I

Professor J. B. Pratt’s paper in the Journal of Philosophy for June 6, 1907, is so brilliantly written that its misconception of the pragmatist position seems doubly to call for a reply.

He asserts that, for a pragmatist, truth cannot be a relation between an idea and a reality outside and transcendent of the idea, but must lie ‘altogether within experience,’ where it will need ‘no reference to anything else to justify² it’— no reference to the object, apparently³. The pragmatist must ‘reduce everything to psychology⁴,’ aye, and to the psychology of the immediate⁵ moment. He is consequently debarred from saying that an idea that eventually gets psychologically verified WAS already true before the process of verifying was complete; and he is equally debarred from treating an idea as true provisionally so long as he only believes that he CAN verify it whenever he will.

Whether such a pragmatist as this exists, I know not, never having myself met with the beast. We can define terms as we like; and if that be my friend Pratt’s definition of a pragmatist, I can only concur⁶ with his anti-pragmatism. But, in setting up the weird⁷ type, he quotes words from me; so, in order to escape being classed by some reader along with so asinine⁸ a being, I will reassert my own view of truth once more.

Truth is essentially⁹ a relation between two things, an idea, on the one hand, and a reality outside of the idea, on the other. This relation, like all relations, has its fundamentum, namely, the matrix of experiential circumstance, psychological as well as physical, in which the correlated terms are found embedded10

首页  上一页 [1] [2]  [3]  下一页  尾页

点击收听单词发音  

1 transcend
vt.超出，超越(理性等)的范围
参考例句：
We can't transcend the limitations of the ego.我们无法超越自我的局限性。 Everyone knows that the speed of airplanes transcend that of ships.人人都知道飞机的速度快于轮船的速度。

2 justify
vt.证明…正当(或有理)，为…辩护
参考例句：
He tried to justify his absence with lame excuses.他想用站不住脚的借口为自己的缺席辩解。 Can you justify your rude behavior to me?你能向我证明你的粗野行为是有道理的吗？

3 apparently
adv.显然地；表面上，似乎
参考例句：
An apparently blind alley leads suddenly into an open space.山穷水尽，豁然开朗。 He was apparently much surprised at the news.他对那个消息显然感到十分惊异。

4 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。

5 immediate
adj.立即的；直接的，最接近的；紧靠的
参考例句：
His immediate neighbours felt it their duty to call.他的近邻认为他们有责任去拜访。 We declared ourselves for the immediate convocation of the meeting.我们主张立即召开这个会议。

6 concur
v.同意，意见一致，互助，同时发生
参考例句：
Wealth and happiness do not always concur.财富与幸福并非总是并存的。 I concur with the speaker in condemning what has been done.我同意发言者对所做的事加以谴责。

7 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。

8 asinine
adj.愚蠢的
参考例句：
It is an asinine discussion.那是个愚蠢透顶的讨论。 I must have been insane to listen to your asinine gibberish!我真是昏了头居然听信了你的胡说八道！

9 essentially
adv.本质上，实质上，基本上
参考例句：
Really great men are essentially modest.真正的伟人大都很谦虚。 She is an essentially selfish person.她本质上是个自私自利的人。

10 embedded
a.扎牢的
参考例句：
an operation to remove glass that was embedded in his leg 取出扎入他腿部玻璃的手术 He has embedded his name in the minds of millions of people. 他的名字铭刻在数百万人民心中。

11 benevolent
adj.仁慈的，乐善好施的
参考例句：
His benevolent nature prevented him from refusing any beggar who accosted him.他乐善好施的本性使他不会拒绝走上前向他行乞的任何一个乞丐。 He was a benevolent old man and he wouldn't hurt a fly.他是一个仁慈的老人，连只苍蝇都不愿伤害。

12 curtail
vt.截短，缩短；削减
参考例句：
The government hopes to curtail public spending.政府希望缩减公共事业开支。 The minister had to curtail his visit.部长不得不缩短访问日期。

13 fully
adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地
参考例句：
The doctor asked me to breathe in,then to breathe out fully.医生让我先吸气，然后全部呼出。 They soon became fully integrated into the local community.他们很快就完全融入了当地人的圈子。

14 affinities
n.密切关系( affinity的名词复数 )；亲近；（生性）喜爱；类同
参考例句：
Cubism had affinities with the new European interest in Jazz. 主体派和欧洲新近的爵士音乐热有密切关系。 来自辞典例句 The different isozymes bind calcium ions with different affinities. 不同的同功酶以不同的亲和力与钙离子相结合。 来自辞典例句

