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我的研究主要涉及一个抽象的课题:人类知识的问题,尤其是科学知识的问题。我是一个乐观主义者;在知识分子当中,如果要“赶时髦”,就必须是一个悲观主义者,这已经成为一条严格的规则。但是我确信,我们的时代并不象通常所认为的那样坏;我确信,我们的时代要比它的名声更美好。25年前,我作过一次演讲,演讲的题目今天听起来似乎比当时更具有挑衅的味道:《我们时代的历史:一个乐观主义者的观点》。
My research mainly involves an abstract subject: the problem of human knowledge, especially the problem of scientific knowledge. I am an optimist. Among the intellectuals, if you want to be “fashionable,” you must be a pessimist. This has become a strict rule. But I am convinced that our time is not as bad as usually thought; I am sure that our time will be better than its reputation. Twenty-five years ago I made a speech in which the topic of the speech today sounds more provocative than it was now: “The history of our time: an optimist view.”