50. Free Will 自由意志
A: Do you believe in free will, Frank? Or do you think that
everything a person does is determined1 in advance?
B: I think that man always has free choice.
A: But look. Suppose you knew everything about someone, where he was
born, what his parents were like, everything that happened to him
since he was a baby, even what he had for breakfast and how his
shoes were tied. If you know all those things, don't you think you
could predict his behavior?
B: Stated that way I might be tempted2 to agree. But surely you don't
believe one can ever know all these things about people. For all
practical purposes, you'd have to say man has free will.
Notes
Free will 自由的选择
Stated-said, presented
Tempted-induced, lured3
A:你相信自由意志吗,弗兰克?或者你认为一个人做的每件事都是事先定好的?
B:我想每人都可能随时做出选择。
A:但是,假定你知道某人的一切:他在何处出生,他的父母是什么模样,从幼儿起他所经历的一切事,甚至他早餐吃些什么和他鞋如何系鞋带。如果你知道所有这些事,难道你不认为你能预知他的行为吗?
B:在这个意义上,我会同意你的说法。但是你肯定不会认为一个人能够了解到有关别人的所有这些细节。因此,现实地说,你还是应该承认人有无法预计的自由行动的可能