Stent G S
Genetics. 1974 Sep;78(1):41-51. doi: 10.1093/genetics/78.1.41.
The conflicts between science and morals which still continue to arise despite the apparent hegemony of atheistic scientism over traditional Judeo-Christianity in the twentieth century reflect a basic contradiction in the metaphysical foundation of Western lives. As was set forth by Machiavelli, the contradiction inherent in Western ethics is that it is based on the simultaneous belief in both objectively valid moral truths and purely relative values of communal purpose. The achievements of twentieth century science have intensified these contradictions. Modern physics has put in question the validity of its own metaphysical basis, namely the belief in Natural Law, and modern biology has been unable to come to terms with the Cartesian dualism of body and soul. By contrast, Chinese lives are comparatively free of these contradictions, being founded on the philosophies of Confucianism and Taoism, to which the concepts of objectively valid truth or Natural Law are foreign. Recent developments in Western attitudes regarding science and morals can be interpreted as a movement away from the traditional belief in absolute truths towards a Chinese relativism.
尽管在20世纪无神论科学主义表面上凌驾于传统犹太基督教之上，但科学与道德之间的冲突仍在不断出现，这反映了西方生活形而上学基础中的一个基本矛盾。正如马基雅维利所阐述的，西方伦理中固有的矛盾在于，它同时基于对客观有效的道德真理和纯粹相对的共同目的价值观的信仰。20世纪科学的成就加剧了这些矛盾。现代物理学对其自身形而上学基础的有效性提出了质疑，即对自然法则的信仰，而现代生物学一直无法解决笛卡尔关于身体与灵魂的二元论。相比之下，中国人的生活相对较少这些矛盾，它建立在儒家和道家哲学的基础上，客观有效的真理或自然法则的概念与这些哲学无关。西方在科学与道德方面态度的最新发展可以被解释为从对绝对真理的传统信仰向中国式相对主义的转变。
