2.名词解释

Individualism个人主义

Individualismis the moral stance，political philosophy，or social outlook that stresses independence and self-reliance．Individualists promote the exercise of one's goals and desires，while opposing most external interference upon one's choices，whether by society，or any other group or institution．Individualism is opposed to collectivism，which stresses that communal，group，societal，or national goals should take priority over individual goals．Individualismis also opposed to any tradition or other formof external moral standard being used to limit an individual's choice of actions．

The American Dream美国梦

The American Dreamis a national ethos of the United States of America in which democratic ideals are perceived as a promise of prosperity for its people．In theAmerican Dream，first expressed by James TruslowAdams in 1931，citizens of every rank feel that they can achieve a“better，richer，and happier life”．The idea of the American Dreamis rooted in the second sentence of the Declaration of Independence which states that“allmen are created equal”and that they have“certain inalienable rights”including“life，liberty and the pursuit of happiness”．

The American Dream has been credited with helping to build a cohesive American experience but has also been blamed for overinflated expectations．The presence of the American Dreamhas not historically helped the majority of minority race and lower class American citizens to gain a greater degree of social equality and influence．Instead，the American wealth structure has often been observed to sustain class differences in which well-positioned groups continue to be advantaged．

vulnerable group/disadvantaged group弱势群体

The definition of vulnerable groups varies between countries，but amongst the most important defining characteristics are age，sex，ethnicity and location．But also important are people with disabilities and stigmatized illnesses，such as mental illhealth．In areas facing war or civil conflicts displaced people and refugees forman important vulnerable group．

universal value普世价值

Something is of universal value if it has the same value or worth for all，or almost all，people．This claimcould mean two importantly different things．First，it could be that something has a universal value when everybody finds it valuable．This was Isaiah Berlin's understanding of the term．According to Berlin，“．．．universal values．．．are values that a great many human beings in the vast majority of places and situations，at almost all times，do in fact hold in common，whether consciously and explicitly or as expressed in their behavior．．．”Second，something could have universal value when all people have reason to believe it has value．Amartya Sen interprets the termin this way，pointing out that when Mahatma Gandhi argued that non-violence is a universal value，he was arguing thatall people have reason to value non-violence，not that all people currently value non-violence．Many different things have been claimed to be of universal value，for example，fertility，pleasure，anddemocracy．The issue ofwhether anything is of universal value，and，if so，what that thing or those things are is relevant to psychology，political science，and philosophy，among other fields．