15 purely
adv.纯粹地，完全地
参考例句：
I helped him purely and simply out of friendship.我帮他纯粹是出于友情。 This disproves the theory that children are purely imitative.这证明认为儿童只会单纯地模仿的理论是站不住脚的。

16 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。

17 functional
adj.为实用而设计的，具备功能的，起作用的
参考例句：
The telephone was out of order,but is functional now.电话刚才坏了，但现在可以用了。 The furniture is not fancy,just functional.这些家具不是摆着好看的，只是为了实用。

18 functionally
adv.机能上地，官能地
参考例句：
Objective To explore occlusion reconstruction by computer aided design (CAD) with functionally-generated pathway (FGP). 目的探索借助功能性？记录(functionally-generated pathway,FGP)技术进行口腔固定修复体计算机辅助设计(Computer aided Design,CAD)生理性建？的方法。 来自互联网 In this respect, the proceeding was functionally similar to a comparative licensing adjudication. 在这一点上，手续在作用上即类似于比较许可证发放的裁断。 来自英汉非文学 - 行政法

19 habitually
ad.习惯地，通常地
参考例句：
The pain of the disease caused him habitually to furrow his brow. 病痛使他习惯性地紧皱眉头。 Habitually obedient to John, I came up to his chair. 我已经习惯于服从约翰，我来到他的椅子跟前。

20 waive
vt.放弃，不坚持(规定、要求、权力等)
参考例句：
I'll record to our habitat office waive our claim immediately.我立即写信给咱们的总公司提出放弃索赔。 In view of the unusual circumstances,they agree to waive their requirement.鉴于特殊情况，他们同意放弃他们的要求。

21 forth
adv.向前；向外，往外
参考例句：
The wind moved the trees gently back and forth.风吹得树轻轻地来回摇晃。 He gave forth a series of works in rapid succession.他很快连续发表了一系列的作品。

22 undoubtedly
adv.确实地，无疑地
参考例句：
It is undoubtedly she who has said that.这话明明是她说的。 He is undoubtedly the pride of China.毫无疑问他是中国的骄傲。

23 contention
n.争论，争辩，论战；论点，主张
参考例句：
The pay increase is the key point of contention. 加薪是争论的焦点。 The real bone of contention,as you know,is money.你知道，争论的真正焦点是钱的问题。

24 solely
adv.仅仅，唯一地
参考例句：
Success should not be measured solely by educational achievement.成功与否不应只用学业成绩来衡量。 The town depends almost solely on the tourist trade.这座城市几乎完全靠旅游业维持。

25 specification
n.详述；[常pl.]规格，说明书，规范
参考例句：
I want to know his specification of details.我想知道他对细节的详述。 Examination confirmed that the quality of the products was up to specification.经检查，产品质量合格。

26 supersede
v.替代；充任
参考例句：
We must supersede old machines by new ones.我们必须以新机器取代旧机器。 The use of robots will someday supersede manual labor.机器人的使用有一天会取代人力。

27 contentions
n.竞争( contention的名词复数 )；争夺；争论；论点
参考例句：
Direct tests on individual particles do not support these contentions. 对单个粒子所作的直接试验并不支持这些论点。 来自辞典例句 His contentions cannot be laughed out of court. 对他的争辩不能一笑置之。 来自辞典例句

28 interpretations
n.解释( interpretation的名词复数 )；表演；演绎；理解
参考例句：
This passage is open to a variety of interpretations. 这篇文章可以有各种不同的解释。 来自《简明英汉词典》 The involved and abstruse passage makes several interpretations possible. 这段艰涩的文字可以作出好几种解释。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

29 utterly
adv.完全地，绝对地
参考例句：
Utterly devoted to the people,he gave his life in saving his patients.他忠于人民，把毕生精力用于挽救患者的生命。 I was utterly ravished by the way she smiled.她的微笑使我完全陶醉了。

30 utterance
n.用言语表达，话语，言语
参考例句：
This utterance of his was greeted with bursts of uproarious laughter.他的讲话引起阵阵哄然大笑。 My voice cleaves to my throat,and sob chokes my utterance.我的噪子哽咽，泣不成声。

31 cosmos
n.宇宙；秩序，和谐
参考例句：
Our world is but a small part of the cosmos.我们的世界仅仅是宇宙的一小部分而已。 Is there any other intelligent life elsewhere in the cosmos?在宇宙的其他星球上还存在别的有智慧的生物吗？

32 gainsay
v.否认，反驳
参考例句：
She is a fine woman-that nobody can gainsay.她是个好女人无人能否认。 No one will gainsay his integrity.没有人对他的正直有话可讲。

