English Newspaper (4) Will the Sun Rise Tomorrow?

There are some very famous and interesting philosophical questions. One of them is this: ‘Will the Sun rise tomorrow?’

Common sense?

基本常識？

What is your first reaction to this question? You might say: “What kind of question is that? Of course the Sun will rise tomorrow! Even a little kid knows that! It's just common sense!”

聽到這個問題你的第一個反應是什麼？你可能會說：「這是什麼問題？明天太陽當然會升起！連小孩都知道！這只是基本常識！”

But let me ask you: “How do you know the Sun will rise tomorrow? What reasons do you have to believe that the Sun will rise tomorrow? Is it really reasonable to believe that the Sun will rise tomorrow?” What would your answer be? 

但讓我問你：「你怎麼知道明天太陽會升起？你有什麼理由相信明天太陽會升起？相信明天太陽會升起真的合理嗎？”你的答案是什麼？

You might say: “Well, the Sun rose every morning in the past. Therefore, it will rise tomorrow.”

你可能會說：「嗯，過去每天早上太陽都會升起。因此，明天將會太陽升起。”

But is it really that simple? Why will something happen in the future just because it happened in the past? A person may have been breathing for 80 years, but if he dies tomorrow, he will not breathe anymore, right?

但事情真的有這麼簡單嗎？為什麼某件事會發生在過去，就會在未來發生？一個人可能已經呼吸了80年，但是如果他明天就死了，他就不會再呼吸了，對嗎？

Laws of nature

自然法則

A scientist might come to help you: “The Sun and all the celestial bodies obey the laws of nature. The Earth revolves round the Sun. That explains why the Sun has risen every morning in the past and will do so again tomorrow.”

一位科學家可能會來幫助你：「太陽和所有天體都遵守自然法則。地球繞著太陽旋轉。這就解釋了為什麼太陽在過去每天早晨都會升起，並且明天會再次升起。”

Yet that seemingly reasonable answer only pushes the question one step backward. How will the scientist answer this question: “Why do you think the laws of nature will continue to work in the future just because they have worked so far?”

然而，這個看似合理的答案卻只是讓問題倒退了一步。科學家將如何回答這個問題：“為什麼你認為自然法則在未來會繼續發揮作用，僅僅因為它們到目前為止已經發揮了作用？”

Are you (and the scientist) stuck now? Can you see why the philosophers think such a sunrise question is so intriguing? 

你（和科學家）現在陷入困境了嗎？你能明白為什麼哲學家認為這樣的日出問題如此有趣嗎？

Problem of Induction

歸納問題

This is an illustration of the problem of induction. Induction is the process of predicting unobserved facts in other places or future facts by observing past facts. 

這是歸納問題的一個例證。歸納法是透過觀察過去的事實來預測其他地方未觀察到的事實或未來的事實的過程。

If induction is invalid, we will be in big trouble. We cannot be sure that the water we drink tomorrow is not poisonous; we cannot be sure we still have two eyes and one mouth tomorrow; we cannot be sure gravity will still work tomorrow… 

如果歸納無效，我們就有大麻煩了。我們無法確定明天喝的水是否有毒；我們不能確定明天我們仍然有兩隻眼睛和一張嘴；我們不能確定重力明天是否仍然有效…

Vocabulary

celestial body (n phr) 天體

law of nature (n phr) 自然定律

revolve (v) 環繞

stuck (adj) 被問倒的

intriguing (adj) 引人入勝的

induction (n) 歸納法

^{源:https://student.thestandard.com.hk/text/juniorstandard/article/stories/657}

^{中文翻譯:晚晚有魚}