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In Defense of Feelings 相信你的直觉

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Why your gut is more ethical than your brain  探究为何你的直觉比理智还更有道德情操（译注：gut或gut feeling指直觉、本能，而gut的原意是肚子，而brain除了指大脑外，也代表智力、智慧，引申为理智）的原因

If you’ve ever been part of a discussion on ethics, chances are you didn’t spend much time talking about your feelings. It’s believed that to live ethically, we must engage our reason, which reins in the whims and follies of emotion. But what if unethical behavior is actually spurred, rather than prevented, by reason?

如果你曾和别人一起讨论过有关道德的议题，那么在谈话中，你很可能没花多少时间来谈自己的感觉（译注：意指道德议题往往被认为和情感、感觉毫无关连）。一般认为，若想过着合乎道德的生活。就非得运用理智不可，因为只有理智才能驾驭住感情上的突发奇想或愚蠢莽撞。不过，如果我们发现，理智不但无法防范不道德的行为，反而是引发不道德行为的元凶的话，又将作何感想呢？

Putting ethics to the test  检验道德

Consider a provocative series of experiments conducted by Chen-Bo Zhong of the University of Toronto. He put test subjects into interactions with an anonymous partner where they had two options: to treat their partners fairly or to lie to them. If they decided to lie, they would gain at the expense of their partners.

（译注：put… to the test指使接受考验、考验）

不妨思索一下多伦多大学的宗晨博（音译）所进行的一连串争议性实验。他让受试对象和不具名的同伴互动，并给予受试者两种选择：他们可以选择公平对待同伴，或是向他们撒谎；而如果他们决定说谎，则自己本身会受益，但却会牺牲了同伴的权益。

Before making the decision, the test subjects were given some guidance. Some were encouraged to think rationally about the situation and to ignore their emotions. Equipped with this advice, the great majority (69 percent) analyzed the situation and concluded that they should [cheat] their partners. Others were primed to “make decisions based on gut feelings.” Their guts were pretty trustworthy: Only 27 percent lied.

在受试者做决定之前，研究人员会给他们一些指引。部份人会被鼓励去理性思考整个情况，而且要忽略自己的感情。受试者听了这个建议之后，最后有绝大多数的人（六成九）在分析大局之后，做出了要欺骗同伴的结论。其他人接受的指点则是「依据自己内心的直觉来作决定」，结果显示，他们的直觉相当值得信赖：因为只有二成七的人决定说谎。

There’s a twist: Even though the study shows that we would be treated better by people who trust their feelings, we’re leery of them. When people were given a choice to interact with a rational decision-making partner or a gut-trusting one, 75 percent chose the rational partner.

不过，这项研究也有个出乎意外的转折：那就是即使研究结果显示，听从直觉行事的人会更善待我们，但我们却容易对这些人怀有戒心，因为当受试者可以挑选究竟想和理性判断的同伴互动，还是该选择靠直觉行事的同伴时，足足有七成五的人会挑选理性的同伴。

Zhong concluded that “deliberative processes can license morally questionable behaviors by forcing on tangible monetary outcomes and reducing emotional influence.” If only such behavior were limited to the lab.

宗晨博做出的结论是，「在受试者深思熟虑究竟该挑选何者为同伴的研议过程中，往往会聚焦在有形的金钱收获上，并企图降低情感对自己的影响，不让情感左右自己的决定，而任由道德上有争议的行为占了上风。（译注：license指授权、任由、放纵）」但愿这类行为只会出现在实验室里。

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engage [ɪnˋgedʒ] v. 参与; 从事; 占用（时间，精力等）

reason [ˋrizn] n. 理性，理智；判断力 the capacity for logical, rational, and analytic thought; intelligence; Good judgment; sound sense

rein [ren] v. 驾驭；控制，统治[O][（+in）]

folly [ˋfɑlɪ] n. 蠢事，愚行；傻念头

spur [spɝ] v. 激励；鼓舞

anonymous [əˋnɑnəməs] adj. 匿名的；姓氏不明的

at the expense of something  以……为代价 with the loss of something

gut feeling  直觉；直觉情绪 A gut feeling, or gut reaction, is a visceral emotional reaction to something, and often one of uneasiness. Gut feelings are generally regarded as not modulated by conscious thought, and as a reflection of intuition rather than rationality.

