來(lái)源： 滬上高中英語(yǔ)教學(xué)

外刊選自：大西洋月刊（the Atlantic）

外刊鏈接：https://www./health/archive/2019/02/dark-creativity-lying-cheating/582448/

外刊主題：創(chuàng)造性思維也具有黑暗的一面

The Dark Side of Original Thinking

Lying and cheating might be indispensable（adj./n. 必需的人/物） in planning a surprise party, or a surprise heist ([ha?st] n./vt. 強(qiáng)奪，搶劫). Is creativity always a moral good?

Suppose you forgot it wasyour partner’s birthday, but you know that they would appreciate（vt.欣賞；感激；領(lǐng)會(huì)）the smallest of gestures（手勢(shì)；姿態(tài)，表示）, say, a bouquet([b?'ke?] n. 花束；酒香). It’s late at night and no florists (花商，花店)are open. The cemetery (公墓) on your way home has recently had a funeral（葬禮）, and you walk across the site（地址，這里指墓地） and pick up a good-looking bouquet of roses from someone’s grave. You then head home(回家), and the flowers are happily received by your partner.

Would you say that you hurt anyone?

This isn’t so much a moral dilemma (道德困境) as (*重要句型) it is a creative misbehavior(n. 品行不端；不禮貌). More specifically, it is an instance of the dark side of creativity—the side that few people acknowledge (vt.承認(rèn)) or talk about. Variously referred to as (被作為…提及) malevolent（惡毒的，惡意的） or negative, dark creativity uses the creative process to do something socially unappealing（adj.不誘人的；無(wú)魅力的；令人不快的） and guided by self-interest (自我利益). You might not intend to harm someone else, yet harm is often a byproduct (n. 副產(chǎn)品) of your actions. In the instance above, you found an originalsolution（原創(chuàng)的解決方案） (stealing flowers from a graveyard) to (注意solution后面用介詞to) a problem (upset partner) that was effective (happy partner).

*重要句型：

not so much A as B

與其說(shuō)是A，不如說(shuō)是B

eg. 1. This isn’t so much a moral dilemma(道德困境) as it is a creative misbehavior(n. 品行不端).

這與其說(shuō)是一個(gè)道德困境，不如說(shuō)是一個(gè)創(chuàng)造性的品行不端。

eg. 2. It wasn't so much the clothes asthe man himself who impressed people immediately．

立即給人以深刻印象的與其說(shuō)是衣服，不如說(shuō)是他這個(gè)人本身。

That is what makes up the crux (關(guān)鍵,核心) of creativity — originality (獨(dú)創(chuàng)性；創(chuàng)意；獨(dú)特構(gòu)思) and effectiveness in behavior.

But can we call such an act truly creative? For one thing, it violates (違反) moral codes of conduct (道德行為準(zhǔn)則)(stealing); for another, it involves deception（n.欺騙，來(lái)自詞根deceive vt.欺騙） (omitting the truth about where you got the flowers). (omit vt.省略)

Laypersons (layperson =layman 外行，非專業(yè)人士)and academics (pl. 學(xué)者)alike (adv.一樣= in the same way) have largely viewed creativity as a positive force, a notion challenged (挑戰(zhàn)，質(zhì)疑)by the philosopher and educator Robert McLaren of California State University at Fullerton in 1993. McLaren proposed (提出；提議；求婚；祝酒) that creativity had a dark side, and that (不可以省略第二個(gè)賓從的that) viewing it without a social or moral lens (社會(huì)或道德濾鏡/視角) would lead to limited understanding. As time went on, newer concepts --- negative and malevolent (惡意的) creativity --- included conceiving (conceive vt.孕育；構(gòu)想出) original ways to cheat on (注意test前用介詞on) tests or doing purposeful harm to others: for instance, innovating（vt.創(chuàng)新出） new ways to execute（vt. 執(zhí)行，同根詞：executive adj. 執(zhí)行的）terrorist attacks.

「To be continued」