Unit six

1
Unit six

• Knowledge and Wisdom
• By Bertrand Russell

2
Contents

• Pre-reading questions
• Background information
• Structure analysis
• Comprehension questions
• Language points of Text I
• Exercises
• Comprehension questions of Text II
• Oral activities
• Writing practice

3
Text I Knowledge and Wisdom

• Pre-reading questions

1.What kind of people is considered wise? Cite
some examples. And what are the elements that
constitute wisdom? 2.How can you become wise? Do
you think what you are doing in college
contributes to wisdom?
4
What is wisdom?

• Wisdom is a concept of personal gaining of
  knowledge, understanding, experience,
  discretion???, and intuitive understanding, along
  with a capacity to apply these qualities well
  towards finding solutions to problems. It is the
  judicious and purposeful application of knowledge
  that is valued in society. To some extent the
  terms wisdom and intelligence have similar and
  overlapping meanings. The status of wisdom or
  prudence as a virtue is recognized in cultural,
  philosophical and religious sources.

5
Background information (1)

• About the text and the author
• Bertrand Russell (18721970), British philosopher
  and mathematician, was one of the outstanding
  figures of 20th century British philosophy, and
  was especially important for his work in
  mathematical logic and notable for his support
  humanitarian causes. His major works include
  Principia Mathematica, 3 vols. (19101913),
  written with A.N. Whitehead, and A History of
  Western Philosophy (1945).

6
Background information (2)

• Russell was twice imprisoned for activities
  associated with advocacy of pacifism(1918), and
  with the anti-nuclear movement (1961).
• He was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in
  1950.

7
(No Transcript)
8

• Born 18-May-1872
• Birthplace Ravenscroft, WalesDied 2-Feb-1970
• Location of death WalesCause of death
  Influenza
• Remains Cremated (??), Ashes were scattered
  "over the hills", Wales

9

• Gender MaleReligion Agnostic (?????)
• Race or Ethnicity WhiteSexual orientation
  StraightOccupation Philosopher
• Nationality WalesExecutive summary
  Mathematician, Atheist(????), and Social Critic

10

• Bertrand Russell was a prominent figure in the
  school of analytic philosophy. His life was
  marked with controversy. He was dimissed from
  Trinity College Cambridge for his connection in
  anti-war protests and then later was deemed unfit
  to teach philosophy at the City College of New
  York due to his views on morality.

11
Author of books

• The Principles of Mathematics (1902)Principia
  Mathematica (1910-13)The ABC of Relativity
  (1925)Education and the Social Order (1932)A
  History of Western Philosophy (1945)The Impact
  of Science upon Society (1952)My Philosophical
  Development (1959)War Crimes in Vietnam
  (1967)The Autobiography of Bertrand Russell
  (1967-69)Our Knowledge of the External World
  (1926)Inquiry into Meaning and Truth (1962)

12
(No Transcript)
13

• ?????????(Bertrand Arthur William
  Russell,1872?5?18?1970?2?2?)?????????????????????
  ????,????????????,??????????????????????????????,?
  ????????????????????????????1872?,??????????,??197
  0?,?????????????,???????

14

• 1950?,??????????,????????????,??????????????????
  ?
• "in recognition of his varied and significant
  writings in which he champions humanitarian
  ideals and freedom of thought".

15
Background information (3)

• Proverbs on Wisdom
• 1. To know wisdom and instruction to perceive
  the words of understanding.
• ??????????, ????????
• 2. Wisdom is not like money to be tied up and
  hidden. (Akan Proverb)
• ??????,????????

16
Background information (4)

• 3. Wisdom is more to be envied than riches.
• ????,?????
• 4. Wisdom comes form extensive observation and
  broad knowledge.
• ?????????.
• 5. Wisdom in the mind is better than money in
  the hand. ?????,???????

17
Background information (5)

• 6.Doubt is the key of knowledge. ????????
• 7. If you want knowledge,you must toil for it.
  ?????,??????
• 8.A little knowledge is a dangerous thing. ?????
  
• 9. Learn wisdom by the follies of others.
  ????????????
• 10. Wisdom is to the mind what health is to the
  body. ??????,?????????

18
Structure analysis of the text (1)

• The text is neatly structured, with the first
  paragraph introducing the topic and the other
  paragraphs elaborating on it. Each of the four
  paragraphs discusses one factor that contributes
  to wisdom.
• By mixing some unusually short sentences with the
  long ones, the author varies their weight and
  achieves emphasis and impact.