trustworthy [ˋtrʌst͵wɝðɪ] adj. 值得信赖的，可信的，可靠的

twist [twɪst] n. 意外转折 An unexpected change in a process or a departure from a pattern.

license [ˋlaɪsns] v. 批准﹐ 许可

if only 但愿….; 要是….该多好 if only indicates the wish of any past thing which really didn't occur

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Dishonest banking  不诚实的银行业

Mike Francis worked at Morgan Stanley before the economic collapse. He bought up scads of questionable mortgages, meaning that the bank giving the loan would not verify the customer’s income or assets.

在这波经济崩盘之前，麦可．弗朗西斯原本在摩根士丹利投资银行工作。他帮公司买下了巨额的问题抵押贷款，这意味着放款银行并未验证客户的收入或资产，即核准贷款。（译注：在这波全球不景气之前，美国次级房贷风暴最先引爆，主要原因是，许多放款机构为了获取高额利息而贷款给一些信用可疑的购屋者，却未查证这些人的收入或资产是否属实，然后放款机构再把这些问题抵押贷款转手卖给如摩根士丹利等投资银行[弗朗西斯做的就是帮摩根士丹利买下问题抵押贷款]，摩根士丹利再把这些问题贷款集结起来并包装成债券，卖给投资大众。最后许多屋主信用破产还不出钱来，引发次贷风暴，贷款银行开始收紧银根，大量缴不出贷款的房屋遭到法拍，更导致房市大跌，最后引发经济崩盘的连锁效应。）

Francis said that, with the loans, the banks were “setting you up to lie. Something about that feels very wrong …. I wish we had never done it.”

弗朗西斯指出，银行处理那些贷款的态度就是「怂恿你去说谎」（译注：set one up指怂恿某人而导致其受骗或受害），我感觉事有蹊跷…真希望我们当时没有铸下大错。」

If you need a rationalization, your mind will provide one. For instance, many bankers clung to their analytical models, which “proved” that their investments would be okey. Unfortunately, the historical models weren’t all that accurate.

如果你需要把整件事合理化的话，你的理智自会提供合理的解释。例如，许多银行家紧抱着他们的分析模式不放，因为这些模式「证明」他们的投资不会出错。但遗憾的是，这些历史性的分析模式（译注：指纳入过去市场发生过的一些因子来计算的模式）并非如预期般正确无误。

Safety first  安全至上

A different industry provides a lesson in the value of heeding your gut about ethical choices. In 1987, Paul O’Neil took over as CEO of Alcoa, the world’s largest producer of aluminum. On his first day, he announced that no one who worked at Alcoa should ever be hurt at work. The acceptable rate of accidents was no accidents. This raised a lot of eyebrows. Working with aluminum is a dangerous business, and there are plenty of ways to get injured. And Alcoa already had a good safety record, in the top third of companies. O’Neill recalls the skeptical hallway conversations among senior managers: “When the next tough economic time comes, he’ll shut up about this.”

对于听从直觉来做出合乎道德的决定的重要性，另一个业界则提供了宝贵的功课。一九八七年，保罗．欧尼尔接任美国铝业公司执行长的职务，该公司是全球规模最大的铝生产商。他上任的头一天，就立即宣布，决不能让任何公司员工因公受伤，而公司所能接受的意外发生率就是零。这个意见引发了不少质疑，因为制铝业原本就是一个危险行业，有很多情况都容易导致受伤；再说美国铝业原本就在工安方面交出了漂亮的成绩单：位居业界前三名。欧尼尔还记得，当时公司资深经理人在走廊里窃窃私语说：「下一波经济不景气爆发时，他就会闭嘴不提工安了。」

He didn’t. O’Neill walled off the topic of safety from the “deliberative processes” that Zhong warned about. “If anyone ever calculates how much money we’re saving by being safe, they’re fired,” he told his team. Safety wasn’t a priority; it was a precondition. O’Neill’s resolve paid off. Alcoa became one of the safest companies in the world, despite the aluminum industry’s inherent risks.

