評論
打印
The outside influences are always pouring in upon us, and we are always obeying their orders and accepting their verdicts. The Smiths like the new play; the Joneses go to see it, and they copy the Smith verdict. Morals, religions, politics, get their following from surrounding influences and atmospheres, almost entirely; not from study, not from thinking. A man must and will have his own approval first of all, in each and every moment and circumstance of his life—even if he must repent of a self-approved act the moment after its commission, in order to get his self-approval again: but, speaking in general terms, a man's self-approval in the large concerns of life has its source in the approval of the peoples about him, and not in a searching personal examination of the matter. Mohammedans are Mohammedans because they are born and reared among the sect, not because they have thought it out and can furnish sound reasons for being Mohammedans; we know why Catholics are Catholics; why Presbyterians are Presbyterian why Baptists are Baptists; why Mormons are Mormons; why thieves are thieves; why monarchists are monarchists; why Republicans are Republicans and Democrats, Democrats. We know it is a matter of association and sympathy, not reasoning and examination; that hardly a man in the world has an opinion upon morals, politics, or religion which he got otherwise than through his associations and sympathies. Broadly speaking, there are none but corn-pone opinions. And broadly speaking, corn-pone stands for self-approval. Self-approval is acquired mainly from the approval of other people. The result is conformity. Sometimes conformity has a sordid business interest—the bread and—butter interest—but not in most cases. I think. I think that in the majority of cases it is unconscious and not calculated; that it is born of the human being's natural yearning to stand well with his fellows and have their inspiring approval and praise—a yearning which is commonly so strong and so insistent that it cannot be effectually resisted, and must have its way.
外界的影響總是不斷向我們撲面而來，我們則總是不斷地遵從它們的命令，接受它們的定論。史密斯一家喜歡那部新戲，瓊斯一家也跑去看這部戲，而且還模仿史密斯家的評論觀點。道德、宗教、政治都幾乎完全是從周圍的影響力和風氣中獲得大批擁護者，而不是經過研究和思考。一個人必須而且將會首先獲得自我認同，在他生命中的任何時候和任何環境中——就算他必定會在剛完成自我認同的舉動那一刻感到后悔，但是為了再次得到自我認同——一般來說，一個人在人生大事中的自我認同根源于周圍人對他的認可，而不是源于個人對問題的徹底考察。伊斯蘭教徒就是伊斯蘭教徒，是因為他們在該教派中出生長大，而不是因為他們經過深思熟慮并且能夠提供作為伊斯蘭教徒的合理的理由；我們知道，天主教徒為什么是天主教徒；長老會教友為什么是長老會教友，浸禮會教友為什么是浸禮會教友；摩門教徒為什么是摩門教徒；賊為什么會做賊；君主主義者為什么是君主主義者；共和黨人為什么是共和黨人，民主黨人為什么是民主黨人。我們知道，這是一個交往與同感的問題，而不是推理與驗證的問題；世界上幾乎沒有一個人關于道德、政治或宗教方面的觀點是通過交往與同感以外的方法獲得的。廣義上說，觀點是眾人的觀點。而且一般來說，從眾代表著自我肯定。自我肯定主要是通過別人的肯定獲得的，其結果就是順從。有時候順從具有一種骯臟的商業利益——生計的利益——但大多數情況并非如此。我覺得是這樣的。我認為，在大多數情況下，它是無意識的，而非有意的；人類天生就有這種博得同伴好感、獲得讓人振奮的肯定和贊譽的自然渴望——這種渴望通常是那么強烈而持久，以致無法有效抵制，它一定會被付諸實踐。