19
Structure analysis of the text (2)

• Paragraph 1 introduce the topic.
• Paragraph 2 Of these I should put first a sense
  of proportion the capacity to take account of
  all the important factors in a problem and to
  attach to each its due weight.
• Paragraph 3 There must be, also, a certain
  awareness of the ends of human life.

20

• Paragraph 4 It is needed in the choice of ends
  to be pursued and in emancipation from personal
  prejudice.
• Paragraph 5 I think the essence of wisdom is
  emancipation, as far as possible, from the
  tyranny of the here and now.

21
Structure analysis of the text (3)

• Factors that constitute wisdom
• 1.comprehensiveness mixed with a sense of
  proportion
• 2.a full awareness of the goals of human life
• 3.understanding
• 4.impartiality

22
Comprehension questions (1)

• 1. What message does the writer try to convey
  with the example of technicians?
• Key Refer to Paragraph 2. The writer tries to
  tell us knowledge itself cannot save the world.
  Knowledge without wisdom will not benefit the
  world and in some cases will even pose a serious
  threat to humanity. So a wise person has to have
  a comprehensive view.

23
Comprehension questions (2)

• 2. How can wisdom help one in his/her pursuit of
  a life-long career?
• Key Refer to Paragraph 4. Wisdom can help one in
  his choice of a life-long pursuit. When one has
  to make a major career decision, he has to
  consider whether it is possible to achieve what
  he aims at. If it is too high to be achieved, he
  should learn to give it up and turn to an
  attainable goal.

24
Comprehension questions (3)

• 3.What, according to Russell, is the essence of
  wisdom? And how can one acquire the very essence?
• Key Refer to Paragraph 5. According to Russell,
  the essence of wisdom lies in impartiality, the
  ability to defy the physical world. Russell
  believes the process of growing wise is that of
  tearing oneself away from the physical and
  emotional worlds and moving into a higher stage,
  the spiritual world.

25
Comprehension questions

• Para 1
• What view is commonly accepted in terms of
  knowledge and wisdom?
• Is there any orthodox definition of wisdom?
• Has the writer stated the purpose of the writing?

26
Language points of Text I (1)

• surpass to do or be better than
• e.g. Hes really surpassed himself this time.
• Tom surpassed all expectations.
• sur- over, above, beyond. Other examples
  surcharge, surrealism
• e.g. The waiter surcharged us 10 on the price of
  the dinner.

27
Language points of Text I (2)

• correlative. adj. having or showing a relation to
  something else
• Rights are correlative with duties.
• correlation n.
• e.g. a high correlation between the climate and
  crops.
• strong/high/close/significant etc correlation

28

• cease to come to an end, to stop doing something
  or stop happening
• e.g. He never ceased from his activities as a
  propagandist.
• The old German Empire ceased to exist
  in 1918.
• The rain ceased and the sky cleared.
• cease and desist law to stop doing sth.
• cease fire! / deceased

29
Language points of Text I (3)

• means a method that enables a purpose to be
  fulfilled
• e.g. He was prepared to use any means to get what
  he wanted.
• This isnt the quickest means of earning
  money.
• Note It is a plural noun, but is usually
  treated as singular.

30
Comprehension questions

• Para 2-5
• 1.What factors contribute to wisdom?
• 2.What does sense of proportion mean?
• 3.Why is comprehensiveness an important factor
  that constitutes wisdom?
• 4.What does the ends of human life refer to ?(
  pa 3)
• 5.How are feelings related to wisdom?(3)

31

• 6.What does convincing each that the other has
  only the normal share of human wickedness mean?
• 7.What does This is of course a matter of
  degree. mean?

32
Language points of Text I (4)

• contribute to1) to help to cause or bring about
• e.g. Poor food contributed to her illness.
• Drink contributed to his ruin.
• Stress is a contributing factor in many
  illnesses.
• contribute substantially/significantly/greatly
  etc to something
• similar expressions lead to / foster
• 2) to give money, help, ideas etc to something
  that a lot of other people are also involved in
• The volunteers contribute their own time to the
  project.

33
Language points of Text I (5)

• 1.The proportion of women graduates has increased
  in recent years.
• high/large/small etc proportion
• 2.What's the proportion of boys to girls in your
  class?
• The rewards you get in this job are in direct
  proportion to the effort you put in.
• Her feet are small in proportion to her height.

34

• a sense of proportion ??????
• the ability to judge what is most important in a
  situation
• have/keep/lose a sense of proportion
• equality in the mathematical relationship between
  two sets of numbers, as in the statement '8 is to
  6 as 32 is to 24' ? ratio
• keep something in proportion
• out of (all) proportion to/with

35
Language points of Text I

• translation
• This has become more difficult than it used to
  be owing to the extent and complexity of the
  specialized knowledge required of various kinds
  of technicians.
• ???????????????,?????????????????????????????.
  