但欧尼尔并未如他们所言，他甚至在宗晨博提出警告的「研议过程」中，完全杜绝了以安全为讨论主题（译注：意指安全根本就不容大家商量，而是绝对必要的前提）。「如果任何人想要算计我们公司能从重视工安上省下多少成本的话，这些人就会被解雇，」他如此告诉自己的团队。因为安全并非优先考虑的事项，而是先决条件。欧尼尔的决心最后证明非常值得，因为即使铝业本身存有潜在的危险，但美国铝业仍成了全球最安全的公司之一。

The balance of heart and head  情感与理智必须维持平衡

Guts aren’t perfect. For instance, we tend to feel so much empathy for individuals that it can doom our efforts to be impartial and consistent. But in the business world, we’ve tipped too far toward pure rationality. We need an emotional counterweight – and we already have it. When you’re in an ethically loaded situation and your gut talks, listen to it.

但直觉也并非完美无缺。例如，我们可能会对某些人过度同情，导致自己想保持公正不阿、始终如一的努力毁于一旦。不过，在商场上，人们倒很容易太过倾向纯理性思考，以致于亟需情感因子来与理智相抗衡──而且情感原本就存在于我们内心，不假外求。下回，当你面临道德上两难的困境，而你的直觉传达出一些讯息，请听从自己的直觉吧！

−by Dan Health & Chip Health

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scad [skæd] n. 许多；巨额

mortgage [ˋmɔrgɪdʒ] n. 抵押借款

verify [ˋvɛrə͵faɪ] v. 核对，查实；查清

set a person up 怂恿某人而导致其受骗或受害 to lead-by deception-a person to play a particular role in an event

cling [klɪŋ] v. 紧握不放 [(+to)]

heed [hid] v.【正式】听从; 注意〔别人的建议或警告〕

raise eyebrows 使怀疑, 使吃惊 to shock or surprise people

hallway [ˋhɔl͵we] n.【美】玄关；门厅，走廊

wall [wɔl] v. 用墙围住（或分隔，防护）[（+in/off）] to separate or segregate something by building a wall

precondition [͵prikənˋdɪʃən] n. 先决条件

resolve [rɪˋzɑlv] n. 决心; 坚决，刚毅，果断

pay off【口】(尤指冒风险的政策、做法等)带来好结果, 成功, 行得通 to result in success

inherent [ɪnˋhɪrənt] adj. 内在的；固有的，与生俱来的

empathy [ˋɛmpəθɪ] n. 同情; 同感

doom [dum] v. 使毁灭

impartial [ɪmˋpɑrʃəl] adj. 不偏不倚的，公正的，无偏见的

tip [tɪp] v. 使倾斜

单词发音

Vocabulary Focus

whim [hwɪm] n. 突发的念头﹐ 一时的兴致 a sudden desire or idea, especially one that cannot be reasonably explained

provocative [prəˋvɑkətɪv] adj.〔行为﹑话语等〕使人生气的; 挑衅的; 煽动的; 引起争论的 causing thought about interesting subjects

prime [praɪm] v. 事先给……指导；事先为……提供消息 to tell someone something that will prepare him or her for a particular situation

leery [ˋlɪrɪ] adj.【非正式】怀有戒心的﹐ 不信任的 suspicious of someone or something

deliberative [dɪˋlɪbə͵retɪv] adj. 慎重的；审议的 characterized by debate, discussion and examination

tangible [ˋtændʒəb!] adj. 有形的；有实体的 real or not imaginary; able to be shown, touched or experienced

counterweight [ˋkaʊntɚ͵wet] n. 抗衡的行为(或提议); 平衡物 an influence the equally counters or lessens the effect of something else