【小阅读^大脑袋】0428 NO.358

The literal meaning of philosophy is “love of wisdom”. But this meaning does not tell us very much. Unlike the other disciplines, philosophy cannot be defined by what you study, because it is actually unlimited. Anything can be the subject matter of philosophy: art, history, law, language, literature, mathematics, and in fact, the other academic disciplines are directly related to philosophy. For this reason you get a Doctorate of Philosophy (Ph. D.) in biochemistry, or computer science, or psychology.

Two broad sub-fields of philosophy are logic and the history of philosophy. Logic is the science of argument and critical thinking. It provides sound methods for distinguishing good from bad reasoning. The history of philosophy involves the study of major philosophers and period in the development of philosophy.

Of what use is philosophy? First it is useful in educational advancement. It is necessary for understanding other disciplines. Only philosophy question the nature of the concepts used in a discipline, and its relation to other disciplines. And through the study of philosophy, one develops sound methods of research and analysis that can be applied to any field.

There are a number of general uses of philosophy. It strengthens one’s ability to solve problem, to communicate, to organize ideas and issues, to persuade, and to take what is the most important from a large quantity of data. These general uses are of great benefit in the career first, not necessarily for obtaining one’s first job after graduation, but for preparing for positions of responsibility, management and leadership later on. It is very short-sighted after all, to take a course of studies only for the purpose of getting one’s first job. The useful skills developed through the study of philosophy have significant long-term benefits in career advancement. No other discipline systematically follows the ideals of wisdom, leadership, and capacity to resolve human conflict.
CDB
答案解析：
1. According to Paragraph 1 philosophy can best be described as the study of_______.
A. social sciences
B. natural sciences
C. both social and natural sciences
D. the subject matter of politics
解析：C正确
根据第一段，哲学最恰当的描述是什么？
第一段说哲学是无法下定义的，因为它研究的范围很广，并且列举了很多科目，这些科目的范围从社会，政治到自然科学全都包含在内。

 

2. With the study of philosophy, you can _______.
A. become a great leader
B. succeed in everything
C. find a good job soon after graduation
D. make progress in your career development
解析：D正确
通过学习哲学，可以做什么？
第三段说到哲学的用途。第一点就是对职业发展的益处。并且强调了并不是帮助找到第一份工作。A和B绝对了，有对某件事情有帮助，不代表最后一定都能成功。

3. According to the passage, which of the following statements is TRUE?
A. Philosophy is an independent discipline.
B. Logic helps you to become a better thinker.
C. The study of philosophy brings you immediate benefits.
D. The meaning of philosophy is too limited to define.
解析：B正确
根据文章，哪项是正确的？
A. 错误。哲学与很多学科息息相关，不能作为单独的学科看。
C．错误。文中说到哲学不一定能帮助你找到工作，而是从长远角度上对职业发展有益。
D. 错误。哲学是由于太广泛而无法定义。
B.正确。文章第二段谈到了逻辑学。

参考译文：
哲学的字面意思对智慧的爱。但是单凭这个意思我们对哲学依旧是知之甚少。与其他学科不同，哲学不能用你所学的知识给予定义，因为它是无限的。任何事情都可以成为哲学的研究对象：艺术，历史，法律，语言，文学，数学，实际上，剩下的这些学术性学科都直接与哲学相关。正是这样的原因，你可以在生物化学或是计算机科学，抑或是心理学学科中获得哲学博士学位。

哲学的两大分支是逻辑学和哲学史。逻辑学是辨证与判断思维的科学。它提供区分推理好坏的有效方法。哲学史涉及了主要哲学家以及哲学发展时期的研究。

哲学有什么用呢？首先，它有利于教育发展。它能够帮助理解其他学科。只有哲学质疑一门学科中采纳的观点和该观点与其他学科的联系。通过学习哲学，一个人可以培养出研究和分析的优秀方法，能够在任何领域得到应用。

哲学有许多普遍的用途。它可以增强一个人的各项能力，如解决问题，交际，思维组织，事务组织，劝说的能力，从庞大数据中分辨出最重要的部分的能力。这些用途首先对工作相当有帮助，并不是说这是一个人毕业找第一份工作的必备，但是可以为职业责任感，管理以及之后的领导做好准备。

毕竟仅抱着得到第一份工作的目的去学习是缺乏远见的。通过学习哲学而培养出的有用技能对职业发展有着长远的益处。其他学科无法系统地从智慧，领导力和能力的角度解决人类自身的矛盾。

 

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词汇及短语：
philosophy: 来自希腊语 philosophia＜philo-爱+ sophy 智慧，其原义是对知识的热爱，现在是“哲学”的意思
discipline: 学科
doctorate: 博士学位
biochemistry: 生物化学
psychology: 心理学
reasoning: 运用思考、理解、推想等能力的做法或过程;推理