33 devoid
adj.全无的，缺乏的
参考例句：
He is completely devoid of humour.他十分缺乏幽默。 The house is totally devoid of furniture.这所房子里什么家具都没有。

34 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。

35 irrelevant
adj.不恰当的，无关系的，不相干的
参考例句：
That is completely irrelevant to the subject under discussion.这跟讨论的主题完全不相关。 A question about arithmetic is irrelevant in a music lesson.在音乐课上，一个数学的问题是风马牛不相及的。

36 positively
adv.明确地，断然，坚决地；实在，确实
参考例句：
She was positively glowing with happiness.她满脸幸福。 The weather was positively poisonous.这天气着实讨厌。

37 irrelevancy
n.不恰当，离题，不相干的事物
参考例句：

38 promiscuously
adv.杂乱地，混杂地
参考例句：
It promiscuously plunders other languages and delights in neologisms. 它杂乱地掠夺其它语言，并以增加新词为乐。 来自互联网 It's like biology: an ecosystem where microbes are promiscuously swapping genes and traits, evolution speeds up. 就像生物学：一个一群微生物混杂地交换基因和特性的生态系统，进化加速了。 来自互联网

39 frustration
n.挫折，失败，失效，落空
参考例句：
He had to fight back tears of frustration.他不得不强忍住失意的泪水。 He beat his hands on the steering wheel in frustration.他沮丧地用手打了几下方向盘。

40 corroborating
v.证实，支持（某种说法、信仰、理论等）( corroborate的现在分词 )
参考例句：
Neither can one really conclude much from a neat desk, unless there is further corroborating evidence. 实际上，我们也无法从一张整洁的办公桌中得出什么结论，除非还有其它证据进一步证实。 来自互联网

41 perplexed
adj.不知所措的
参考例句：
The farmer felt the cow,went away,returned,sorely perplexed,always afraid of being cheated.那农民摸摸那头牛，走了又回来，犹豫不决，总怕上当受骗。 The child was perplexed by the intricate plot of the story.这孩子被那头绪纷繁的故事弄得迷惑不解。

42 obstinate
adj.顽固的，倔强的，不易屈服的，较难治愈的
参考例句：
She's too obstinate to let anyone help her.她太倔强了，不会让任何人帮她的。 The trader was obstinate in the negotiation.这个商人在谈判中拗强固执。

43 vaguely
adv.含糊地，暖昧地
参考例句：
He had talked vaguely of going to work abroad.他含糊其词地说了到国外工作的事。 He looked vaguely before him with unseeing eyes.他迷迷糊糊的望着前面，对一切都视而不见。

44 peculiar
adj.古怪的，异常的；特殊的，特有的
参考例句：
He walks in a peculiar fashion.他走路的样子很奇特。 He looked at me with a very peculiar expression.他用一种很奇怪的表情看着我。

45 evoke
vt.唤起，引起，使人想起
参考例句：
These images are likely to evoke a strong response in the viewer.这些图像可能会在观众中产生强烈反响。 Her only resource was the sympathy she could evoke.她以凭借的唯一力量就是她能从人们心底里激起的同情。

46 nourishment
n.食物，营养品；营养情况
参考例句：
Lack of proper nourishment reduces their power to resist disease.营养不良降低了他们抵抗疾病的能力。 He ventured that plants draw part of their nourishment from the air.他大胆提出植物从空气中吸收部分养分的观点。

47 gulf
n.海湾；深渊，鸿沟；分歧，隔阂
参考例句：
The gulf between the two leaders cannot be bridged.两位领导人之间的鸿沟难以跨越。 There is a gulf between the two cities.这两座城市间有个海湾。

48 transcended
超出或超越（经验、信念、描写能力等）的范围( transcend的过去式和过去分词 )； 优于或胜过…
参考例句：
He wanted assurance that he had transcended what was inherently ambiguous. 他要证明，他已经超越了本来就是混淆不清的事情。 It transcended site to speak to universal human concerns. 它超越了场所的局限，表达了人类共同的心声。

49 onlooking
n.目击，旁观adj.旁观的
参考例句：

50 coalesce
v.联合，结合，合并
参考例句：
And these rings of gas would then eventually coalesce and form the planets.这些气体环最后终于凝结形成行星。 They will probably collide again and again until they coalesce.他们可能会一次又一次地发生碰撞，直到他们合并。

51 discourse
n.论文，演说；谈话；话语；vi.讲述，著述
参考例句：
We'll discourse on the subject tonight.我们今晚要谈论这个问题。 He fell into discourse with the customers who were drinking at the counter.他和站在柜台旁的酒客谈了起来。

分享到：