论《格列佛游记》中对自然科学的讽刺

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浙江财经学院硕士学位论文

摘要

格列佛游记的第三个岛总是和科学这个主题联系在一起。自 1936 年Marjorie

Nicolson 发表了著名的《斯威夫特第三个岛的科学背景》起，很多学者试图去阐

释斯威夫特的科学观。然而，评论家对于斯威夫特的科学观有各种各样的看法。

本篇论文试图证明斯威夫特在《格列佛游记》的第三个岛对自然科学的态度是讽

刺的。他认为自然科学没有任何实际的用处，因为它没能给社会带来任何进步。

自然科学的研究还有可能会弊大于利一旦科学家成为统治者的统治和镇压人民

的帮凶。在这篇论文中，斯威夫特对科学讽刺的动机将从历史和个人的方面来分

析，或者说从客观和主观的方面来分析。从历史方面来说，英国的科学热第一次

在全国广泛流行的是在斯威夫特出生之前，而科学真正应用到实际生活的是在他

去世之后。此外，在斯威夫特所处的那个年代，一些科学方法正处于形成阶段，

科学家们的研究容易出错。他们的科学研究在别人看来似乎荒唐又可笑。而当有

些科学家的研究失败时，讽刺家们就会利用这些机会来进行讽刺。事实上，科学

家和讽刺家对科学研究的判断是基于两种不同的认识论。当判断科学研究是否有

用，是否可行时，讽刺家往往是根据常识来判断，而科学家则更倾向于依靠专业

知识和直觉。但是，常识并不是一项用来判断科学研究是否合理的可靠标准。讽

刺家往往因为个人因素，党派或道德关怀来讽刺科学家。从个人方面来说，斯威

夫特对科学的讽刺主要出于道德关怀。Wood’s halfpence 的事件使得他对大科学

家牛顿非常的愤怒。在他看来，牛顿在这个事件中成了英国政府殖民爱尔兰的帮

凶。作为一个道德主义者和爱国主义者，他在《格列佛游记》的第三个岛中对牛

顿进行了强烈的抨击。

关键词：斯威夫特；讽刺；《格列佛游记》；自然科学

浙江财经学院硕士学位论文

Content

Introduction..................................................................................................................1

Chapter1. Natural Science in Swift’s Time................................................................5

1.1. The Scope of Natural Science..........................................................................5

1.2. Two Traditions of Natural Science...................................................................9

Chapter2. A Country Crazy about Science .............................................................12

2.1 Satire on Natural Philosophers on the Flying Island ......................................12

2.2 Satire on Projectors in the Grand Academy....................................................16

2.3 Flying Island—an Instrument of Domination.................................................20

Chapter 3 Historical and Personal Reasons for Swift’s Satire on Science ...........23

3.1 Predicament of the Royal Society...................................................................23

3.2 Conflict between Satirists and Scientists........................................................27

3.3 Personal Experience’s Effect on Swift’s View of Science..............................32

Conclusion ..................................................................................................................37

Bibliography...............................................................................................................39

Acknowledgements ....................................................................................................43

III

浙江财经学院硕士学位论文

Introduction

In Gulliver’s Travels, the third voyage is quite different from the other three. This

section seems to lack attractive plot and structural coherence. The content of the third

voyage falls into four loosely parts: story of the flying island, the sketch of the Grand

Academy of Lagado; the account of Gulliver’s experiences in Glubbdubdrib, and the

description of the revolting immortals of Luggnagg. Some modern critics urge that the

third voyage is neither a strong nor a necessary part of Gulliver’s Travels. “[H]ad part

III been omitted entirely and part IV been toned down and brought into closer accord

with the second voyage, Gulliver’s Travels would be a finer work of art.” (Quintana,

1953: 327) In fact, this part has great significance in its reputation as a famous satirical

novel. For instance, the story of the flying island and the Grand Academy of Lagado

satirizes natural science; Gulliver’s experience in Glubbdubdrib satirizes mistakes made

by historians; Immortals of Luggnagg satirizes the desire for long life. “Everything he

did not satirize in other three parts, it is sometime remarked, threw together here.”(Todd,

1978: 93) Of course, science is concerned most by the modern scholars.