36
Language points of Text I (6)

• take account of to take into consideration to
  consider a specified thing along with other
  factors before reaching a decision or taking
  action.
• E.g. We must take account of different opinions
  from all groups.
• similar expressions takeinto consideration
  takeinto account pay attention to

37
Language points of Text I (7)

• attach due weight to to ascribe(???)proper
  importance to
• 1.due proper, adequate
• e.g. They will surely meet with due punishment.
• Due care must be taken while one is
  driving.
• Owing to due to / because of
• Owing to the rain the match was cancelled.

38

• 2.expected to happen or arrive at a particular
  time due to do something
• due in/on/at
• When are the library books due back?
• 3.owed to someone either as a debt or because
  they have a right to it
• Thanks are due to all those who took part.
• 4. if an amount of money is due, it must be paid
  at a particular time

39
Language points of Text I (8)

• be engaged in to be doing or to become involved
  in an activity
• e.g. John is engaged in compiling a dictionary.
• similar expression be involved in
• succeed in to achieve what one aims or wants to
  do.
• unintended unplanned, not deliberate

40
Language points of Text I (9)

• populous densely populated
• -ous characterize by of the nature
• other examples mountainous, poisonous
• spectacular strikingly large and obvious
• -ar of the kind specified
• other example molecular, scholar

41
Language points of Text I (10)

• Composition 1)make-up
• 2) ????, ??
• e.g. 1) She is a woman with a touch of madness in
  her composition.
• 2) moral composition ????
• disinterested free of self interest (objective,
  impartial, unbiased)
• uninterested not interested

42
Language points of Text I (11)

• pursuit n. the action of following somebody or
  something in pursuit of
• e.g. The police car raced through the streets in
  pursuit of another car.
• He met with many difficulties in his pursuit
  of happiness.
• pursue vt. To try to achieve
• e.g. It was wrong not to have pursued peace.

43
Language points of Text I (12)

• Many eminent historians have done more harm than
  good ... What many eminent historians have done
  is more damaging than help. distort twist
• eminent (of a person) famous and respected within
  a particular sphere or profession
• e.g. He is eminent for his knowledge.

44

• similar words well-known, celebrated, renowned,
  eminent, noted, legendary
• famous for doing something bad notorious,
  infamous
• not famous little-known, unknown, obscure
• a famous person celebrity, celeb, star
• Preeminent much more important, more powerful,
  or better than any others of its kind

45
Language points of Text I (13)

• lack n. the state of not having enough of
  something vt. to be without or deficient in
• vi. ( for, used in negative sentences) not to
  have enough of
• e.g. There is no lack of entertainment aboard the
  ship.
• Her writing lacks imagination.
• She never lacks for friends.
• lacking. adj.
• He found himself lacking in ability.

46
Language points of Text I (14)

• inculcate (to fix (ideas and principles, etc. )
  in the mind of (somebody)
• e.g. It's important to inculcate these ideas
  in the minds of the young people.
• I try to inculcate a sense of responsibility
  in my children.
• Inculcation n.
• standard-bearer a leading figure in a cause or
  movement/ a person who holds the standard

47
Language points of Text I (15)

• by no means not at all
• by all means make sure
• emancipation from freedom from political, moral,
  intellectual or social restraints offensive to
  reason or justice
• e.g. He finally gained emancipation from the
  authority of his parents.
• Last century witnessed the development of the
  emancipation of women.
• prejudice bias

48
Language points of Text I (16)

• translation
• Even an end which it would be noble to pursue if
  it were attainable may be pursued unwisely if it
  is inherently impossible of achievement.
• ?????????????????,?????????????????????????.
• end a goal or result one seeks
• attainable capable of being achieved
• -able capable of being
• Other examples countable, calculable

49
Language points of Text I (17)

• devote ... to to give all or a large part of
  one's time or resources to (a person, activity,
  or cause)
• e.g. I want to devote myself to the work.
• confer (upon) to grant
• e.g. The queen conferred knighthoods on
  several distinguished men.
• conferred a medal on the hero conferred an
  honorary degree on her.
• confer with sb. on about sth.

