2008年11月18日星期二

daintiness, ancillary, a means, an end in itself,

CHRISTOPHER ISHERWOOD

The Art of Fiction No. 49

Interviewed by W.I. Scobie

Issue 57, Spring 1974

View a manuscript page

Download a PDF of the full interview

INTERVIEWER Do you think writers who settle down in California, in the entertainment industry, compromise themselves in some way, or is that a fiction?

ISHERWOOD I’ll bet Shakespeare compromised himself a lot; anybody who’s in the entertainment industry does to some extent. But are you going to sink or swim? There’s a most awful daintiness in the idea that everything you write should be just so—perfection—and all the rest carefully destroyed so that it won’t hurt your image. Often this is a dangerous kind of vanity. Goodness knows, I’ve written lots of stuff that I hate, but there it is, flapping around in the vaults of various motion-picture studios; and sometimes I’ve done good work for the cinema. If you want the money, and you want to live that way, you’ve just got to take it. I suppose, under ideal circumstances, I would say, have some other profession and keep your writing for yourself.

Download a PDF of the full interview

Finally, it should also challenge the very scientists who study morality. They’re good at explaining how people make judgments about harm and fairness, but they still struggle to explain the feelings of awe, transcendence, patriotism, joy and self-sacrifice, which are not ancillary to most people’s moral experiences, but central. The evolutionary approach also leads many scientists to neglect the concept of individual responsibility and makes it hard for them to appreciate that most people struggle toward goodness, not as a means, but as an end in itself.

a means手段, an end in itself.本身就是目的

ancillary

adjective
providing support or help; additional; extra:
ancillary staff/workers
an ancillary role
Campaigning to change government policy is ancillary to the charity's direct relief work.