為學之道，必本於思 Think and Grow Wise
代理校長 楊政樺 教授 撰
21世紀是個巨變的時代，除了市場競爭與科技進步以外，2020年全球為了一隻新型冠狀病毒（Covid-19）癱瘓了政治、經濟、社會運作和生活方式，後疫情時代帶給人們的影響與思考還正在發酵中。未來的職涯發展，不只要面對新科技與新工具的威脅，人們無可避免地必須學習尊重地球的自然規律，與生態環境共生。未來有太多的可能性，難以預測。在後疫情時代的世界中，最重要的不是套用過去的常識，而是觀察現在所發生的各種事實，從事批判性思考。
The 21st century is the era of dramatic change. Besides market competition and the progress of technology, politics, the economy, social operation and lifestyle of the world in 2020, it is being paralyzed by Covid-19. Its effect on people and their thoughts about a post-epidemic era continue. Future career developments will encounter threats from new technology and tools. Moreover, people must learn to respect the natural rules of the earth and co-exist with the ecological environment. The future is full of uncertainty. In the post-epidemic world, the key is not just to use past knowledge, but to critically observe the current events.
大學是人生特別重要的一個歷程，無論您讀的是甚麼系所，都應努力學習定義問題和解決問題的能力。孕育這兩種能力的基礎在於高層次的思考，而高層次的思考需要透過系統性的學習與訓練。懂得思考，才可望在兼顧廣度與深度下從事知識解構與知識應用，並在沒有前例可循的任務下，運用邏輯與分析框架，界定陌生問題，拆解出真正的問題本質，並提供問題診斷與對治的解決方案。
Spending time at University is an important phase of one’s life. Regardless of one’s department, one should make an effort to acquire competence in defining problems and in problem-solving, which is based on high-level thinking and that relies on systematic learning and training. Thinking facilitates knowledge deconstruction, and its application depends upon its span and depth. With regard to tasks that have no previous examples, you can define unfamiliar problems by using logic and analyses, you can recognize the essence of a problem, diagnose it and find the solution.
何謂思考？「思」乃思辨，「考」乃考究。北宋的思想家程頤說過：「為學之道，必本於思。思則得之，不思則不得也。」他主張讀書要思考，不深思則不能造其學。讀書固然可以獲得知識，唯有思考才能去蕪存菁。《洪範》亦曰：「思曰睿，睿作聖」要勤於思考、善於思考，久了，明睿 (wisdom) 自然就會出來，才能洞悉幽微，無所不通。對於同樣一件事的觀察與評估，要學習獨立思考，質疑問題，不要習慣教科書說一是一，說二是二，只能有單一答案的僵化思考，永遠保持邏輯論證和批判性思考的習慣。亦即，「學」與「思」應當有機地結合，不可偏廢。
What is thinking (Si Kao)? “Si” means speculation and “Kao” means investigation. The thinker of the Northern Song Dynasty, Cheng Yi, said that “learning shall be based on thinking. Thinking leads to acquisition”. He argued that studying relies on thinking and that, without thinking, learning cannot be accomplished. Although we can obtain knowledge by studying, thinking is the only measure of selection. According to Hong Fan, “The virtue of thinking is called perspicacity, and perspicacity makes one a Sage”. Constant thinking leads to wisdom and thus we can observe and master things. When observing and evaluating the same thing, we should learn to think independently and question the problems. We should not be limited by the answers that are given in textbooks. I suggest that you should constantly keep up the habit of logical argumentation and critical thinking. “Learning” and “thinking” should be properly integrated.
社會進步最可怕的阻礙就是大家都不去找答案，只等別人提供標準答案。學生如果在大學時代不好好學習思考，只相信標準答案，人云亦云是無益的。所謂「標準答案」似乎很難容忍沒有所謂「正確解答」的問題，秉持這樣的思維，非僅窄化學生的認知面向，更將限制獨立思考和質疑問題的空間。尤其，真實的人生，豈會存在所謂的標準答案？更甚者，如果「簡化的邏輯」變成一種集體現象，後續很難避免的就是會大量產出包括不講道理、拒絕承擔責任的「巨嬰」，造成社會因此停滯不前。畢竟，這世界的批判太多，「批判性思考」卻太少。透視問題、勇於突破，探索出更多問題背後的真正問題，掌握問題本質的前因後果，識別關鍵影響要素，有條理地搜集和分析數據，提出假設和整合思考，提出可行方案、檢查方案之間的潛在衝突，繼而定調最终解决方案。
The most significant obstacle of the social process is that people only wait for the model answers provided by others, instead of looking for the solution themselves. While studying at university, it is ineffective that students only rely on model answers and blindly follow other peoples’ opinions. It seems that “model answers” cannot tolerate the questions without giving the “correct answers”. This not only restricts the students’ cognition, but it also limits independent thinking and the ability to ask questions about the problems. In reality, model answers do not exist. In addition, when “simplified logic” becomes a collective phenomenon, it will inevitably result in “giant babies”, who are irrational and irresponsible. It hinders social progress. People in the world tend to criticize things instead of “thinking critically”. We should explore the problems, break through the situations, probe into the underlying issues, control the causes and consequences of the problems, recognize the key factors, collect and analyze the figures properly, propose hypotheses, integrate thoughts, develop feasible plans, examine the potential conflicts among the plans and, finally, be led to find the solutions.
我期許諸君，未來除了專業課程、共同科目與通識課程的系統化學習，還要在班級、系所、學院與社團透過同儕互動，培養領導能力與人際關係技巧，致力於全方位的成長、多元化發展，裨益精準培養自己的商業邏輯、決策力以為進入職場進行充份的準備，成為將來可以在產業無縫接軌，被安心雇用的人才。
Besides the systematic learning of professional courses, common subjects and general courses, I expect that you can cultivate leadership and interpersonal relationship skills in the future, by engaging in peer interaction in class, in the departments, colleges and clubs, by being devoted to multi-dimensional growth and diverse development, by cultivating a business logic and decision-making for a future job in the workplace, in order to become a competent employee in industry.
