耶鲁大学开放课程—哲学：死亡.20.Open.Yale.course—Philosophy：Death.DivX-YYeTs人人影视

上节课我们谈到"体验机"中的生活Last time, I invited you to think about life on the experience machine,
在那里 科学家们通过刺激你的大脑where the scientists are busy stimulating your brain
从事物表现出来的客观属性in such a way as to give you an exact replica from the insides
到人们对事物的主观认知of what it would be like having identical experiences
对真实世界进行全方位复制to the ones you would have if you were really doing--
包括任何有价值的事物well, whatever it is that's worth doing.
比如攀登阿尔卑斯山 Climbing the Alps,
创作精彩的美国小说writing the great American novel,
供养和睦的家庭 或从事发明创造raising a great family that loves you, being creative.
任何你认为有价值的事情Whatever it is you think is worth having,
"体验机"给予你的是意识上 the experience machine gives you all the experiential side
的体验of those things.
而非真正意义上的实践But you're not really doing those things.
实际上 你只是泡在科学家的实验池里You're actually just floating in the scientist's lab.
那么我们会问自己And we ask ourselves,
你愿意生活在"体验机"的世界中吗would you want to live a life on the experience machine?
当得知你其实一直Would you be happy or would you be unhappy,
是生活在"体验机"中的时候to discover that you actually have been living
你是高兴还是不高兴呢a life on the experience machine?
对于这个问题 大多数人Most of us, when we think about this,
都会回答 不高兴find ourselves wanting to say, no,
我们不想生活在"体验机"的世界中we wouldn't want to have a life on the experience machine.
这类例子 我已经讨论了很多年I've been discussing this sort of example for many, many years.
也总有一撮人会回答 我很乐意And there's always a group of people who think, yes,
只要一切运转正常life on the experience machine is
在"体验机"中的生活就是完美的perfect as long as you've got the right tape playing.
但是大多数人都会说 不对But the vast majority always says, no,
这种生活里缺失了一些东西there's something missing from that life.
这不是人类理想的生存方式It's not the ideal of human existences;
这不是我们理想中最好的生活方式it's not the best possible life we can imagine ourselves having.
但若我们认为缺了什么东西的话But that means, if we think something's missing,
我们就得问自己 到底是缺了什么we then have to ask yourselves, what's missing?
"体验机"究竟存在什么问题What's wrong with the experience machine?
我们可以很快得出一个结论 即The one thing we can conclude immediately is,
如果你认为"体验机"中的生活缺了什么if you think life on the experience machine is missing something,
那么享乐主义者及其哲学观点that the hedonist, and views like h

edonism,
一定是错误的must be wrong,
因为他们一直在说in so far as they say that
人活在世就是all that matters for the best possible life is
为了享乐for well-being,
为了过得舒服些is getting the right kinds of experiences,
有个好心情getting the right kinds of mental states.
由于我们假设Because by hypothesis,
"体验机"能给人带来好心情the experience machine gets the mental states right,
使人心情愉快get the insides right.
如果我们认为这种生活缺了什么的话So, if something's missing from that life,
也就意味着最好的生活there's more to the best kind of life than just
不仅仅是为了有个好心情having the right mental states,
不仅仅是为了心情愉快than just getting the insides right.
那我们就要问自己 到底缺了什么呢Well, we ask ourselves then, well, what's missing?
我想 不同的人会有不同的看法I think different people will answer that in different ways.
如果有时间的话And if we had more time
我们可以仔细讲讲关于幸福的不同理论we could spell out rival theories of well-being,
这些理论可以通过回答下面的问题which could be interestingly distinguished one from another
被有趣地区分开来in terms of how they answer the question,
"体验机中缺失的是什么""What's missing from the experience machine?"
这是一个问题 On the one hand,
以及"为什么体验机中and "Why are the things that are missing
缺失的东西值得拥有"from the experience machine worth having?"
关于幸福的不同理论Different theories of well-being might answer that
会对此给出不同的答案in different ways.
与其继续系统地Instead of trying to pursue those
探讨这些理论alternative theories in a systematic fashion,
倒不如让我们来看看let me just gesture toward some of the things
"体验机"的生活中所缺少的东西that seem to be missing from that kind of life.
首先 最直观的一点是Well, first of all, and most, perhaps, obviously--
如果你只是花时间if you're just spending
泡在科学家的实验池里的话your life floating in the scientist's lab,
你实际上并没取得任何成就you're not actually accomplishing anything.
你实际上并没有在生命中获得You're not actually getting the things out of life
你自以为已经获得的东西you thought you were getting.
你想要勇攀高峰You wanted to be climbing the mountain,
但是你并没有在爬山but you're not actually climbing a mountain.
你只是泡在池子里You're just floating there.
你想要创作精彩的美国小说You wanted to be writing the great American novel,
但你并没在书写精彩的美国小说but you're not writing the great American novel.
你只是泡在那儿You're just floating there.
你想找到治愈癌症的方法You wanted to be finding the cure for cancer,
但你其实并没有在寻找这种方法but you're not actually fi

