TED演讲 | 你在什么时候第一次意识到自己会死亡?
| 简介
哲学家史蒂芬·凯夫以一个黑暗但又引人注目的问题作为开头:你在什么时候第一次意识到自己会死亡的?更有意思的是:为什么人们总是在抗拒死亡的必然性?在这个精彩的演说中,凯夫探索了4种-横跨各个文明之间-为的是能处理我们对死亡的恐惧。
| 音频 + 视频
| 中英对照演讲稿
向上滑动阅览
I have a question:
我要问大家一件事:
Who here remembers when they first realized
在座的各位谁还记得当自己第一次意识到
they were going to die?
自己有一天会死去时那一刻的感受?
I do. I was a young boy,
我还记得,那时我还是个小男孩
and my grandfather had just died,
我的祖父刚刚过世了,
and I remember a few days later lying in bed at night
记得几天后的一个夜晚,我躺在床上
trying to make sense of what had happened.
是这回想之前所发生的一切
What did it mean that he was dead?
去世到底意味着什么?
Where had he gone?
他去哪了?
It was like a hole in reality had opened up
有点像现实中有个洞打开
and swallowed him.
把他吞了。
But then the really shocking question occurred to me:
但那时对我而言,有个震撼的问题是:
If he could die, could it happen to me too?
如果他会死去,同样的事也会发生在我身上吗?
Could that hole in reality open up and swallow me?
现实中真有个洞打开并把我吞下吗?
Would it open up beneath my bed
它会在我的床底下打开
and swallow me as I slept?
并在我睡着的时候把我吞下吗?
Well, at some point, all children become aware of death.
嗯,某种程度而言,所有的孩子开始意识到死亡。
It can happen in different ways, of course,
当然,它会以不同的方式发生,
and usually comes in stages.
并且通常会在某个阶段到来。
Our idea of death develops as we grow older.
随着我们年龄的增长,我们对死亡的观念逐渐形成。
And if you reach back into the dark corners
并且如果你回想起
of your memory,
你记忆中的最黑暗的角落时,
you might remember something like what I felt
你或许会想起和我感受相同的的一些事情
when my grandfather died and when I realized
在我祖父去世的时侯我意识到
it could happen to me too,
同样事情也会发生在我身上,
that sense that behind all of this
背后所有这一切的感受
the void is waiting.
是空虚的等待。
And this development in childhood
在童年时代的这种发展
reflects the development of our species.
反应了人类的发展。
Just as there was a point in your development
就像你生命中的某一时刻
as a child when your sense of self and of time
还是小孩的时候,对自我和时间的认知
became sophisticated enough
变得十分复杂
for you to realize you were mortal,
你意识到你难逃一死,
so at some point in the evolution of our species,
所有在人类进化的某个时刻,
some early human's sense of self and of time
前人对自我和时间的认知
became sophisticated enough
开始变得复杂
for them to become the first human to realize,
然后成为第一批意识到,
"I'm going to die."
“我终将会死去。”的人们。
This is, if you like, our curse.
如果你能接受,这是我们的诅咒。
It's the price we pay for being so damn clever.
那是我们对料知死亡所付出的代价。
We have to live in the knowledge
我们不得不生活在
that the worst thing that can possibly happen
最坏的的事情将会发生的状态下,
one day surely will,
这一天当然会来,
the end of all our projects,
终结我们所有的计划,
our hopes, our dreams, of our individual world.
我们的希望,梦想,也会带走我们的一片天。
We each live in the shadow of a personal
我们每个人生活在自己的
apocalypse.
末日阴影下。
And that's frightening. It's terrifying.
那时很吓人,很恐怖的。
And so we look for a way out.
所以我们试图寻找一个出路。
And in my case, as I was about five years old,
以我为例,在我5岁左右的时候,
this meant asking my mum.
我去问我的妈妈。
Now when I first started asking
现在当我开始问到
what happens when we die,
我们死亡时会发生什么,
the grown-ups around me at the time
我周围的大人们那个时候
answered with a typical English mix of awkwardness
会带着尴尬的
and half-hearted Christianity,
基督教的经典语句来回答我,
and the phrase I heard most often
我最常听到的词是
was that granddad was now
祖父现在
"up there looking down on us,"
”在天上看着我们“
and if I should die too, which wouldn't happen of course,
并且如果我也死去,当然现在不会发生,
then I too would go up there,
那时我也会到天上去,
which made death sound a lot like
让死亡听起来像
an existential elevator.
一部存在的升降电梯。
Now this didn't sound very plausible.
现在听起来不在是那么的真实可信。
I used to watch a children's news program at the time,
那时候我通常会看儿童的新闻节目,
and this was the era of space exploration.
