为什么要学西方历史文化.doc

《为什么要学西方历史文化.doc》由会员分享，可在线阅读，更多相关《为什么要学西方历史文化.doc（7页珍藏版）》请在淘文阁 - 分享文档赚钱的网站上搜索。

1、【精品文档】如有侵权，请联系网站删除，仅供学习与交流为什么要学西方历史文化.精品文档. 1. Why should study western civilization?This lecture helps you to conquer Rome by dividing Roman history, culture, and legacy into five parts. Although the parts follow a rough chronological order, they overlap a bit as they refer back and forth.Part I. g

2、ives you necessary background for studying the Romans by laying out major periods of history and setting the stage in the Mediterranean for Romes rise. It also provides thumbnail answers to some “frequently asked questions” and directs you to more information elsewhere in the book.In our fast-forwar

3、d world, youd think that the ancient past would be too obscure, too remote, and too foreign to be of relevance. Nowadays the present seems obsolete. And yet, ancient civilizations captivate us. Why?在我们这个飞速发展的世界里，你一定会认为古代世界过于朦胧，过于遥远，过于陌生，与我们没有太大的关系。如今，眼下正流行的事物似乎很快就会过时。然而，古代文明却能让我们迷恋不已。这是问什么呢？Well, in

4、 part, we are drawn by similarities and differences between these cultures and our own. Its really interesting to see how other people lived, worked, fought, and loved. Ancient civilizations often confront us with differences so stark that they shock, delight, and appall us. As remote as some aspect

5、s of these civilizations are, isnt it engaging that they were still people? Both similarities and differences speak to the human condition, and what it means to live as a member of the human race.其实，古代文化与现代文化之间的相似之处和差异，在一定程度上吸引着我们。了解一下其它民族如何生活，如何工作，如何战斗，如何相爱，真的是一件很有趣的事情。我们所面对的古代文明是那么不同，常常会使我们感到震惊或恐惧

6、，但有时也会让我们感到欣喜。尽管古代文明的某些方面离现在已经很遥远了，但其深远的影响依然存在。无论是相似之处还是不同之处，所涉及的都是人类状况和人类社会成员的生活意义。In addition, we sometimes look to ancient civilizations for models. We like patterns, and in a complicated world, it would be helpful to find models for solving (or avoiding) some of our own problems and to predict w

7、hat might happen next. Humans have been at the work of being humans for a long time. Perhaps someone already figured out one of our problems, or tried similar solutions to them.此外，我们经常希望从古代文明那里寻找模式。我们喜欢模式，尤其是在一个复杂的世界里，利用现成的模式解决（或规避）我们自己的一些问题或预测以后会再现的什么问题，都是很有益处的。人类社会在地球上已经存在很长时间了，我们的问题也许早已有人解决过或者采用过

8、类似的解决方法。Finally, we sometimes look back to better understand how things got the way they are. Sometimes we just dont know; other times it becomes clear that our understanding has been blunted by stereotypes, generalizations, and inaccurate ideas. As we look closer, generalizations begin to yield to

9、a more complicated picture than the one we began with. Sometimes that original picture changes a lot, and sometimes it stays pretty much the same, but inquiry always produces a more accurate, insightful, and satisfying understanding.最后，我们有时还须回顾过去，以便更好地理解事情是如何发生的。有些时候我们只是不知道；而有些时候显然是由于过于陈腐的观念，根据不足的推论

10、和不准确的思想，才导致我们在理解方面的迟钝。当我我们近一些观察时，概括就会开始让步与一个更为复杂的概念。有时最初的印象改变了许多，有时印象则几乎保持不变，但是探索总能形成一个更为准确、更为深刻、更令人满意的理解。You may hear people object, what can the past offer us anyway? History is written by the conquerors; the same people have been in charge of the same things since the Bronze Age. Such stereotypes

11、 and generalizations deserve to go in the trash bin of history along with the many others that elicited such remarks in the first place. Fortunately for all of us, its much more complicated, much more interesting, and much more important than that.也许你听到人们不赞成这种说法，过去到底能为我们提供什么呢？历史是由胜利者书写的；自青铜器时代起就是如此。

12、这样的陈词滥调和推论，连同其它很多由此引发的议论都应该扔进历史的垃圾堆里。让我们大家感到幸运的是，历史具有相当大的复杂性、趣味性和重要性。Whether we like it or not, what we have now, what we know now, and who we are now all have pasts, and those pasts matter. Thats largely why I wrote this book, and I hope that this perspective shows. Institutions, ideas, and ways of

13、 looking at the world have just as much of a genealogy as people do. But unlike our physical characteristics, which we can see, we are often unaware that we have also inherited broad assumptions about time, purpose, organization, cultural habits, and ourselves. As long as we see things from one pers