There have been a number of attempts to grip with Swift and science1. In the 1930s,

Marjorie Nicolson’s most memorable work, “The Scientific Background of Swift’s

Voyage to Laputa,” is a pioneering one studying Swift’s scientific subject. However,

commentators disagree on the Swift’s attitude towards science. Sun shaoxian in his

essay, “Scientific Theme in Gulliver’s Travels”, states that Swift’s grotesque description

of projectors on the flying island of Laputa and in the Grand Academy of Lagado is an

attack on the morality of the new science. He thinks that Swift concerns what the

scientific technology will bring to us if it is misguided. For many scholars, however,

1 The Oxford English Dictionary, 2rd edition. Prepared by J. A. Simpson, and E. S. C. Weiner. Oxford: Clarendon

Press, (1989), Volum XIV: P 649. “In modern use, ‘science’ is often treated as synonymous with ‘natural and physical

science’, and thus restricted to those branches of study that relate to the phenomena of the material universe and their

laws, sometimes with implied exclusion of pure mathematics. This is now the dominant sense in ordinary use.” So in

this thesis, ‘science’ is used as synonymous with ‘natural science’.

浙江财经学院硕士学位论文

science is not the main object of Swift. For instance, George Reuben Potter made an

observation that “Swift considers scientific experiment a harmless trivial form of

amusement.” (Potter, 1941: 97) In “Swift and Natural Science”, George Reuben Potter

demonstrates that Swift has many friends who were the virtuosos (science-lover) or the

members of Royal society, and Swift himself read a lot of book about natural

philosophy. So it is impossible for Swift to satirize on science. He believes that Swift

ridicules human pride in scientific progress, as he ridicules all other forms of pride; but

he really did not take the natural science seriously as object for condemnation and his

main purpose in Gulliver’s Travels is to attack men’s pride in their own achievements.

In the same vein, Sutherland pointed out that “the third voyage is devoted, particularly,

to satire on source of intellectual pride.” (Sutherland, 1957: 46)

This thesis attempts to demonstrate that Swift satirizes natural science in the third

part of Gulliver’s Travels. He believes that natural science does not have any practical

utility because it cannot help to promote the development of society. And the natural

science might do more harm than good if a scientist conspires with government to rule

their people. The formative element of Swift’s satire on natural science is studied from

historical and personal aspects.

The thesis starts from an introduction to some science knowledge closely

associated with the theme of this thesis. So far, scholars naturally connect the third

voyage of Gulliver’s Travels to the theme of natural science. “Natural science” also is

the key words of this thesis. However, readers will find that Swift does not use it in the

Gulliver’s Travels even once. Instead, the term “natural philosophy” which has the

similar meaning with “natural science”, occurs twice in this novel. So the relationship

between “natural science” and “natural philosophy” will be exposited by tracing back to

the history of science from Aristotle to the nineteenth century, then to find out if the

scope of natural science was embodied in natural philosophy in Swift’ time. Another

science knowledge concerning the theme of this thesis is the two traditions of science,

spirit tradition and technical tradition. Technical tradition, which aims to solve the

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摘要：

浙江财经学院硕士学位论文摘要格列佛游记的第三个岛总是和科学这个主题联系在一起。自1936年MarjorieNicolson发表了著名的《斯威夫特第三个岛的科学背景》起，很多学者试图去阐释斯威夫特的科学观。然而，评论家对于斯威夫特的科学观有各种各样的看法。本篇论文试图证明斯威夫特在《格列佛游记》的第三个岛对自然科学的态度是讽刺的。他认为自然科学没有任何实际的用处，因为它没能给社会带来任何进步。自然科学的研究还有可能会弊大于利一旦科学家成为统治者的统治和镇压人民的帮凶。在这篇论文中，斯威夫特对科学讽刺的动机将从历史和个人的方面来分析，或者说从客观和主观的方面来分析。从历史方面来说，英国的科学热第一...

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