那时是个太空探索的时代。
There were always rockets going up into the sky,
经常会有火箭冲向蓝天,
up into space, going up there.
进入太空。
But none of the astronauts when they came back
但是没有一个从太空归来的航天员
ever mentioned having met my granddad
提及我见到了我的祖父
or any other dead people.
或其它死去的人。
But I was scared,
但那时我很害怕,
and the idea of taking the existential elevator
乘坐可能存在的升降电梯
to see my granddad
去见我的祖父
sounded a lot better than being swallowed
相比在我睡梦中巨大的空间吞噬
by the void while I slept.
的想法更容易接受。
And so I believed it anyway,
所以我就相信了,
even though it didn't make much sense.
尽管它没有任何意义。
And this thought process that I went through
我小时候就有这种思考模式
as a child, and have been through many times since,
从那时候起发生过很多次,
including as a grown-up,
长大后也是,
is a product of what psychologists call
这被心理学家称之为
a bias.
偏误。
Now a bias is a way in which we systematically
偏误有自己的流程
get things wrong,
让我们按照错误的方式思考事物
ways in which we miscalculate, misjudge,
计算错误,判断错误,
distort reality, or see what we want to see,
扭曲现实,或者只看到了我们想看到的东西。
And the bias I'm talking about
我这里说的偏误
works like this:
是这么回事:
Confront someone with the fact
某些人面对
that they are going to die
他们终将会死去的现实
and they will believe just about any story
他们只会相信
that tells them it isn't true
告诉他们的任何故事都不会是真的
and they can, instead, live forever,
他们可以永久的活着,
even if it means taking the existential elevator.
即便乘坐可能存在的升降电梯。
Now we can see this as the biggest bias of all.
现在我们可以将这个视为最大的偏误。
It has been demonstrated in over 400
它已经被400多项
empirical studies.
实证研究证明。
Now these studies are ingenious, but they're simple.
这些研究设计的很精巧,但非常简单。
They work like this.
它们像这样工作。
You take two groups of people
你找两组
who are similar in all relevant respects,
各个方面都很相似的人,
and you remind one group that they're going to die
并且提醒一组人他们即将死去
but not the other, then you compare their behavior.
而不告诉另一群人,然后比较他们的行为。
So you're observing how it biases behavior
你会观察到
when people become aware of their mortality.
当人们开始意识到他们大限将至,偏误行为是如何产生的。
And every time, you get the same result:
并且你每次都能得到相同的结论:
People who are made aware of their mortality
意识到会死亡的人
are more willing to believe stories
更愿意相信那些
that tell them they can escape death
告诉他们能够摆脱死亡
and live forever.
并能长生不老的故事。
So here's an example: One recent study
因此有下面这个例子:
took two groups of agnostics,
找两组不可知论者,
that is people who are undecided
这些人没有固定
in their religious beliefs.
的宗教信仰。
Now, one group was asked to think about being dead.
现在,其中一组被要求思考死亡。
The other group was asked to think about
而另一种则被要求思考
being lonely.
孤独。
They were then asked again about their religious beliefs.
他们再次被问到他们的宗教信仰。
Those who had been asked to think about being dead
那些被要求死亡的那组人
were afterwards twice as likely to express faith
有两倍的可能性来表达
in God and Jesus.
对上帝和耶稣的信仰。
Twice as likely.
两倍的可能性。
Even though the before they were all equally agnostic.
即使他们之前是同样的不可知论者。
But put the fear of death in them,
但对死亡的恐惧摆在他们面前,
and they run to Jesus.
他们会向耶稣靠拢。
Now, this shows that reminding people of death
这表明向人们提醒死亡
biases them to believe, regardless of the evidence,
会让他们忽视证据,使他们对所相信的事物产生偏误,
and it works not just for religion,
他不仅仅影响到宗教,
but for any kind of belief system
如果没有所有以
that promises immortality in some form,
许诺在某种形式下永生的任何信仰制度,
whether it's becoming famous
无论是否有名
or having children
或有孩子
or even nationalism,
甚至带民族主义形式,
which promises you can live on as part of a greater whole.
承诺你能成为伟大的整体中的一员生活下去。
This is a bias that has shaped
这样的偏误塑造了
the course of human history.
人类的历史。
Now, the theory behind this bias
目前,在这偏误背后
in the over 400 studies
有超过400多项研究
is called terror management theory,
被称之为恐惧管理理论,
and the idea is simple. It's just this.
