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Scientists: Admit You Have Values（2）
It is well known that people are more likely to accept evidence that accords with what they already believe. Psychologists call this gt;“motivated reasoning,” and although the term is relatively recent, the insight is not. Four hundred years ago Francis Bacon put it this way: “Human understanding is not composed of dry light, but is subject to influence from the will and the emotions ... man prefers to believe what he wants to be true.”
众所周知，人们更倾向于接受符合他们已经相信的证据。心理学家将其称为“动机推理”，尽管该术语相对较新，但其内涵却并非如此。早在四百年前，弗朗西斯·培根（Francis Bacon）这样说道：“人类的理解力不是干燥的光，而是受意志和情感影响……人类更愿意相信自己希望成真的事物。”
Scientists may assume this motivated reasoning explains erroneous positions—such as the refusal to wear a mask to limit the spread of COVID-19—but plays little role in science. Alas, there is little evidence to support such confidence. Some research suggests that even with financial incentives, most people are apparently incapable of escaping their biases. Thus, the problem seems to be not a matter of will but of capacity. Great scientists may think because they are trained to be objective, they can avoid the pitfalls into which ordinary people fall. But that isn’t necessarily the case.
科学家们可能认为这种有动机的推论能够解释某些错误立场，例如拒绝戴口罩以限制COVID-19的传播，但在科学中作用很小。几乎没有证据支持这种信心。一些研究表明，即便有金钱激励，大多数人显然也无法摆脱偏见。因此，问题似乎不在于意志，而在于能力。伟大的科学家可能会认为，由于受过客观训练，他们便可以避免普通人掉入的陷阱。但这不一定是事实。
【积累表达】
accord with 与……一致，符合
be composed of 由……组成
be subject to 易受……影响的，屈服于……，让步于……
be incapable of 不能
【重点词汇】
insight n.洞察力，深刻的见解；领悟，顿悟
erroneous a.错误的，不正确的
incentive n.刺激，诱因，动机
pitfall n.陷阱；意想不到的困难，易犯的错误
【注】dry light意为不受人的意志和情绪影响的人类理解力。
It is well known that people are more likely to accept evidence that accords with what they already believe. Psychologists call this gt;“motivated reasoning,” and although the term is relatively recent, the insight is not. Four hundred years ago Francis Bacon put it this way: “Human understanding is not composed of dry light, but is subject to influence from the will and the emotions ... man prefers to believe what he wants to be true.”
众所周知，人们更倾向于接受符合他们已经相信的证据。心理学家将其称为“动机推理”，尽管该术语相对较新，但其内涵却并非如此。早在四百年前，弗朗西斯·培根（Francis Bacon）这样说道：“人类的理解力不是干燥的光，而是受意志和情感影响……人类更愿意相信自己希望成真的事物。”
Scientists may assume this motivated reasoning explains erroneous positions—such as the refusal to wear a mask to limit the spread of COVID-19—but plays little role in science. Alas, there is little evidence to support such confidence. Some research suggests that even with financial incentives, most people are apparently incapable of escaping their biases. Thus, the problem seems to be not a matter of will but of capacity. Great scientists may think because they are trained to be objective, they can avoid the pitfalls into which ordinary people fall. But that isn’t necessarily the case.
科学家们可能认为这种有动机的推论能够解释某些错误立场，例如拒绝戴口罩以限制COVID-19的传播，但在科学中作用很小。几乎没有证据支持这种信心。一些研究表明，即便有金钱激励，大多数人显然也无法摆脱偏见。因此，问题似乎不在于意志，而在于能力。伟大的科学家可能会认为，由于受过客观训练，他们便可以避免普通人掉入的陷阱。但这不一定是事实。
【积累表达】
accord with 与……一致，符合
be composed of 由……组成
be subject to 易受……影响的，屈服于……，让步于……
be incapable of 不能
【重点词汇】
insight n.洞察力，深刻的见解；领悟，顿悟
erroneous a.错误的，不正确的
incentive n.刺激，诱因，动机
pitfall n.陷阱；意想不到的困难，易犯的错误
【注】dry light意为不受人的意志和情绪影响的人类理解力。