50
confer

• to discuss something with other people, so that
  everyone can express their opinions and decide on
  something
• Confer with conference
• confer a title/degree/honour etc on/upon
• to officially give someone a title etc,
  especially as a reward for something they have
  achieved

51

• put something in someone's handhand, pass
• officially give something to someone award,
  present, grant, confer, allocate
• give something to people in a group hand out,
  pass around, distribute
• give to a charity donate
• give something to people after you die leave,
  pass on, bequeath(??)

52
Language points of Text I (18)

• as it was in reality in the actual situation
  (past tense of as it is.
• distinguish the group of expressions
• as it is refers to what an actual situation is.
  Similar expressions include as it stands, as it
  turns out, as it happens.
• e.g. I thought things would get better, but as
  it is, they are getting worse.
• as it were as one might say in a sort of way.
  "Were" here is a subjunctive form.
• e.g. He became, as it were, a man without a
  country.

53
Language points of Text I (19)

• appalling horrifying, shocking
• e.g. appalling working conditions appalling
  violence.
• When will this appalling war end?
• His ignorance is appalling. ???????
• The weather was absolutely appalling.
• an appallingly difficult job
• He behaved appallingly.

54

• very bad awful, terrible, horrible,
  lousy(???)inf., appalling, ghastly,
  atrocious(???), horrendous
• bad, but not very bad,not very good,
  mediocre(???), second-rate, so-so,
  lacklustre(???)
• of bad quality shoddy??, inferior, poor quality,
  cheap, crummy???informal
• bad at doing something be no good at something
• very bad at doing something hopeless, terrible,
  useless, lousy, incompetent
• morally bad evil, wicked, immoral, corrupt,
  sick, perverted????, degenerate???

55
Language points of Text I (20)

• paraphrase
• I think the essence of wisdom is
  emancipating, as far as possible, from the
  tyranny of the here and now.
• I think the essence of wisdom is to free
  oneself from the confinement of the physical
  world and the emotional world and look beyond.
• egoism / ego / egoist / egoistic
• be bound up with be involved in, dependent on,
  connected with
• e.g. The survival of these creatures is
  intimately bound up with the health of the ocean.

56
Language points of Text I (21)

• impersonal 1) objective an impersonal
  discussion / remark
• 2) Showing no emotion or personality an
  aloof, impersonal manner
• 3) Lacking personality not being a person
  an impersonal force
• 4) Not responsive to or expressive of human
  personalities a large, impersonal corporation

57

• enmity hostility
• instill to gradually but firmly establish (an
  idea or attitude, especially a desirable one) in
  a person's mind
• e.g. Morality should be instilled into their
  minds.
• instill confidence/fear/discipline etc into
  somebody

58
Language points of Text I (22)

• impartiality the condition of treating all
  rivals or disputants equally
• partialimpartial
• partialityimpartiality

59
Exercises (1)

• Translation exercises
• 1.  ???????????
• 1. The result surpasses their expectations.
• 2.   ??????????????
• 2. We should take account of the cost of the
  project.
• 3.????????????????????
• 3. The fair weather contributed to the success of
  the scientific expedition.

60
Exercises (1)

• 4. ???????????2002??????????????????
• 4. Ronaldo, one of the football stars from
  Brazil, scored several spectacular goals in 2002
• UFA World Cup.
• 5. ????????????????????????????????
• 5. Many honorary degrees from different colleges
  and universities in America were conferred
• upon Robert Frost for his remarkable
  contributions to poetry.

61
Exercises (1)

• 6. ?????????????
• 6. Patience and perseverance are required in
  emancipation from bad habits.
• 7. ?????????????????????
• 7. They tried to instill such new ideas into
  students' minds.
• 8.  ????????????????
• 8. You should demonstrate impartiality in your
  assessment of the employees.

62
Exercises (2)

• Fill in the blank in each sentence with a word
  taken from the box in the proper form.

appall distort populous attainable eminent
pursue cease enmity spectacular constitute impart
ial surpass
63
Exercises (2)

• 1. He said that Japan would continue to _________
  the policies laid down at the London summit.
• 2.The hostilities had _________ and normal life
  was resumed.
• 3. It is unrealistic to believe that perfection
  is /an __________ goal.
• 4. There has been a historic ________ between
  Protestants and Catholics.

pursue
ceased
attainable
enmity
64
Exercises (2)

• 5.Indonesia is reported to be the fifth most
  ___________ country in the world.
• 6. His time for the 100 meters __________ the
  previous world record by one hundredth of a
  second .
• 7. The minister cannot be _________ in the way a
  judge would be.
• 8. The number of casualties was _________ high
  in both wars.

populous
surpassed
impartial
appallingly
65
Comprehension questions of Text II

• How do you interpret the statement, It is
  necessary to be one-sided, since this facilitates
  the vehemence that is considered a proof of
  strength
• In the second paragraph, Russell seems to warn
  the youth against something. What is the warning?
• What is Russells opinion about some peoples
  technique of criticism?
• What is the major conflict between Russells and
  Lawrences philosophies as is exemplified by the
  text?