这个理论很简单,
We develop our worldviews,
我们发展出我们的世界观。
that is, the stories we tell ourselves
即我们告诉自己一个
about the world and our place in it,
关于时间和我们所在地方的故事,
in order to help us manage
以便帮助我们管理
the terror of death.
对死亡的恐惧。
And these immortality stories
而这些永生的故事
have thousands of different manifestations,
有上千种不同的表现形式,
but I believe that behind the apparent diversity
但我相信在这些多样化的面目下
there are actually just four basic forms
实际只有四种基本形式
that these immortality stories can take.
是这些永生故事都有的。
And we can see them repeating themselves
并且我们能发现他们
throughout history, just with slight variations
在历史中不断重复,仅仅只有细微的差异
to reflect the vocabulary of the day.
用来反应当时的语言。
Now I'm going to briefly introduce these four
下面我会简要介绍这四种
basic forms of immortality story,
永生故事的基本形式,
and I want to try to give you some sense
并且我希望让你们知道
of the way in which they're retold by each culture
在各个文化
or generation
或在不同时代中
using the vocabulary of their day.
使用当时的语言传播的方式。
Now, the first story is the simplest.
第一个故事是最简单的。
We want to avoid death,
我们想要逃避死亡,
and the dream of doing that in this body
并且梦想着这身躯
in this world forever
能永久留存在世上
is the first and simplest kind of immortality story,
是第一个最简单的永生故事,
and it might at first sound implausible,
一开始听起来有些难以置信,
but actually, almost every culture in human history
但事实上,在人类历史上的每一种文化
has had some myth or legend
都流传着一些神话或传说
of an elixir of life or a fountain of youth
关于长生药或者不老泉
or something that promises to keep us going
或者能让我们一直
forever.
活下去的东西。
Ancient Egypt had such myths,
古埃及有这种传说,
ancient Babylon, ancient India.
古巴比伦,古印度。
Throughout European history, we find them in the work of the alchemists,
纵观这个欧洲历史,在炼金术师的工作中可以发现它,
and of course we still believe this today,
直到今天我们依旧相信它,
only we tell this story using the vocabulary
只不过我们使用科学的语言
of science.
来讲这个故事。
So 100 years ago,
所以100年前,
hormones had just been discovered,
荷尔蒙被发现了,
and people hoped that hormone treatments
人们希望荷尔蒙治疗
were going to cure aging and disease,
能使我们永葆青春和治愈疾病,
and now instead we set our hopes on stem cells,
现在我们则是希望干细胞,
genetic engineering, and nanotechnology.
基因工程,和纳米技术。
But the idea that science can cure death
但科学能够治愈死亡的观点
is just one more chapter in the story
只是神奇的灵丹妙药故事的
of the magical elixir,
又一个章节,
a story that is as old as civilization.
和古文明一样古老的故事。
But betting everything on the idea of finding the elixir
但把所有的赌注都压在寻找灵丹妙药
and staying alive forever
和长生不老上面
is a risky strategy.
这样风险未免太大。
When we look back through history
当我们回顾整个历史
at all those who have sought an elixir in the past,
所有那些在过去寻找灵丹妙药的人
the one thing they now have in common
都有个共通点
is that they're all dead.
是他们都难逃一死。
So we need a backup plan, and exactly this kind of plan B
所以我们需要个备用方案,精确讲叫B方案
is what the second kind of immortality story offers,
也就是第二类永生的故事,
and that's resurrection.
那就是复活。
And it stays with the idea that I am this body,
概念是我有这个身躯,
I am this physical organism.
是一个有机体。
It accepts that I'm going to have to die
我是会死去的
but says, despite that,
但不论这些,
I can rise up and I can live again.
我可以再次活过来的。
In other words, I can do what Jesus did.
换句话说,我能和耶稣一样。
and then he rose up and lived again.
然后又活过来了。
And the idea that we can all be resurrected to live again
能够复活的这个概念
is orthodox believe, not just for Christians
不单源于东正教
but also Jews and Muslims.
也属于犹太教和穆斯林的。
But our desire to believe this story
但我们渴望去相信这个故事
is so deeply embedded
是深植在我们的内心
that we are reinventing it again
而到了科学时代
for the scientific age,
我们又重新将它提了出来,
for example, with the idea of cryonics.
比如,人体冷冻。
That's the idea that when you die,
意思是当你死后,
you can have yourself frozen,
你可以把自己冷冻起来,
and then, at some point when technology
然后,直到有一天,科技
has advanced enough,
高度发达的时候,
you can be thawed out and repaired and revived
你可以把自己解冻和修复
and so resurrected.
然后复活。
And so some people believe an omnipotent god
并且有些人相信万能的神
will resurrect them to live again,
会人他们重新活过来,
and other people believe an omnipotent scientist will do it.