nding the cure for cancer.
你想要被人爱You wanted to be loved,
但你并没有被人爱 but you're not actually loved.
你只是泡在那儿You're just floating there.
除了科学家 没有人知道你的存在Nobody other than the scientist even knows that you exist.
你想干的事情很多So, there's a variety of things you wanted.
你想知道自己在宇宙中的位置You wanted to know your place in the universe,
可你甚至连一点相关的知识都不了解but you don't even have that kind of knowledge either,
你以为自己在创作小说because you think you're writing novels,
在寻找癌症良药finding the cure for cancer,
在攀登珠穆朗玛峰climbing Mount Everest.
你完全被欺骗了You're completely deceived about all those things.
你没有So you don't have the
我们多数人所珍视的自我认知kind of self-knowledge that many of us value.
如我所讲 不同的理论会将这些例子Well, as I say, different theories would try to systematize these
以不同的方式进行系统化处理examples in different ways;
比如我们没有任何成就that we don't have any kind of accomplishments,
比如我们没有知识we don't have knowledge,
比如我们在不正常的爱情关系之中we're not in the right kinds of loving relationships.
针对以下问题 不同理论会给出不同解释Different theories might have different explanations as to--
到底是因为我们想要这些事物 are these things valuable
它们才具有价值because we want them,
还是在我们了解到它们的价值之后or do we want them because
才想要的呢we recognize they're valuable?
与其纠结这些问题...Rather than trying to pursue those questions--
的确 梳理这些观点中的细节问题And indeed, trying to work out the details
也是非常复杂的of these views would be complicated as well.
就拿取得成就这个例子来说Take the example of accomplishment.
我们都清楚成就的重要性Well, we all think accomplishment's important,
但也并不是任何成就都是重要的but it's not as though any old accomplishment is important.
如果有人制定了 至少我是这么看的If somebody sets themselves--or so it seems to me at least--
如果某人的目标是if somebody sets theirself the goal of
制作一个美国东部making the biggest rubber band ball
最大的橡皮球in the Eastern United States,
我猜大家肯定会有这样一种感觉I suppose there's a sense of the word that
即便他取得了这个成就that's an accomplishment if they've got it,
也不会给我留下什么深刻印象but it doesn't strike me as the kind of accomplishment which
因为它没什么实用价值makes for a particularly valuable life.
所以我们就得将简单的成就 So, we might have to distinguish between any old
和真正有价值的成就区分开accomplishment and genuinely valuable accomplishments.
同样 把那些细节先放到一边But again, j

ust put those details aside.
我们说 总有一些事We can say that there are certain things that are good
比经历本身更重要above and beyond experiences--
那就是真正意义上的的成就 the right kinds of accomplishments,
真正有价值的知识the right kind of knowledge.
总之 并不是所有的知识都有价值After all, not every bit of knowledge is equally valuable.
知晓你在宇宙中的位置It's one thing to know your place in the universe,
或者了解物理的基本法则or to know the fundamental laws of physics.
与知道曼谷年的平均降雨量相比It's another thing to know what was the average rainfall
完全是两回事in Bangkok in .
我看不出来那种知识I'm not clear that that kind of knowledge gives
对你的生命有什么价值a whole lot of value to your life.
所以说我们需要有意义的成就So, we need the right kinds of accomplishments
有意义的知识and the right kind of knowledge
有意义的人际关系and the right kinds of relationships.
假设你已经了解了这些But imagine you've worked that out.
那么关键在于 最高品质的生活The crucial point is that it takes more
不仅仅是to have the best kind of life
获得内部实现than just getting the insides right.
同时也要获得外部实现It also requires getting the outsides right
不管怎么说whatever that comes to--
你的生命所拥有的不能仅仅是体验having in your life not just experiences
还包括正确的事but the right kinds of goods
或者成就 诸如此类or accomplishments or whatever term we use for it.
现在Now, let's say,
我们暂时不去探讨instead of pursuing the questions of
这个理论到底是如何起作用的how exactly that theory should go,
如果我们采用这一理论notice that if we had that theory,
原则上 我们还是可以...we could still evaluate in principle--
不管会遇到多少实际困难whatever the practical difficulties might be--
原则上 我们还是能对不同生活进行评价in principle we could still evaluate rival lives.
我们能把所有积极的体验加起来We could talk about adding up all the positive experiences
问问自己 一生中中做了多少along with all the--ask yourself how many goods,
有意义的事 实现了多少真正的成就how many accomplishments of the right sort were in that life?
这些都是积极的方面And that's on the positive side of the ledger.
相反And against that
我们再减去we would then have to subtract the sum total of
生活中消极一面的体验the negative experiences,
减去所有的失败和欺骗 等等all the failures and deceptions or what have you.
这些都与你的生命价值相悖Those would count against the overall value of your life.
我们仍然可以说 你的生活品质We could still say it's--how good your life is,
等于所有好事减去所有坏事is a matter of adding up the goods and subtracting the bads.
只

不过 现在我们But we would now have a somewhat broader,
把好事的范围定义得更广了or more encompassing or inclusive, list of goods,
同时 把坏事也定义得更广了and a more broad and encompassing list of bads--
不仅是各种体验not just experience,
还包括各种的成就but also these various other accomplishments,
任何在定义范围内的事whatever exactly that list comes to.
这样 我们还是能对不同的生活进行评价So, we could still evaluate rival lives.
如果我选择做一个农民My life would've gone better had I
现在的生活会比做一名医生要好chosen to become a farmer instead of chosen to become a doctor.
或者是我的生活在这十年里可以变得更好Or my life would've gone better for this period of ten years,
但是随后又会变坏 等等but then it would've become worse. Or what have you.
或者当我们问自己Or when we ask ourselves,
如果随后几周我去度假 而非留在这里how will things go for me over the next couple of weeks
事情会有什么不同吗if I go on vacation versus staying back here?
我们把好事加起来 再减去坏事We add up the goods, subtract the bads
随便定义这范围--whatever our favorite list is--
我们不仅能合理推测出and we come to our best educated guess
另一种生活的整体状态about the rival evaluations of not just lives as a whole,
也能推测出它各部分的状态but chunks of lives.
那么 最终的计算结果是什么呢Now, what do those totals come to?
你可能觉得这是实证问题Well, you might think it's an empirical question,
事实上我倾向于把它考虑成and in fact I am inclined to think it's an empirical question,
关于个体差异的实证问题varying from person to person.
但我们必须明确这样一个事实But it's worth taking a moment to flag the fact that
有一些人 一些哲学家there are people, there are philosophers,
认为这种假设适用于所有人who think we can generalize across all humans.
乐观主义者认为You might say that optimists
对于任何人are people who think that for everybody
在任何事件 任何情形下in every case, in every circumstance,
最终结果一定是正数the total is always positive.
"生命总是有意义的"Life's always worth living;
好死不如赖活着"it's always better than non-existence."
这是乐观主义的观点That's what the optimist thinks--
不仅是说他们自己not just for themselves individually,
而是说每个人 结果一定是正数but for everybody, the total is always positive.
相反 悲观主义者Against that, I suppose, you've got pessimists--
他们会说 "不对pessimists who say, "No, no.
尽管生活或许会有一些好事发生Although life perhaps has some good things,
但计算结果一定是负数the overall grand balance is negative
对于每个人 在任何情形下for everybody in every circumstance.
我们最好还是死