14、pective, its no wonder that some things seem obvious and some things so strange.无论我们是否喜欢，我们现在拥有的、我们现在知道的以及我们自己本身都有过去，而这些过去对我们来说十分重要。 人们看待世界与看待一份宗谱的习俗、概念和方式十分相似。但是与我们能够看得见的物质特征不同，我们往往没有意识到自己还继承了时间、目的、组织、文化习惯等方面的广泛假定。只要我们从一个角度看待事物，有些事情似乎显而易见，而有些事情则非常不可思议，这没有什么可奇怪的。Hopefully, the process of education (

15、thats from the Latin educare, “to raise up”) takes us out of our own perspective, not necessarily to change it but to mature it. In the best case, education shows us where our perspectives come from and how they relate and interrelate with others. In any case, we can understand a great deal about wh

16、ere we are and where were going from appreciating where weve been and how we got here. It youre interested in where you are and how you got here, a good part of the answer would inevitably involve the Greeks and the Romans.好在教育过程（教育这个词起源于拉丁语educare, 意思是“培养”）能使我们端正自己的态度，不一定是去改变，去完善。最好的情况是，教育可以说明我们的观点

17、是从哪里来的，这些观点与其它观点是如何相互关联的，不管怎样，充分领会我们的过去和现在，我们能够在极大程度上理解自己的现状和未来。假如你对这些问题感兴趣的话，相当多的答案不可避免地要涉及古希腊、古罗马人。Im not saying that we are bound by history. We all know the saying that goes (usually in a droning monotone) something like this: “Those who do not understand the mistakes of the past are doomed to r

18、epeat them.” You might be surprised to discover that I dont precisely agree. Our problems are very much our own. The past does not provide us with ready answers to them, at least if you think of the past as a list of quick answers in the back of the “Current Problems” textbook.我并不是说我们收到历史的束缚。我们都知道有这

19、样一句老话“不懂得丛历史错误中吸取教训的人，注定会重犯历史的错误。”也许你感到惊讶，我并不完全同意这种说法。我们的问题在学多方面是我们自己的。无论如何，历史不会向我们提供现成的解决问题的方法，至少我们不能把过去看作是“现时问题”教科书附录的答案一览表。Nevertheless, when you study the past in depth you come to the realization that, although the specifics change, people have been coping with the same kinds of problems for a

20、very long time. Family tensions, political and social problems, environmental issues, economic policy, moral dilemmas- if were wondering about or laughing about or struggling with something now, its a faire bet that others have been in the same boat in the past. Now, that boat may have had ours and

21、no Global Positioning System, but the question of “Where in the heck are we and where are we going?” has remained the same.不过，当你深入研究历史的时候，你就会认识到，尽管细节有所改变，长期以来人们一直在应付着相同的问题。家庭纠纷、政治和社会问题、环境问题，经济政策、道德教育的难题假如我们肯定地讲，过去的人们也在做着与此相同的是。古时候的船也许只有浆，没有全球定位系统，但是“现状与未来”这样的问题自古至今都是一样的。Ancient cultures fascinate an

22、d entertain us for many reasons, and understanding them benefits us in many ways. When we see how past peoples met common challenges and where their past connects with our present, ancient civilizations become both fascinating and relevant. Ill do my best in this book to give you an accurate picture

23、 of the Romans, and make leaning about this influential ancient people both worthwhile and entertaining. 我们喜爱和迷恋古代文化的原因很多，而对古代文化的理解也会让我们在许多方面受益。看一看过去的人们是如何共同迎接挑战的，现在与过去的联结点是在哪里。古代文明不仅令人神往，而且与我们有重大关系。 2. What Is History?What is history? This question may seem really easy, even silly. Most people woul

24、d say that history is the study of the important people, dates, and events of the past. This answer is true as far as it goes. But who decides what people, dates, and events are important? And why should we bother learning about them?Lets dig a little deeper into the question “What is history?” Firs

25、t of all, history is an important way of thinking about the world. To see what this means, imagine waking up tomorrow and not being able to remember a single thing about your past. You cant remember your name, whom your parents or family members are, the rules to your favorite game, or anything you

26、ever learned in school. Without knowledge of your own past, you might feel lost and lonely. You wouldnt even know who you are. And you would have a difficult time making good decisions about what to do next. In a similar way, history helps us make sense of the world. History is the memory of communi

27、ties, peoples, and nations. Without history, individuals and whole countries would lose their sense of direction. The next time you watch the news on TV, notice how often reporters, politicians, and others mention something about the past. Humans constantly use their knowledge of the past to help th

28、em make sense of what is happening today.History is also an academic discipline. It is a systematic way of using evidence to make sense of the past. When you think about it, the past is not an easy thing to study. After all, its not here any longer for anyone to observe directly. So historians turn

29、to many kinds of evidence to describe and understand the past. Theyre fascinated by old documents, maps, tools, ruins, and many other kinds of evidence. They want to know who created these things and for what reason, and what they can teach us about the past. History as an Ongoing ArgumentSome peopl