还有人则相信万能的科学。
But for others, the whole idea of resurrection,
但是对某些人,对复活的这个看法,
of climbing out of the grave,
从坟墓里爬出来,
it's just too much like a bad zombie movie.
太像一部摆烂的僵尸电影。
They find the body too messy, too unreliable
他们发现自己的身躯腐朽,也不大可能复活,
to guarantee eternal life,
无法拥有永恒的生命,
and so they set their hopes on the third,
所有他们有第三类型的故事,
more spiritual immortality story,
更偏向于精神上的永生故事,
the idea that we can leave our body behind
就是我们能够离开我们的身躯
and live on as a soul.
但灵魂永久长存。
Now, the majority of people on Earth
目前,地球上绝大多数的人
believe they have a soul,
认为他们是有灵魂的,
and the idea is central to many religions.
这个观念是许多宗教的核心,
But even though, in its current form,
即便是这样,在现有的形式下,
in its traditional form,
在传统的形式下,
the idea of the soul is still hugely popular,
灵魂的观念依旧受到了广泛欢迎,
nonetheless we are again
在当今的数字化时代
reinventing it for the digital age,
再次提起它,
for example with the idea
比如
that you can leave your body behind
你可以离开你的身体
by uploading your mind, your essence,
你的心智,你的本质,
the real you, onto a computer,
真正的你,上传到了电脑中,
and so live on as an avatar in the ether.
以化身活在乙太的世界。
But of course there are skeptics who say
但是当然,有人会怀疑说
if we look at the evidence of science,
如果我们察看科学的依据,
particularly neuroscience,
特别是神经系统科学,
it suggests that your mind,
提及你的心智,
your essence, the real you,
你的本质,真正的你,
is very much dependent on a particular part
非常依赖你身体上一个特别的部分,
of your body, that is, your brain.
也就是,你的大脑。
And such skeptics can find comfort
这样的怀疑者
in the fourth kind of immortality story,
有着第四类型的永生的故事,
and that is legacy,
那就是遗传的传说。
the idea that you can live on
你可以长存在世
through the echo you leave in the world,
透过你遗留在世上的事物,
like the great Greek warrior Achilles,
就像古希腊战士阿基里斯,
who sacrificed his life fighting at Troy
他在特洛伊的战斗中牺牲了自己的生命
so that he might win immortal fame.
使他赢得了不朽的名声。
And the pursuit of fame is as widespread
追求这样的名声从古至今
and popular now as it ever was,
都一样流行,
and in our digital age,
在当今的数字时代,
it's even easier to achieve.
它更容易实现。
You don't need to be a great warrior like Achilles
你不必要成为像阿基里斯这样的勇士
or a great king or hero.
或者一个伟大的国王或者英雄。
All you need is an Internet connection and a funny cat.
你只要能上网和一只有趣的猫。
But some people prefer to leave a more tangible,
但有些人希望留下后代----
biological legacy -- children, for example.
子孙。
Or they like, they hope, to live on
或是他们想要,希望
as part of some greater whole,
成为整个整体中的一部分活下去,
a nation or a family or a tribe,
一个名族,或者一个家庭或者一个部落,
their gene pool.
他们的基因库。
But again, there are skeptics
但有人会怀疑
who doubt whether legacy
这些遗产是否
really is immortality.
真的能永久流传下去。
Woody Allen, for example, who said,
比如,伍迪·艾伦,曾说过,
"I don't want to live on in the hearts of my countrymen.
“我不想活在我同胞的心里。
I want to live on in my apartment."
我想活在我的公寓里。“
So those are the four
所以那些都是四种
basic kinds of immortality stories,
基本的永生的故事,
and I've tried to give just some sense
我试着说明这些故事
of how they're retold by each generation
如何一代一代流传着
with just slight variations
但也都大同小异
to fit the fashions of the day.
以迎合当今时代的潮流。
And the fact that they recur in this way,
事实上这些故事不停的被传述,
in such a similar form but in such different belief systems,
在不同的信仰中有着相似的形式,
suggests, I think,
我觉得,
that we should be skeptical of the truth
我们应该对
of any particular version of these stories.
所有这些故事的真实性要有所怀疑,
The fact that some people believe
事实上有些人民相信
an omnipotent god will resurrect them to live again
一个万能的神能让他们复活
and others believe an omnipotent scientist will do it
还有一些人相信万能的科学能使他们复活
suggests that neither are really believing this
这说明人们在确凿的证据面前
on the strength of the evidence.
