早稲田法 2015 II フレーズ訳・解説

原文はこちら

① 

Throughout history, 

the lack of knowledge 

about what is going on 

　　　　　in the minds of infants and animals 

has generated guesswork, projection, and imagination. 

※what is going on「何が起きているか」

But in the past twenty years, 

ingenious laboratory experiments and discoveries 

in evolutionary biology 

have been opening windows 

of understanding 

〔that had once been thought 

　permanently shuttered〕. 

※in evolutionary biology → in「～の分野で」

Contemporary developmental research 

is changing our understanding 

of the interaction between nature and nurture.

② 

Paul Bloom

, a developmental psychologist at Yale University, 

argues that 

Thomas Jefferson

, the American philosopher and president, 

was right 

when he wrote: 

"The moral sense, or conscience, 

is as much a part of man 

as his leg or arm. 

It is given to all human beings 

in a stronger or weaker degree." 

※argue that 「～と言う、主張する」

※as much A as B 「Bと同様にAである」

Some aspects of morality

, says Bloom, 

"come naturally to us," 

including empathy and compassion, 

an ability to distinguish kind from cruel actions, 

a rudimentary sense of fairness, 

and a rudimentary sense of justice. 

"Rudimentary" is critical, of course. 

No one disputes that 

culture, family, and society 

work on those rudiments 

to shape, enhance, or extinguish those qualities.

③ 

Still, 

how would one measure "the moral sense" 

in a baby? 

Here's an example from Bloom 

〔that illustrates the method and the results〕:

The one-year-old 

decided to take justice into his own hands. 

He had just watched 

a puppet show with three characters. 

The puppet in the middle 

rolled a ball 

to the puppet on the right

, who passed it right back to him. 

※who = the puppet on the right

※him = the puppet in the middle

It then rolled the ball 

to the puppet on the left

, who ran away with it. 

※It then → It = the puppet in the middle

※who = the puppet on the left

※with it → it = the ball

At the end of the show, 

the "nice" puppet and the "naughty" puppet 

were brought down from the stage 

and set before the boy. 

A treat was placed 

in front of each of them, 

and the boy was invited 

to take one of the treats away. 

※take O away「Oを取り上げる」

As predicted, 

and like most toddlers in this experiment, 

he took it from the "naughty" one

―the one who ran away with the ball. 

But this wasn't enough. 

The boy then leaned over 

and smacked the puppet on the head.

④ 

Bloom explains that 

by "moral" 

he means 

an inherent sense of right and wrong 

〔that is not learned, 

　not taught in school 

　or by religion〕, 

but 〔which is the product of biological evolution〕.

Bloomは説明する

"moral"という言葉で

彼は意味する

遺伝する感覚／善悪の

〔それは学ばれない

　教えられない／学校で

　また宗教によっても〕

そうではなく〔産物である／生物学的進化の〕

※not A but B「AでなくてB」

At its base, 

he argues, 

morality reflects our gut feelings 

〔that certain acts are just plain wrong

　―cruel, unkind, unfair, violations of human dignity〕. 

※at its base「その根底で」

※gut feeling「直感」→gut「内臓」

Any theory of moral psychology 

has to explain 

how these intuitions work 

and where they come from.

⑤ 

Although 

　the notion of the "rational man" 

　has long predicted that 

    people seek to maximize their own gains, 

the fact is that 

the "fairness bias" often trumps selfishness. 

※trump「～に勝る」

"It's not fair!" 

a small child will cry, 

and is usually right. 

Monkeys 

〔offered a treat〕 

〔they would normally enjoy〕 

may throw it on the ground 

in disgust 

if they see a neighboring monkey 

getting a better treat, 

and dogs, chimpanzees, and young children 

show the same signs of being bothered 

if they get a smaller reward 

than someone else. 

※offered a treat「ご褒美を差し出された」

※see O doing「Oが～しているのを見る」

Or consider a two-person psychological experiment 

〔called the Ultimatum Game〕, 

〔in which your partner gets a sum of money 

　and must decide how much to share with you〕. 

※in which = in the experiment

You can choose to accept your partner's offer, 

in which case 

you both get to keep your respective portions, 

or you can reject the offer, 

in which case 

neither of you gets a cent. 

※in which case「その場合は」

※neither of ...「...のどちらも～ない」

How low an offer would you accept?

It makes "rational" sense

to accept any amount at all,

no matter how insignificant,

because then

at least you will get something.

※It = to accept ...

※any amount at all　「どんな量でも」

But that is not

how people respond in this game.

If the offer is too low,

they are likely to reject it.

For players in industrial societies,

offers below 20 or 30 percent

are commonly rejected,

even when the amounts 〔they would receive〕

are large.

For players in other societies,

the percentages may be higher or lower,

but there is always some percentage

〔that people consider unfair and refuse to accept〕.

⑥ 

Cooperative tendencies and a desire for fairness

evolved

because they were beneficial to our ancestors,

ensuring teamwork and harmony

among members of a group.

Unfortunately,

the evolutionary price of that harmony

and helpfulness toward our own kind

is hostility and prejudice toward strangers

and competition with outgroups.

※price　「代償」

※helpfulness toward 「～に役立とうとすること」

Currently,

there is a fashionable temptation

to embrace biological and evolutionary reductionism

to explain this,

to believe that

"that's how we are built, for better or worse;

we can't do much about it;

we are irrational creatures after all."

The missing ingredient

in such an account

is reason.

Reason has driven

not only scientific discoveries,

but also moral progress,

such as awareness of the wrongness of slavery.

※drive 「～を促進する」

Moral progress is learned in individuals;

kindness toward strangers

is lacking in babies and young children.

⑦

An encompassing theory of our moral lives

must acknowledge its two parts.

The first is the rich biological inheritance

〔that evolution has provided〕:

empathy, compassion,

the capacity to judge the actions of others,

and a rudimentary understanding

of justice and fairness.

We are more than just babies, however;

a critical part of our morality

―so much of what makes us human―

emerges over the course of human history

and individual development.

※so much of 「～の大部分」

※what makes us human 「私たちを人間にしているもの→人間らしさ」

It is the product

of our compassion,

our imagination,

and our magnificent capacity for reason.

(1)

A

argues that

human morality is based

partly on an inherited ability

to empathize with others,

and partly on what we learn over the course of time.

※be based on 「～に基づいている」

B

casts doubt on the notion that

a person will accept any small gain,

even if it is less than what another receives.

C

criticizes the views

of those who dispute that

culture, family, and society

influence the development of human morality.

D

describes a psychologist's remark

about a former American leader's belief that

all human beings have at least some sense

of what is right and what is wrong.

E

explains that

new research enables us

to see into the minds

of those who cannot explain themselves in words,

such as babies and animals.

F

lists forms of entertainment,

such as violent puppet shows,

that human beings once enjoyed but no longer do.

※once 「かつて」

※no longer 「もはや～ない」

G

maintains that babies and young children

have a moral sense

〔that makes them sympathetic to strangers〕.

H

outlines an experiment

〔that shows that

most people will accept

20 to 30 percent of an offer to share,

so long as

that offer comes from a partner

from the same society〕.

※so long as 「～限り」

I

points out that

there is nothing we can do

about our tendency

to feel hostility toward strangers,

because such feelings developed

through human evolution.

J

provides evidence that

babies

as young as twelve months old

understand the concepts of "fair" and "unfair."

K

puts forward one researcher's definition

of the concept of "moral."

※put forward 「提案する、提示する」

L

states that

it is possible

to overcome our suspicion of people

〔who are different from us〕

by the use of reason.

※state 「述べる」