怎样来称呼“人”自身这一族类呢?现成的提法是有的,什么“人为万物之灵”啦,什么“人是思维的动物”啦。不错的,这些已为世人耳熟能详的说法没错。但是,有没有更新、更恰切、更有启示意义的说法呢?有的。手头就有一本美国社会学大师房龙写的《人类征服的故事》,开宗明义就是“人类又称发明家”这一有趣、有味、有思想深度的提法。我们初一的心理教材不是讲到了“上进心”吗?可以相信,读了房龙的这篇文章,是会使你弄懂“上进”与“发明”之间的亲缘关系的—— How do you call the “human” self-category? There is a ready-made formulation, what “man-made spirit is everything”, and “people are thinking animals”. It is true that these are already well known to the world. However, is there an updated, more accurate, more enlightening statement? There is a book “The Story of Human Conquest” written by Fang Long, a master of American sociology, and it is openly understood that “human beings, also known as inventors,” is an interesting, tangible, and philosophical expression. Didn’t our first-year psychology teaching material speak of “advancement”? Can we believe that reading this article by Fang Long will make you understand the relationship between “advancement” and “invention”?