并不相信永生这回事儿
Rather, we believe these stories
我们相信这些故事
because we are biased to believe them,
只是因为偏见,
and we are biased to believe them
我们偏误去相信这些故事
because we are so afraid of death.
因为我们恐惧死亡。
So the question is,
所以问题是,
are we doomed to lead the one life we have
是否我们的人生注定生活在
in a way that is shaped by fear and denial,
对恐惧的抗拒和支配,
or can we overcome this bias?
还是我们能够克服偏误?
Well the Greek philosopher Epicurus
古希腊哲学家伊比鸠鲁
thought we could.
认为我们可以克服。
He argued that the fear of death is natural,
他主张我们对死亡的恐惧是天生的,
but it is not rational.
但不是理性的。
"Death," he said, "is nothing to us,
他说,”死亡对我们来说不算什么
because when we are here, death is not,
因为但我们在的时候,死亡不在,
and when death is here, we are gone."
而当死亡在这里的时候,我们不在了。“
Now this is often quoted, but it's difficult
这句话常被引用,但很难
to really grasp, to really internalize,
抓住精髓和真正的内在化,
because exactly this idea of being gone
因为所谓的(不存在)
is so difficult to imagine.
是很难想象的。
So 2,000 years later, another philosopher,
所以两千年之后,另一位哲学家,
Ludwig Wittgenstein, put it like this:
路德维格·维根斯坦,这样说:
"Death is not an event in life:
“死亡并非人生中的大事:
We do not live to experience death.
我们活着不是为了经历死亡,
And so," he added,
所以”他补充到,
"in this sense, life has no end."
“从这个角度来看,生命是没有终点的。“
So it was natural for me as a child
当我还小的时候,
to fear being swallowed by the void,
很自然的对在空虚中被吞噬产生恐惧,
but it wasn't rational,
但这并非理性,
because being swallowed by the void
因为在空虚中被吞噬
is not something that any of us
不是任何人
will ever live to experience.
会活着能够经历到的事情。
Now, overcoming this bias is not easy because
目前,克服偏误不是那么容易的因为
the fear of death is so deeply embedded in us,
对死亡的恐惧已经在我们心底生根发芽
yet when we see that the fear itself is not rational,
但当我们了解这些恐惧是不理性的,
and when we bring out into the open
当我们可以在台面上提出来
the ways in which it can unconsciously bias us,
这恐惧会无意识的让我们偏误,
then we can at least start
那么至少我们已经开始
to try to minimize the influence it has
尝试去减小它
on our lives.
对我们生活的影响。
Now, I find it helps to see life
目前,我发现可以将生命
as being like a book:
视为一本书:
Just as a book is bounded by its covers,
书的开头和结尾
by beginning and end,
都被书皮包裹着,
so our lives are bounded by birth and death,
所以我们的生命被出生和死亡所固定,
and even though a book is limited by beginning and end,
即便这本书受到开头和结尾的限制,
it can encompass distant landscapes,
它能带我们去遥远的地方,
exotic figures, fantastic adventures.
异国的风情,奇异的冒险。
And even though a book is limited by beginning and end,
即便这本书受到开头和结尾的限制,
the characters within it
书里面的人物
know no horizons.
是不会被限制的,
They only know the moments that make up their story,
它们当下活出他们的故事,
even when the book is closed.
即便这本书被合上。
And so the characters of a book
书中的人物
are not afraid of reaching the last page.
不会害怕走到最后一页。
Long John Silver is not afraid of you
约翰·西弗不会害怕
finishing your copy of "Treasure Island."
你读完《金银岛》。
And so it should be with us.
所以我们也应当如此。
Imagine the book of your life,
想象关于你生命的一本书,
its covers, its beginning and end, and your birth and your death.
它的书皮,开头和结局和出生和死亡。
You can only know the moments in between,
而你只知道生死之间
the moments that make up your life.
活出你生命的时刻。
It makes no sense for you to fear
这不会让你
what is outside of those covers,
对书皮之外的事产生恐惧,
whether before your birth
无论是你出生之前
or after your death.
还是,死亡之后。
And you needn't worry how long the book is,
你不必担心这本书有多厚,
or whether it's a comic strip or an epic.
无论它是本连环画还是部史诗。
The only thing that matters
唯一重要的
is that you make it a good story.
是你活得精彩!
Thank you.
谢谢。
查找、收集、整理不易
支持墨墨请点这里
↓↓↓
#留下你的名字,让我知道你是谁#
▼往期推荐▼
你好
我是@墨安
在北方努力生活的南方姑娘
很高兴在这里认识你
希望今后的日子,有你陪伴。
本文仅供分享,一切版权归BBC所有。
“点赞”的你更赞↓↓↓