或者干脆说We'd all be better off dead, or perhaps more accurately still,
最好压根就没来过这个世界"all be better off never having been born in the first place."
这是悲观主义的观点That's what the pessimists say.
介于乐观主义者And in between the optimists on the one hand and
和悲观主义者之间the pessimists on the other,
温和派认为you've got moderates who say,
"具体情况具体分析 "It varies.
对某些人来说结果是正的And for some people the balance is positive,
对某些人来说就是负的for some people perhaps the balance is negative,
还要看 这是他们生命的整个过程whether for their life as a whole
还是生命中的其中一个阶段"or for certain stretches of their lives."
我们必须具体问题具体分析We then have to get down to facts about cases,
试着设身处地try to describe the instance,
或许有人病入膏肓perhaps somebody who's in the terminal stages of some illness
忍受着巨大的痛楚where they're in a great deal of pain.
他们体会不到生命的意义And the various other external goods of life, they can't--
因为他们卧床不起 生活都不能自理because they're bedridden, they can no longer accomplish things,
或许他们的家人抛弃了他们perhaps their family has abandoned them.
不论细节如何 我们都可以这样说Whatever the details might be,we could describe lives and say,
不管生命的整个过程有多好whether or not their life was good as a whole,
他们的未来之路都是消极的what the future holds out for them is negative.
这就是温和派的观点 That's what the moderates would say.
每个例子的情况都会不同It varies from case to case.
不管如何推敲这个问题Well, however we settle that issue,
所有这些观点notice there's still one other assumption that
存在一个共识all these positions still have in common.
我们扩大了对好事的定义范围...We've expanded our list of goods so that--
没人会否认生命中的好事Nobody's going to deny that among the goods of
以及其他积极的体验是令人愉悦的life are pleasure and other positive experiences.
而生命中的坏事And among the bads of
以及其他消极体验都是令人痛苦的life are pain and other negative experiences.
但我们扩大了好事的But we've expanded the
定义范围 它囊括了外部生活中的好事list of goods so it includes external goods
而不单指经验或内心方面的好事and not only experiential or internal goods.
不过 我要说的观点Still, the views that I've been sketching
都是基于下面这样一个共同的假设all still have the following assumption in common.
活着有多美好How good it is to be alive
其实就是is a matter of adding up all of the
生活内容的总和--call it the contents of life.
即 生命中所有的经历和成就Add up your experiences and your accomplishments
及构成生命的各个

细节and the particular details of your life
相加的总和as what the story is about.
这就好比我们假设的It's as though we've been assuming,
我一直在假设and I have been assuming up to this moment,
生命本身that being alive per se
是没有价值的has no value.
生命本身就像一个容器It's--life itself is a container
我们把各种事情放进去which we fill with various goods or bads.
然后判断它们的价值And deciding how valuable it is,
我生命的意义how good it is for me to be alive is
就是这些生活内容的价值之和is a matter of adding up the value of the contents of the life.
但是容器本身只是个容器而已But the container itself is a mere container.
它自身没有任何价值It has no value in and of itself.
之前的铺垫都是为了介绍这个理论We could say that what I've been presupposing up to this point is
即 关于生命价值的the "Neutral container theory"
"中性容器理论"of the value of life.
享乐主义是"中性容器理论"的一个版本Hedonism is a version of the neutral container theory.
你的生命...How valuable--
你的生活有多幸福 how well off you are,
你的生命就有多大价值how valuable your life is,
这是个关于生活中快乐和痛苦的函数 is a function of the contents, the pleasure and the pain.
我们扩大了生命中好事的定义范围We've expanded the list of goods that can go within your life,
但尽管如此but for all that,
我们还是建立在"中性容器理论是正确方法"we've still been acting as though the neutral container theory
这一假设之上is the right approach.
但反对者会认为 不对But against this there are those who think, no,
他们认为 如果要考虑生命内容的价值in addition to thinking about the value of the content of life,
必须要首先明确we have to remember--so these people claim--
生命本身是有意义的that life itself is worth having.
生命本身的意义凌驾于There's a benefit to me above and beyond the question of
生活中发生的事情what's going on within my life--
被爱与否 成就与否am I loved, am I accomplishing things,
快乐与否 等问题之上am I having nice experiences or not?
这些问题都凌驾于生命的内容之上Above and beyond the question of the contents of my life,
我们得明确这一事实we have to remember that the mere fact
即 生命本身赋予了我人生的价值that I'm alive gives my life some value.
这些就是"有价容器理论"So, these are "Valuable container theories".
思考一下 接受"有价容器理论"Now, think about what it would mean to accept
意味着什么a valuable container theory.
它意味着生命本身You're saying that being alive per se
有一些积极的价值has some positive value.
然而 我们马上会发现Well, actually, the first remark is,
"生命本身"这个名词probably wouldn't be completely accurate to say,
作为这

