21. Investing in research which may have controversial results
| Money spent on research is almost always a good investment, even when the results of that research are controversial. 投注在研究上的金錢幾乎總是理想的投資，就算該研究的結果具有爭議 |
相關題目
關於研究方向： 30, 31, 34, 74, 109, 207, 217
選擇立場
應該算是平衡立場
- 贊成： 研究大多有其價值，值得投資，不管其結果是否具有爭議性 (關於「爭議性」這點，題目其實無意義地觸及)
- 反對： 任何研究都得審慎評估、合理投注資源，而非恣意消耗資源，不管其結果是否具爭議性 (關於「爭議性」這點，題目其實無意義地觸及)
- 新結論： 不管其結果是否具爭議性，一項研究投資只有在審慎評估、合理監督的情況下，才會是個理想的投資 (研究的結果都有好有壞，重點在「人」怎麼使用)
論證過程
既然是平衡立場，就採取對照式論證
開頭
重點在於點出此問題的複雜
- 背景論述： 關於研究，並與題目的「爭議性」牽點關係，涉及有些研究是具爭議性的 (爭議性的點：錢花太多、時間花太久、成功性低、可能導致的後果)
- 問題： 爭議性的研究是否值得投資？
- 這個論述是對的： 很多爭議性的研究確實造福人類社群 (這裡的爭議性本質上是因為「未知」，很多研究都是在眾人不相信的情況下成功的)
- 這個論述是錯的： 很多爭議性的研究(可能)導致人類的災難 (這裡的爭議性因為「研究結果好壞兼具」)
- 立場： 這是個複雜的問題，並不是簡單地回答「是」或「不是」，應更仔細地分析 (開啟正文之分析)
正文
- 正方論點
- 我們需要探索未知 (呼應首段)，需要研究
- 爭議性研究帶給我們的實際助益 (ex: 醫療性研究、電腦)
- 研究是值得投資的，無論其是否具有爭議性
- 反方論點
結論
佳句
正方
- research is the exploration of the unknown for true answers to our questions, and for lasting solutions to our enduring problems
- research is also the chief means by which we humans attempt to satisfy our insatiable appetite for knowledge, and our craving to understand ourselves and the world around us.
- if research is to be of any value it must explore uncharted and unpredictable territory.
- ...... sound investment--because it is an investment in the advancement of human knowledge and in human imagination and spirit.
反方
- research whose objectives are too vague and whose potential benefits are too speculative
- expansive research always carries significant opportunity costs--in terms of how the money might be spent toward addressing society's more immediate problems that do not require research.
- the exorbitant amount of money devoted to the initiative could have gone a long way toward addressing pressing social problems of the day--by establishing after-school programs for delinquent latchkey kids, by enhancing AIDS awareness and education, and so forth.
- no amount of research can completely solve the enduring problems of war, poverty, and violence, for the reason that they stem from certain aspects of human nature--such as aggression and greed. ......
...... it is up to our economists, diplomatics, social reformers, and jurists--not our research laboratories--to mitigate these problems.
- for every new research breakthrough that helps reduce human sufferings is another that serves primarily to add to that suffering.
- so-called "advances" that scientific research has brought about often amount to net losses for humanity.
- ...... begs the question, because we cannot know whether research will turn out controversial until we've invested in it.
- when we do research purely for its own sake--without aim or clear purpose--we risk squandering resources which could have been applied to relieve the immediate suffering of dispirited, disadvantaged and disenfranchised members of society.
結尾
- In the final analysis, given finite economic resources we are forced to strike a balance in how we allocate those resources among competing societal objectives.
Top
180. The proper use of public resources
| As long as people in a society are hungry or out of work or lack the basic skills needed to survive, the use of public resources to support the arts is inappropriate--and, perhaps, even cruel--when one considers all the potential uses of such money. 只要一個社會當中還有人挨餓、失業、缺乏生存的基本技能，那麼用公眾的資源來資助藝術活動就有所不當 ---或許，甚至是殘酷不仁--- 當一個人考慮到這些金錢的所有可能用途時 |
相關題目
關於社會方案優先權： 10, 46, 180, 237
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