If a goal is worthy, then any means taken to attain it are justifiable.
Write a response in which you discuss the extent to which you agree or disagree with the statement and explain your reasoning for the position you take. In developing and supporting your position, you should consider ways in which the statement might or might not hold true and explain how these considerations shape your position.
五問:
(1)一般我們在評判一種手段是否正當?shù)臅r候,依據(jù)的標準有哪些?達到目標當然是評判的標準之一,但我們是否忽略了其他可能的標準?你能羅列一兩個嗎?并請說說這些標準會如何影響我們的評判過程?例如:道德和法律。如果為了達到目標而不擇手段,違背社會道德和法律制度,這些手段也是正當?shù)膯幔?/p>
(2)你能否舉出這樣一個例子:目標是好的,但是由于達成目標的手段不正當而受人非議?例如:舉債做慈善的黃某和妻子為了救助農民工子女和農民子弟學校,欠下了上百萬的債務,雖然傾盡所有去幫助別人,卻對家人十分無情和吝嗇,不給家里一分錢,很久不回去看望自己的父母,甚至還要向父母要車票錢。
(3)反之,你是否還能想出另外一個例子:目標是值得為之努力的,盡管采取了不那么光彩的手段,卻得到了人們的認可?說說這兩個例子之間的差異在哪里?譬如,有些記者為了報道一些“黑心”作坊或者拆穿街上的小廣告上的騙局,假裝合作騙取對方的信任。這兩個例子,同樣是為了實現(xiàn)正當?shù)哪繕硕扇×瞬徽數(shù)氖侄?,但一個遭人非議,一個得到認可,原因在于前者侵犯了人的權利。
(4)“目標”和“達成目標的手段”真的能簡單地一分為二嗎?一個用糟糕的方式達成的目標是可以被接受的嗎?
(5)如果人人都持有原命題的觀點,會有什么樣的結果?這種結果是好還是壞?如果每個人都為了達到目標而不擇手段,世界會是怎樣的?我們在追求目標的同時,應該兼顧哪些方面?
翻譯練習:
促進當?shù)匕l(fā)展并因此改善人們生活可能是企業(yè)家經(jīng)常用來使自己的行為合理化的最具欺騙性的話了:建設工廠通常是一把雙刃劍,但是很多公司經(jīng)常以即刻獲得的經(jīng)濟利益為煙霧來掩蓋可能對環(huán)境及人們的健康造成的危害。
參考答案:
s lives may well be the most deceptive kind of claim frequently employed by entrepreneurs to justify their actions: building factories is often a double-edged sword, yet many companies often hide the potential harms to the environment and to people's health behind the smoking screens of immediate economic gains.
翻譯練習:
在商業(yè)圈,任何不符合市場競爭規(guī)則的行為都會被懲罰。這種對公司行為的約束事實上有益于它們的長期發(fā)展,因為任何一個試圖通過卑鄙手段達到目標的公司,有一天也可能被另一個公司用類似的手段暗中破壞(sabotage)。
參考答案:
In the business world, any activities that are out of keeping with the general market competition rules will be punished. Such limitations on companies' actions are actually beneficial to their long-term development, since any company, which tries to hit its target through contemptible means, may one day get sabotaged by the other company through similar tricks.