句话的主语并不十分准确to describe these views as saying, "It's being alive per se."
毕竟 一棵小草也是有生命的After all, a blade of grass is alive,
我猜即便是那些and I presume that even fans of the,
"有价容器理论"的追随者们what we might call valuable container theories,
也不会认为 "只要我们有生命don't think that, "Oh, wouldn't it be wonderful if--
即使我们只是小草as long as I was alive
我们的生命也是非常有意义的"in the way that a blade of grass is alive."
也许生命本身有价值Life may have value in and of itself,
但我们想要的不仅仅是生命but it's not mere life.
我们想要的是作为人的生命What we want is the life of a human.
我们想要能够取得成就的生命We want a life in which we're accomplishing things,
以及能够了解事物的生命there's agency, and the life of knowing things.
因为只有学习才能获得知识Because you have to be a knower in order to have knowledge.
我们想要有感情的生命The life of somebody who can have an emotional side.
也就是像人一样的生命So, it's something like the life of a person
当我们说 当有些人说道that when we say, when there are people who are inclined to say,
活着本身是有价值的that being alive per so is valuable,
他们的意思大概是presumably what they mean
作为一个人 生命本身是有价值的is being alive as a person per se is valuable.
好的 注意这一点 并记在心里All right. Note that point; keep it in mind.
为简单起见 我就把这个观点描述成For simplicity I'll talk about these views as though they say
生命本身是有价值的life per se is valuable.
我觉得还有一些观点更极端Actually, I suppose there could be a more extreme view still.
虽然我不太赞同It seems implausible to me,
但有些人的想法还是值得注意的but I suppose it's worth noticing there are people who think,
"不 活着本身"No, being alive per se, right--
即使我现在这样even though there I am and
我的大脑被彻底毁坏了my brain has been so thoroughly destroyed
我不再能够了解任何事that I'm not longer able to know anything,
不再能对任何人传递我的情感no longer able to relate emotionally to anybody,
不再能够完成任何事no longer able to accomplish anything,
我一直保持植物人的状态there I am in a persistent vegetative state,
但至少我是活着的"but at least I'm alive."
可以想象 有人会有这种观点You can imagine somebody who has that view.
我觉得这个观点是非常没有道理的I've got to say I find that a pretty implausible view.
所以我会给这一说法加个限制条件So I'm going to restrict myself, at least when I think about it,
换一个形式表达 即to versions that say,
人的生命是有价值的it's the life of a person per se that's valuable.
现在 注意一点Now, notice that
如果我们接受这

个观点 并以此来判断if we accept this view to decide how well off I am,
一个人的生活有多幸福or somebody else is,
你就不能仅仅是把生命的内容做加法you can't just add up the contents of the life.
就不能只把所有快乐相加 再减去痛苦You can't just add up all the pleasures and subtract the pains,
或者把所有成就相加 再减去失败or add up all the accomplishments and subtract the failures,
或者把全部知识相加or add up all the knowledge
再减掉无知和欺骗and subtract the ignorance and deception.
对这些内容做加减法能得到一个结果Doing that in terms of the contents gives you a subtotal,
但这个结果不再是事情的全部but that subtotal is no longer the entire story.
因为我们还需考虑Because we also have to add in,
如果我们接受一种"有价容器理论"if we accept a valuable container theory,
我们就得为积极方面增加额外点数we also have to add in some extra positive points
要考虑这样一个情况to take account of the fact that,
至少你有生命 活在世上well, at least you're alive or have the life or a person--
拥有生命本身的价值or whatever it is that you think is valuable in and of itself.
首先我们得出生命内容的总和So first we get the content subtotal;
然后我们为生命本身then we add some extra points
增加一些额外的点数for the mere fact that you're alive.
注意Now, notice
由于我们为生命本身that since we are adding extra positive facts,
增加积极的额外点数 extra positive points, for the fact that you're alive,
那么即便生命内容的总和是负数even if the contents subtotal is negative,
最后的结果仍有可能为正数the grand total could still be positive.
假设 生命本身有一百点Suppose that being alive per se is worth plus a hundred points,
随便编个数just to make up some number.
即使你的生命内容之和只有负十Even if your content subtotal was negative ten,
那也不代表你活得不好that doesn't mean you're not better off alive,
因为负十加上because negative ten plus
生命本身价值的一百点the extra hundred points for the mere fact that you're alive
最后的结果是正九十点is still going to give you a positive total, plus .
思考是否该接受"有价容器理论"的意义So, the point of thinking about the possibility of accepting
在于它能提醒我们a valuable container theory is to remind us
是否死掉比活着更好that in deciding are you better off dead,
死亡是否剥夺了一些有意义的事情has death deprived me of something good or not,
不能只关注生命的内容it's important to not just focus on the contents
也要为凌驾于生命内容总和之上的东西but to also remember to add some positive points
增加积极的额外点数above and beyond the content subtotal
以便考虑to take into account the
生命本身的价值value of the sheer

