批駁神創-綜合書評 《Labtimes評柯林斯「上帝的語言」》在美一方 譯 06063

本文原始出處： 非基工作室 獨立出品　討論版: 龍行天下 科學與宗教版 http://dtzp.5d6d.com/viewthread.php?tid=6991　

歐洲生命科學新聞專刊Labtimes評柯林斯《上帝的語言》


在美一方 譯

有時候，一個超級明星會突發奇想立意要在完全不同的領域中獲得成功 。其結果，可能是一場災難。

比如搖滾樂歌手斯汀，會很業餘地玩玩約翰∙多蘭的復興時代音樂，或他的同行Jon Bon Jovi，曾經在三流恐怖片里串個角色。弗朗西斯∙柯林斯，這個前人類基因組計劃的負責人，最近也發現了一個全新的工作領域。

在《上帝的語言》這本書里，這位著名的的科學家像哲學家一樣來談宗教。 這本書在美國成了驚天新聞，登上了數個排行榜榜首，可是在歐洲卻沒什麼人注意到它的存在。難道我們錯過了什麼嗎？

當然沒有。這位被譽為「基因密碼破譯者」（星期日泰晤士報）和 「超級明星」 （柏林每日鏡報） 的柯林斯，做了一次冒險，卻慘遭失敗。通過辯稱信仰上帝與從事現代科學可以和諧共處，柯林斯談論了「第三條道路」 ，也就是「科學並沒有受到上帝的威脅」 ，而是「（被上帝所）提高」 。他做著把科學和基督宗教和諧地結合起來的白日夢。

這是一個敏感的話題，需要一個敏銳的分析家用生動而明晰的方式寫出來。柯林斯完全不能勝任。由於害怕挑起爭端，柯林斯使用了乏味的政治上正確的基調，致使讀者厭煩或憤怒，而且他所寫的東西模稜兩可。美國宗教專家山姆●哈里斯在書評中寫道：如果人們不知道在21世紀的美國，一個科學家如何能被騙、自欺而不負責任地維護謬論，（柯林斯的書）就是一個答案。這是一本美國人的書，證明美國人無知的書，為那些認為無知強過死亡的美國人而寫的書。

對於（山姆∙哈里斯的）這些話，沒什麼需要補充的了。

Acquired from
http://www.genomesize.com/rgregory/book/LabTimes.pdf
Weanée Kimblewood
Lab Times 2006, 4, ,58.

Sometimes a superstar in one field gets into his head to succeed in a completely different field. The result can be a disaster. Take rock band singer Sting, who dabbles with John Dowland』s renaissance music, or his colleague Jon Bon Jovi, who acted in third class horror films. Francis Collins, former head of the Human Genome Project, recently also discovered a novel field to work on. In The Language of God, the notable scientist philosophises on religion. The book caused a sensation in the USA and climbed to the top of the ranking lists whilst in Europe few noticed its existence. Did we miss anything?

Definitely not. Collins – the man who was praised as 「genome cracker」 (Sunday Times) and 「superstar」 (Tagesspiegel), takes a chance – and fails miserably. Pleading for a peaceful coexistence of belief in God on the one hand with practising modern science on the other, Collins speaks about a 「third way」, in which 「science is not threatened by God」 but 「enhanced」. He daydreams of combining science and (Christian) religion in harmony.

That』s a sensitive issue, demanding a sharp-sighted analyst who is also able to write in a lively and clear manner. Collins cannot meet these demands at all. Shy to provoke disputes, he argues in a tedious, politically correct tone, that makes the reader either bored or angry, and what he writes is dubious. Sam Harris, a US expert on religious subjects, wrote in a review:
If one wonders how beguiled, self-deceived and carefree in the service of fallacy a scientist can be in the United States in the 21st century, [Collins』 book] provides the answer. This is an American book, attesting to American ignorance, written for Americans who believe that ignorance is stronger than death. –There is nothing to add to these words.

The Language of God: A Scientist Presents Evidence for Belief. By Francis S. Collins. Free Press, 2006.

NCID:06063 在美一方 譯 歐洲生物學新聞專刊Labtimes評柯林斯《上帝的語言》Language of God


　

[本話題由 在美一方 於 2010-07-13 22:36:19 編輯]

自己的東西當然要獻花