萨顿与赵元任师生一场

武夷山

正在读蔡天新的《数学与人类文明》（商务印书馆，2012），该书103页说，萨顿是赵元任的导师。我过去没听说过此事，故上网搜了一下相关资料。

第一则：

赵元任在哈佛大学学习哲学的时候，也正是科学史家萨顿试图用科学史架起两种文化之间的桥梁的时候，因此，赵元任很自然地成为了萨顿的第一个中国学生，后来还曾以谢尔登旅行研究员的身份对科学哲学进行过专门的研究。1919年，他还对像颜色代数学与温度逻（博主：网上原文如此）这样的交叉前沿学科发生了兴趣。这些事实都能说明，赵元任在走向科学的时候，是从一个非常广阔的社会文化角度出发的，他关心的不是分门别类的具体学科，而是一种“科学方法、科学精神和科学原理”的综合，而这种科学精神是可以放置在任何一门学科中，放在任何一个文化背景下，来发挥作用的。

（赵元任：游走在两种文化之间，来源：中华读书报　作者:屠聪艳， http://www.gmw.cn/01ds/2004-05/26/content_33955.htm）

第二则：

在郭世杰的《乔治·萨顿的中国知音——1949年前萨顿的新人文主义在中国的传播》（科学文化评论，2008，第1期）一文中，引用了赵元任的一段回忆，赵元任说：科学史那时是新课程，萨顿教的两门课中，“班上只有我一个学生”。

第三则（http://www.5doc.com/doc/759207）：

我以谢尔登旅行研究员的身份,主要的工作本来应该研究科学的哲学(Philosophy ofScience),可是我举棋不定,不知道着重于哲学呢还是着重于科学,我今天依然如此.1918年11月初,我的科学史教师沙顿博士给我一封信说:"你不该对开始工作太过胆怯."

第四则

Rosemary Levenson女士曾对赵元任进行详细的访谈，访谈记录中提到萨顿名字的有以下几段内容。看了英文原文后，我才发现某些中文资料的翻译是有问题的，只读译文，有时会感到莫名其妙。(http://content.cdlib.org/view?docId=hb8779p27v&brand=calisphere&doc.view=entire_text)

Levenson

When did you switch from mathematics to philosophy?

Chao

I made a switch in the fifth year at Cornell, but I didn't find it so much of a switch because I'd already taken courses in philosophy in undergraduate years. When I went to Harvard, I took history of science as a minor field. George Sarton was one of my teachers in the history of science. In fact,I took two courses from him when I was the only student! In one seminar in the history of science, we met in a small study of his in the Widener Library whereI just sat opposite him across a desk and he would lecture. I couldn't decide whether I should say "Yes" and nod, or just sit there silently like a student in any other class.

Levenson

What were the major problems--questions--that were exciting you or Sarton then in the field of history of science?

Chao

We covered mostly earlier periods, but we did touch on the recent advances in science. I think he was editing a journal on the history of science.

Levenson

How do you now appraise him as a scholar?

Chao

I would think that he was more a scholar than a scientist. He was very meticulous in his treatment of documentary material and didn't do as much as some other professors like [L.J.]Henderson of Harvard, who had more to do with the philosophy of science when he talked about the history of science.