fact that you're alive.
如果你是"中性容器理论"的支持者If you're a fan of the neutral container theory,
那你不用额外加任何东西you won't have anything extra to add,
因为生命本身只是一个零because life per se is just a zero.
而最后的点数仅仅是与生命内容相关It's strictly a matter of the contents.
但是如果你接受"有价容器理论"But if you accept a valuable container theory,
你就必须增加额外的点数 即使你说you have to add something more. And so even if, you might say,
你的人生中充斥着坏事the way my life is going in terms of its contents is bad,
但活着本身仍是一件好事being alive per se might still be a good thing.
那么就需要加一些额外点数 加多少呢Have to add some extra points. How much extra?
现在关于"有价容器理论"Well, here we're going to have, of course, more modest
我们有更适度and more bold versions of
更大胆的观点the valuable container theory.
让我们来区分一下两个类型Let me just distinguish two broad types.
我们称它为What we might call modest versions
"适度有价容器理论"of the valuable container theory say,
这个理论说 尽管活着本身是一件好事although being alive per se is good,
但如果你生命的内容if the contents
变得足够坏of your life get bad enough,
那么就会抵消生命本身价值的点数that can outweigh the value of being alive
那么总和就是负的so that the grand total is negative.
"适度容器理论"认为Modest container theories, that is,
活着是有价值的say there's a value to being alive,
但原则上 它的价值是可以被抵消的but it can in principle be outweighed.
至于它是很容易被抵消Whether it gets outweighed easily,
还是很困难 还是要达到or whether it's very, very difficult and the
一个非常坏的程度才能被抵消contents have to be horrible to outweigh it,
这完全取决于你对活着本身价值的判断depends on how much value you think being alive per se has.
所以这是折衷的理论So, those are modest theories--
生命有正的点数 但是可以被抵消positive value for life, but it can be outweighed.
与之相反 另外一些人认为Against that, you can imagine someone who thinks
生命本身就弥足珍贵being alive per se is so incredibly valuable
不论生命内容有多可怕that no matter how horrible the contents are,
总和永远是正的the grand total will always be positive.
意思是说 相比生命内容的问题It's as though being alive is infinitely valuable
生命本身具有无穷的价值in comparison to questions about the contents.
我们可以把它称为We could call this
"过度有价容器理论"the "Fantastic valuable container theory"
与之对应的是"适度有价容器理论"As opposed to the "Modest valuable container theory."
我觉得这个名字已经I suppose that label gives away
表达了我想要批评

它的地方where I want to come down on this.
我认为"过度有价容器理论"I find the fantastic valuable container theory
有一种梦幻般的感觉fantastic in the sense of incredible.
我根本无法相信它I can't bring myself to believe it,
这个观点...which...
我有点赞同"有价容器理论"的一些观点I have some sympathies for valuable container theories,
但我也有点赞同"中性容器理论"but I also have some sympathy for neutral container theories.
有时候我更倾向"中性容器理论"Sometimes I'm drawn toward the neutral view;
有时候又倾向于sometimes I'm drawn toward the thought
生命本身就有价值的说法that being alive per se is good for you.
但即使是我有时倾向"有价容器理论"But even in those moments when I'm drawn towards valuable container theories,
也是指的"适度有价容器理论"it's always the modest version.
我不赞同"过度价值容器理论"I don't find myself drawn toward the fantastic version.
现在 如果我们再进行一下区分Now, if we make these distinctions, then again,
记住 我们要自问的问题是remembering that the question we've been asking ourselves is,
"为什么死亡是不好的" "So why is death bad?"
剥夺说认为The deprivation account says,
死亡对你有害 因为在一特定的时间内death is bad for you insofar as, or it's bad for you when,
死亡剥夺了你by virtue of dying now, what you've been deprived of is,
另一种值得体验的生活another chunk of life that would've been good for you to have.
而现在我们要搞清And what we now see is that--
到底是不是这么回事to see whether that could be the case or not,
我们得心中有数we've got to get clear in our own minds about
我们相信的是"中性容器理论"whether we believe in a neutral container theory,
还是"有价容器理论"a positive, valuable container theory or--
或是在and among those,
"过度"和"适度"有价容器理论中选择between a fantastic and a modest container theory.
如果我们是中立主义者 我们会说If we are neutralists, we're going to say,
我们想知道 在今后一年 十年the question is, what would the contents of my life have been,
或更久以后 我的生命内容是怎样的for the next year, ten years, whatever?
如果那是值得拥有的经历If that would've been worth having,
如果我生命的下一段时光是值得拥有的then if the next chunk of my life would've been worth having,
那我就不想现在死then it's bad for me
而是最好再活上十年that I die now instead of living for the next ten years.
相反On the other hand,
如果生命的内容从现在开始走下坡路if the balance from here on out would've been negative,
那么与其今后活得惨淡then it's good for me that I died now instead of
倒不如马上死掉being kept alive with a life not worth living.
这就是中立主义者的观点That's how the neutralists put

it.
如果我们是有价容器理论者If we are valuable container theorists,
我们会认为答案是we think the answer has got to be, well,
关注生命内容但不要忘记加入额外的点数look at the contents, but don't forget to add some extra points,
即使你今后五年里的even if the next five years
生命内容会比较差for you would've been, in terms of the contents modestly bad,
但或许生命本身点数能把坏事抵消perhaps the value of at least being alive at all outweighs it,
所以 你还是活着更好一点so it still would've been better for you to be alive.
但是如果生命内容恶劣到了一定程度But if the contents get bad enough,
那还是死了比较好then you'd be better off dead.
注意在折衷的观点里 如果我们问自己Notice that on the modest view, if we ask ourselves,
永生是不是好事would it have been good to be immortal?
答案就不仅仅取决于是否接受the answer's going to depend on not just whether we accept
伯纳德·威廉姆斯"永生不善"的观点Bernard Williams' claim that immortality would be bad for you,
因为我们现在意识到威廉姆斯的观点because we now realize that what Williams was talking about
其实是永生的生命内容was the contents of an immortal life.
如果我们是"有价容器理论者"And that's no longer an adequate view,
那么这个观点就有了局限性or at least it's no longer a complete story,
至少可以说 它是不完整的if we are valuable container theorists.
一定有人会说We could say--you could imagine somebody saying,
"威廉姆斯 你说得对 "Oh yes, you're right, Williams,
生命内容虽然是负的the contents get negative,
但它仍可以被生命本身的价值所抵消but that's still outweighed by the mere fact that you're alive.
所以总的说来 永生是一件好事"So on balance, being immortal is a good thing."
好坏与否完全取决于Whether that's right or not depends on
永生到底有什么坏处just how bad would it be to be immortal.
因为 如果你是温和派Because, of course, if you're a modest,
如果你接受if you accept the modest
"适度有价容器理论"的观点version of the valuable container theory,
也就是如果生命内容坏到一定程度then if the contents get bad enough,
就会抵消掉生命中全部积极的价值that can outweigh the positive value of life.
反之Against that, fans of the
支持"过度有价容器理论"的人会说fantastic valuable container theory can say,
威廉姆斯的观点是否正确根本无所谓it doesn't really matter whether Williams is right.
即使永生会变得Even if being immortal would become
极度地无聊冗长或是乏味糟糕horrendously boring and tedious or worse,
那也无所谓it doesn't matter.
生命本身的价值就可以抵消它The value of being alive per se outweighs that.
所以活着总是要比死掉强So you're always better off being alive.
所以

