第八十六讲

    Para. 6b Perhaps, worst of all, the Ph.D. subject is deliberately kept small, so that the student will be able to claim mastery of something. Four to eight years of deliberate narrowing can have the effect of incapacitating him from ever taking a broad view of anything. The result of all this mental drill tends to be a mashed human, a hollow person.

    Para. 6c Only a very sturdy soul, such as a Freud or a Schweitzer, can come through all this and still retain the ability to think for himself. University study could, with no intrinsic loss, be shortened from eight years to four.

    Para. 7 These suggested reductions in compulsory education would have another powerful advantage: They might set our people’sminds largely free, a result surely to be wished.

    Four to eight years of deliberate narrowing can have the effect of incapacitating him from ever taking a broad view of anything. (Para.6)
    这四至八年蓄意限制的学习会导致学生不再能以开阔的视角去看待事物。
    1) incapacitate (somebody from): vt. 使（某人）不能做某事，使无能力
    e.g.
    He was incapacitated from working after the accident.
    事故后他失去了工作能力。
    2) take a...view of: 观测；检察；对某事持······的看法/观点
    take a general view of the economical development: 综观经济发展
    take a dim/dark view of: 对······持悲观的态度

    They might set our people’s minds largely free, a result surely to be wished. (Para.7)
    它们或许会使人们享有充分的思维自由，而这肯定是人们所希望的结果。
    a result surely to be wished 是独立主格结构，相当于状语从句，对主句加以评注说明。
此句也可以表述为：They might set our people’s minds largely free. And that result was surely to be wished.

    Para. 6b 或许，更糟的是，博士课程的范围被故意缩小，以便学生能够自称掌握了一点东西。这四至八年蓄意限制的学习会导致学生不再能以开阔的视角去看待事物。所有这些智力训练的结果往往造就了无用之材，空乏之躯。

    Para. 6c 只有意志极其坚毅的人，诸如像弗洛伊德或施韦策，才能经受所有这些，且仍能保持自我思维的能力。大学学习，若能保存其本质的内容，可从八年缩短到四年。

    Para. 7 这些对义务教育进行缩减的建议将有另一个强大的优势：它们或许会使人们享有充分的思维自由，而这肯定是人们所希望的结果。