30、e think that history is just a listing of facts. That is not true. To make sense of the past, historians must weigh the available evidence and try to figure out what the facts are. Then they need to stitch the facts together to answer the questions that interest them. In doing this, they must use th

31、eir judgment. And that means that their own viewpoints come into play. As a result, historians argue all the time. They argue about what the facts really are. They also argue about how to interpret the facts. History, then, is much more than a listing of “facts.” Some people have even described hist

32、ory as an ongoing argument about the past. Why does the argument go on? Sometimes historians find new evidence, such as an ancient document or a new archeological discovery. The new evidence may lead them to challenge old interpretations. Sometimes historians take a fresh look at existing evidence a

33、nd see things that others have overlooked. As they do so, they may correct an earlier historians error or explain events in a different way. Reading HistoryOur discussion leads to some key points about how to read history. You cant just assume that what youre reading is the final truth. If you read

34、more than one version of history, you are likely to find differences. So when you read history, ask yourself these questions: Who wrote this document? When was it written? What kinds of evidence does the author use? Is the evidence reliable? Is the author trying to promote a particular viewpoint? An

35、 Example of a Historical ArgumentLets look at one example of a historical argument. In History Alive! The Medieval World and Beyond, you will learn about the Scientific Revolution. Most textbooks say that the Scientific Revolution began in Western Europe with a man named Copernicus. In the early 150

36、0s, Copernicus proposed a startling idea. In his day, most people believed that Earth was the center of the universe, and that it didnt move. Copernicus suggested that Earth and the other planets travel around the sun. How did Copernicus come up with his idea? Textbooks will tell you that he studied

37、 the work of a man named Ptolemy. Ptolemy had described a picture of the universe back in the second century c.e. In Ptolemys description, Earth was the center of the universe. But Ptolemy had trouble explaining the observed motions of the planets in the heavens. To make his picture of the universe

38、work, he had to build a number of complications into his theory.Copernicus thought that Ptolemys account was overly complicated. He argued that things fell into place more simply if Earth and other planets traveled around the sun. Today we know that Copernicus was correct, and he is often honored as

39、 the father of the Scientific Revolution. Thats a neat and tidy story. But is it the whole story? Some historians have pointed out that Copernicus may not have come up with his ideas completely on his own. Instead, he may have found important clues in the work of Muslim scientists. Muslims are follo

40、wers of Islam, one of the worlds great religions. In History Alive! The Medieval World and Beyond, you will learn that Muslims built an advanced culture during the Middle Ages. After the fall of Rome, learning declined in Western Europe. But in the Middle East and Spain, Muslim scholars preserved an

41、cient texts, including the works of Ptolemy. Eventually they passed on much of this learning to Western Europe. Muslim scholars also made many advances of their own. And, according to some historians, the work of a Muslim scholar may have inspired Copernicus. The Muslim scholar was Ibn al-Shatir. Wr

42、iting in the 14th century, he noted some of the problems in Ptolemys theory. His mathematical arguments are very close to some that Copernicus used later on. Historians know that Ibn al-Shatirs text found its way to Rome sometime in the 1400s. Whats more, Copernicus once studied in Rome. These facts

43、 raise an interesting possibility. Did Copernicus see Ibn al-Shatirs work? If so, did he use it in criticizing Ptolemy? Or did Copernicus just happen to come up with the same ideas? Copernicuss writings dont mention Ibn al-Shatir. So we lack proof that he knew about the Muslim scientists work. What

44、we have are two facts, plus some logic. The first fact is that a Muslim text closely resembles some of what Copernicus did. The second fact is that Copernicus could have seen this text. The logical argument is that the similarity is not a coincidence. In other words, it is likely that Copernicus lea

45、rned from Ibn al-Shatirs work. Some historians favor this argument. Others argue that Copernicus could have come up with his ideas on his own. They point out that the history of science has many examples of discoveries being made independently by different people.This is the way history often works.

46、 Sometimes the evidence doesnt allow us to say for sure what happened. Then we are left with probabilities-what is more or less likely. In reading history, its up to us to look at the evidence and the arguments and to make our best judgment about who is right. ConclusionWe started with a simple ques

47、tion: What is history? As you have seen, this question has many answers. History is a study of the past. It is a way of making sense of the world. It is an academic discipline. It is a combination of facts and interpretations of facts. It is also an ongoing argument that changes as new evidence is u

48、ncovered. And that is the most exciting thing of all, because it means that history is very much alive.Enrichment ActivityDiscuss these questions with a partner, in a small group, or with your class.1. What is history?2. Is history just a listing of the facts? Why or why not?3. Why might two differe

49、nt historians come up with different versions of the past?4. What is the role of chance, oversight, and error in the writing of history?5. Why are historical interpretations subject to change?6. How does the example of Copernicus show why it is important to question and evaluate the history we read?