生命持续时间越长越好So more life would always be better,
不论生命内容如何糟糕no matter how horrible the contents might be.
永生对你来说一定是一件好事So being immortal really would be a good thing for you.
死亡永远是件坏事Death always is a bad thing.
如果你接受"过度有价容器理论"That's what you can say
这就是你的观点if you accept the fantastic container theory.
我不认为"过度有价容器理论"I don't find the fantastic container theory myself--
有什么值得借鉴的地方I don't find it particularly attractive.
我不仅认为I'm inclined to think not only that--
如果我们所有人都获得永生not only that the contents of life would be bad,
最终 生命的内容会是无益eventually, for all of us if we were immortal
我还认为 它会坏到抵消一切价值--but that it would be bad enough to outweigh whatever value,
一切生命本身的积极价值whatever positive value being alive per se may have for us.
所以 我更倾向于说So, I'm inclined to think, eventually
总的来说 永生还是无益的immortality would always be bad overall.
但我要提醒你们 这种说法并没有排除But let me remind you that saying that does not rule out the
我们一贯坚持的一种可能 即possibility of consistently going on to say that
因为永生是可怕的even though it's a good thing that we die,
所以死亡不是一件坏事because eventually immortality would be horrible--
但尽管如此 死亡还是可能过早降临for all that, death could still come too soon.
我们很可能It could still be the case that
在生命开始走下坡路之前就死了we die before life has turned bad.
很可能我们死后的十年We die while it's still the case that living another ten years
或二十年 甚至五百年里or twenty years, or for that matter five hundred years--
生命内容仍然对我们来说是好的would still or could still have been good for us.
"永生无益"与"死亡过早降临"It's compatible with thinking that immortality would be bad
并不矛盾to think that in fact death comes too soon.
当然But of course,
我们现在又回到温和派 we now have a return of the division between moderates,
乐观主义者以及悲观主义者的分歧上optimists and pessimists.
你也许会说 乐观主义者是那些...You might say, optimists are those--
现在说的是更纯粹意义上的乐观 now in this more chastened version of optimism,
他们会说 "即使最终在千百万年之后optimists say, "Even if immortality would be bad eventually after
永生无益a million years or ten million years or what have you,
但是下一段光阴却是有益的"the next chunk of life would've been good for all of us."
那么死亡 这是乐观主义者独特的理性So that death--they're optimists in this strange sense,
如果他们认为生活是好的if they think life would've been good,
必然也就意味

着死亡是不好的which means of course that that we die is bad for us.
因为我们都死得太早 Because we all die too soon.
这就是乐观主义者的观点That's what the optimists might say.
反之 悲观主义者会说Against that, the pessimists might say,
"孩子 死亡来得一点也不早"Boy, death comes not a moment too soon for any of us.
人生下一段时光根本不值得拥有The next chunk of life is always not worth having,
永远比没有更坏"always worse than nothing."
在这两个极端中间的是温和派 他们说And in between these two extremes are the moderates, who say,
"对于我们有些人来说 死亡来得太快"For some of us, death comes too soon.
对于另一些人 死亡并没来得很快"For some of us, death does not come too soon."
我想读一段引语 现在读其实不合时宜There's a quote I want to read. It's actually out of place now.
我应该在上节或上上节开始讨论永生时I should have read it a lecture or two ago when I started talking about immortality,
就读一读 但我当时放错地方了but I misplaced it.
今天早上我才找到它So, I found it this morning.
所以在我结束永生这个话题之前So before I just leave the subject of immortality,
让我以let me conclude with
来自前美国小姐参赛者的箴言做个总结吧some words of wisdom from a former Miss USA contestant.
她当时被问到She was asked the question,
"你想不想永远活着" 她答道"Would you want to live forever?" And she responded,
"我不会永远活着 "I would not live forever,
因为我们不应该永远活着because we should not live forever.
因为如果我们应该永远活着Because if we were supposed to live forever,
那我们就会永远活着 then we would live forever.
但是我们做不到这一点But we cannot live forever,
所以我不会永远活着"which is why I would not live forever."
说得挺好的 对吧Isn't that nice?
好了 我一直都在谈论All right. So I've been talking for,
实际上连续这几周actually now a couple of weeks I suppose,
我们都在讨论死亡主要的坏处about the central badness of death.
为什么死亡对我是坏事Why is it that death is bad for me?
我推崇的答案是剥夺说的回答And the answer I propose is the deprivation account.
死亡最严重的坏处是The central bad thing about the fact that I'm going to die
因为我即将死去is the fact that because I'll be dead
所以我生活中的好事将会被剥夺I'll be deprived of the good things in life.
但我们感觉这样的表达有点粗糙 对吧And we've now seen that that's a bit crude, right?
我们不能只讨论生命中的好事We have to not talk--just talk about the good things in the life,
还要讨论生命本身的好处but the good of life itself,
而且 需要注意 或许对于某些观点and we have to notice that perhaps on certain views,
在某些情况下 for certain cases

