassure   

v.使放心，使消除疑虑

参考例句：

• This seemed to reassure him and he continued more confidently.这似乎使他放心一点，于是他更有信心地继续说了下去。
• The airline tried to reassure the customers that the planes were safe.航空公司尽力让乘客相信飞机是安全的。

20 exhausted   

adj.极其疲惫的，精疲力尽的

参考例句：

• It was a long haul home and we arrived exhausted.搬运回家的这段路程特别长，到家时我们已筋疲力尽。
• Jenny was exhausted by the hustle of city life.珍妮被城市生活的忙乱弄得筋疲力尽。

21 pretext   

n.借口，托词

参考例句：

• He used his headache as a pretext for not going to school.他借口头疼而不去上学。
• He didn't attend that meeting under the pretext of sickness.他以生病为借口，没参加那个会议。

22 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

23 uncommon   

adj.罕见的，非凡的，不平常的

参考例句：

• Such attitudes were not at all uncommon thirty years ago.这些看法在30年前很常见。
• Phil has uncommon intelligence.菲尔智力超群。