66
Oral activity

• Choose from the two identities, a scientist and a
  philosopher, and have a dialogue with a student
  that chooses the other. Listen carefully to what
  the other says about his/her interests and
  responsibilities as a scientist or philosopher,
  and see how you can benefit from the talk and how
  you both will face this technical world today.

67
Writing

• Book Knowledge vs. Experience
• Knowledge can be acquired from many sources.
  These include books, teachers and practical
  experience, and each has its own advantages. The
  knowledge we gain from books and formal education
  enables us to learn about things that we have no
  opportunity to experience in daily life. We can
  study all the places in the world and learn from
  people we will never meet in our lifetime, just
  by reading about them in books.

68

• We can also develop our analytical skills and
  learn how to view and interpret the world around
  us in different ways. Furthermore, we can learn
  from the past by reading books. In this way, we
  wont repeat the mistakes of others and can build
  on their achievements.

69

• Practical experience, on the other hand, can
  give us more useful knowledge. It is said that
  one learns best by doing, and I believe that this
  is true, whether one is successful or not. In
  fact, I think making mistakes is the best way to
  learn. Moreover, if one wants to make new
  advances, it is necessary to act. Innovations do
  not come about through reading but through
  experimentation.

70

• Finally, one can apply the skills and
  insights gained through the study of books to
  practical experience, making an already
  meaningful experience more meaningful. However,
  unless it is applied to real experiences, book
  knowledge remains theoretical and, in the end, is
  useless. That is why I believe that knowledge
  gained from practical experience is more
  important than that acquired from books.

71
The omitted part

• Can wisdom in this sense be taught? And, if
  it can, should the teaching of it be one of the
  aims of education? I should answer both these
  questions in the affirmative. We are told on
  Sundays that we should love our neighbors as
  ourselves. On the other six days of the week, we
  are exhorted to hate. But you will remember that
  the precept was exemplified by saying that the
  Samaritan was our neighbor. We no longer have any
  wish to hate Samaritans and so we are apt to miss
  the point of the parable. If you want to get its
  point, you should substitute Communist or
  anti-Communist, as the case may be, for
  Samaritan. It might be objected that it is right
  to hate those who do harm.

72

• I do not think so. If you hate them, it is only
  too likely that you will become equally harmful
  and it is very unlikely that you will induce them
  to abandon their evil ways. Hatred of evil is
  itself a kind of bondage to evil. The way out is
  through understanding, not through hate. I am not
  advocating non-resistance. But I am saying that
  resistance, if it is to be effective in
  preventing the spread of evil, should be combined
  with the greatest degree of understanding and the
  smallest degree of force that is compatible with
  the survival of the good things that we wish to
  preserve.

73

• It is commonly urged that a point of view such as
  I have been advocating is incompatible with
  vigour in action. I do not think history bears
  out this view. Queen Elizabeth I in England and
  Henry IV in France lived in a world where almost
  everybody was fanatical, either on the Protestant
  or on the Catholic side. Both remained free from
  the errors of their time and both, by remaining
  free, were beneficent and certainly not
  ineffective. Abraham Lincoln conducted a great
  war without ever departing from what I have
  called wisdom.

74

• I have said that in some degree wisdom can be
  taught. I think that this teaching should have a
  larger intellectual element than has been
  customary in what has been thought of as moral
  instruction. I think that the disastrous results
  of hatred and narrow-mindedness to those who feel
  them can be pointed out incidentally in the
  course of giving knowledge. I do not think that
  knowledge and morals ought to be too much
  separated. It is true that the kind of
  specialized knowledge which is required for
  various kinds of skill has very little to do with
  wisdom.

75

• But it should be supplemented in education by
  wider surveys calculated to put it in its place
  in the total of human activities. Even the best
  technicians should also be good citizens and
  when I say 'citizens', I mean citizens of the
  world and not of this or that sect or nation.
  With every increase of knowledge and skill,
  wisdom becomes more necessary, for every such
  increase augments our capacity of realizing our
  purposes, and therefore augments our capacity for
  evil, if our purposes are unwise. The world needs
  wisdom as it has never needed it before and if
  knowledge continues to increase, the world will
  need wisdom in the future even more than it does
  now.