,
死亡并不意味着我被剥夺了美好的生命it's not really the case that when I die I'm being deprived of a good life.
因为下一段时光 或者是从那点开始Because the next chunk, or perhaps from there on out,
生命会变坏 但是it would've been bad. But still,
仍然将我们一直忽略的details and complications
细节和复杂因素放在一边of the sort we've been considering aside,
死亡最根本的坏处是它剥夺了我the fundamental badness of death is that it deprives me of
值得拥有的人生life worth having.
我极力强调But although I've been at pains to say
这是死亡最根本的坏处this is the fundamental bad thing about death,
这点其实是可论证的 也可以表达为I think it's arguable that--I think one could make the case that
这不是死亡唯一的坏处this isn't the only bad thing about death,
即使我们关注的是死亡为什么对我有害even if we're focusing on why is death bad for me?
我们体验死亡时 还会发现其他的特点There are other features of death, as we experience it,
当然这些特点与剥夺说无关that are separable from the deprivation account,
至少增添了死亡降临的方式that at least add to the way that death occurs for us,
我们不得不这样问where we then have to ask the question,
它增加了死亡的坏处吗does this add to the badness of death?
或者它在一定程度上减轻了死亡的害处Or conceivably for some of these things, perhaps it mitigates it;
还是通过某种或其他方法使害处最小化it minimizes it in one way or another.
我想花几分钟时间So, what I want to do is take at least a couple of minutes
继续挖掘这些其他的特点and pursue some of these extra features as well.
举个例子Here's an example.
事实上It's not merely the fact that...it's not merely true that
你不是要死you're going to die.
而是你必然会死It's inevitable that you're going to die.
你无法回避There's no avoiding the fact
死亡的最终结局that you're going to die.
比如你们都在上大学I mean look, you're all going to college,
但并不意味着你必须上大学but it wasn't inevitable that you go to college.
如果你选择不上 那你就不必来Had you chosen not to, you could've avoided going to college.
但是无论你是否选择死亡But it doesn't matter what you choose,
你都无法逃避死亡you can't avoid dying.
所以说我们都会死去So it's not just merely the case that in fact
并不仅仅是一个事实we are all going to die;
这还是一个必然的真相it's a necessary truth that we're all going to die.
我们会问 死亡的必然性又将带来什么呢So we might ask, what about this inevitability of death?
它会让事情更糟吗Does that make things worse?
在这里我想区分一下死亡必然性的And here I want to distinguish between the individual question
个体问题与群体问题about the inevitability of

death, and the universal question.
先来考虑So just start by thinking about the fact that
你必然将要死去it's unavoidable that you're going to die.
死亡的必然性使事情更好还是更坏呢Does the unavoidability of death make it better or worse?
有趣的是 我觉得你们能够发现And the interesting thing is, I think you can see--
你们可能会得到两个答案you can get a feel for both possible answers here.
一方面 也许有些人会说On the one hand, you can imagine somebody who says,
"我必将死去这件事本身已经够坏的了"Look, it's bad enough that I'm going to die,
而事实上我又什么都做不了but the fact that there's nothing I could do about it
只能让它更糟糕just makes it worse.
就好像往伤口上撒盐一样It's like adding insult to injury that
面对死亡我无能为力I'm powerless in the face of death.
我无法从死神手中逃离I cannot escape the Grim Reaper.
这种因自我存在本质的核心事实This sheer powerlessness about this central fact about
所引出的纯粹的无能为力the nature of my existence
无疑是雪上加霜"is an extra insult added to the injury."
而与之相反 另一些人会说Against that, however, there are those people who'd want to say,
"不 死亡的必然性"No. Actually, the inevitability of my death
减少了它的坏处"reduces the badness."
大家都听过"别为打翻的牛奶哭泣"这句话吧You all know the expression, "Don't cry over spilt milk." Right?
覆水难收 你没法改变That what's done is done. You can't change it.
当你将注意集中到你无法改变这一事实时What you can't change,
你改变不了的事loses...when you focus on the fact that you can't change it,
就不再让你那么烦恼了it loses some of its grip to upset you.
如果这种说法正确Well, if that's right,
而且如果我们意识到对于死亡and if we then realize that there's nothing I can do about
我束手无策the fact that I'm going to die,
那么或许这些刺痛then perhaps some of the sting,
就可以消除了some of the bite, is eliminated.
这就好像是你对于二加二等于四It's as though you try--try getting upset about the
这一事实感到困扰fact that two plus two equals four.
你对于无力改变二加二等于四Try feeling upset at your powerlessness
这样的事实而感到烦恼一样to change the fact that two plus two equals four.
假设你想要让二加二等于五Suppose you wanted two plus two to equal five.
你会因此而愤怒Can you work up anger
懊悔并气馁吗and regret and dismay over that?
我们大多数人肯定不会Well, most of us, of course, can't.
因为当我们意识到有些事是必然的时候Because when we see that something is just necessary,
我们...we...
疼痛感会降低it reduces the sting of it.
哲学家斯宾诺莎The philosopher Spinoza
{\an}{\fn方正黑体简体\fs\b\bord\shad\c&HFFF&}斯宾诺莎 荷兰哲学

家 西方近代哲学史重要的欧陆理性主义者
认为如果我们只能意识到thought that if we could only recognize the fact,
我们所认为的事实what he at least took to be the fact,
即 在生命中发生的任何事都是必然的that everything that happens in life is necessary,
那么我们就会产生一种情感上的距离感then we'd get a kind of emotional distance from it;
使我们不再烦恼it would no longer upset us.
我们不会再感到失望We could no longer be disappointed,
因为对某事感到失望的前提是because to be disappointed in something
它不是必然的presupposes that it could've been some other way.
斯宾诺莎认为如果你发现某事必然And Spinoza thought if you see that it couldn't go any other way,
那你就不会因此而忧伤then you can't be sad about it.
也就是说如果我们发现死亡是必然的Well, if we see that our death is inevitable
而且我们的内心也确实接受了这个事实and we really internalize that fact,
如此一来 死亡的坏处倒是降低了perhaps that would reduce the badness of it.
或许那种说法正确 但是回到出发点Well, maybe that's right, but going back to the firsthand,
我不知道你们多少人读过I don't know how many of you have read
陀思妥耶夫斯基的短篇小说《地下人》Dostoyevsky's short novel the Underground Man.
{\an}{\fn方正黑体简体\fs\b\bord\shad\c&HFFF&}陀思妥耶夫斯基 俄国著名文学家 代表作《罪与罚》
地下人 如果我记得没错的话The Underground Man is upset about--if I remember correctly--
他对二加二等于四这样一个事实he's upset about the fact that
感到很苦恼two plus two equals four
然后他对此束手无措and there's nothing that he can do about it.
所以他咒骂自己的存在So he curses existence,
咒骂上帝让他如此无能curses God at having made him so impotent
以至于连二加二等于四这件事都无力改变that he can't change the fact that two plus two equals four.
另一位哲学家笛卡尔And another philosopher, Descartes,
{\an}{\fn方正黑体简体\fs\b\bord\shad\c&HFFF&}笛卡尔 法国著名哲学家 物理学家 数学家 生理学家
在探讨上帝的全知全能时in thinking about God's omnipotence,
认为上帝作为全能者却无法thought that it wouldn't
改变数学的真实性be good enough if God as omnipotent couldn't
这简直说不过去change the facts of mathematics.
所以他猜想万能的上帝And so he imagines that God, as omnipotent,
也许已经使二加二等于四could've made two plus two equals five.
他这么说有点...And so it's a kind of...
的确 我们无法摆脱So, it is indeed a fact of our powerlessness
这种如影随形的无力感that we're stuck with the necessities.
但上帝却不为此困扰 God isn't stuck with them.
所以陀思妥耶夫斯基承袭了And so Dostoyevsky takes that
这个观点并作出延伸though

t and runs with it and says,
"说死亡必然没有任何意义"Yeah. It doesn't help to say that it's inevitable.
这样做只会使事情更糟" 这里有两面It makes it worse." Well, there's both sides.
好比说 我自己 在不同的心情时And as I say, I myself, in different moods,
被不同方面吸引get pulled in both ways.
事实上What about the fact
不仅我自己必然死亡that not only is it inevitable that I'm going to die,
而且我们所有人都终将死去it's inevitable that we're all going to die.
那么死亡的普遍性Does the universality of death
是增加还是减少了死亡的坏处呢make things better or worse?
同样 你可能感觉两方面都有可能And again, you can sort of feel the pull both ways.
一方面你说 我将要死去是坏事On the one hand you say, it's bad that I'm going to die,
但我不是怪物but I'm not a monster.
然而 每个人都注定一死 It makes me feel even worse
这叫我更加难过that everybody else is stuck dying--
或者按照我们关于永生的讨论来说or perhaps we should say dying too soon
就是我们死得太早了in light of our discussion about immortality.
如果大多数人It's a pity that most everybody,
或每一个人都死得很早 简直太可惜了or perhaps everybody, dies too soon.
这样便增加了死亡的坏处That makes it even worse.
另一方面 让我们坦诚一点On the other hand, you know, let's be honest here,
大家都知道"同病相怜"这种说法we also know the expression, "Misery loves company."
一旦发觉And there's at least some comfort to be had,
我不是一个人isn't there, in the realization that
我们多少都会感到点宽慰this thing isn't just true for me.
并不是宇宙单独把我挑出来It's not like the universe has singled me out
让我死得太早for the deprivation of dying too soon.
每个人都如此It's something that it does to everybody.
于是 我们对死亡的必然性有了一丝慰藉So perhaps there's some comfort in the inevitability of death.
另一个有关死亡的思考是Well, here's a different aspect of death worth thinking about.
死亡的差异性会对死亡产生什么影响What about the variability of death?
毕竟问题不仅关乎我们都会死去After all, it's not just the case that we all die.
我也不说什么死亡来得太快And I'll stop saying die too soon.
假设大家都明白Let's just suppose we understand that
那是我说这些话潜在的前提clause to be implied in what I'm saying.
问题不仅关乎我们都会死去It's not just the case that we all die.
同时我们的生命也因人而异There's a great deal of variation in how much life we get.
有些人可以活到岁 岁 Some of us make it to the ripe old age of ,
岁或者更长a or more.
有人则可能在岁 岁 Others of us die at , or ,
岁或者更年轻就去世了or , or younger.
即便死亡不可避免Even if death were inevitable,

那也并不是非得死在不同岁数上it wouldn't have to come in different-sized packages.
也就是说 差异性不是必须存在的That is, it wouldn't have to have variability.
我们可以想象有这样一个世界We could imagine a world in which everybody dies--
每个人都在一百岁的时候死去everybody dies at the age of a hundred.
人寿命的差异性Does it make things worse or better
到底是好还是坏呢that there's this kind of variability?
从道德上来说 我猜想From the moral point of view, I suppose,
答案显然是更坏it's fairly straightforward to suggest it makes things worse.
毕竟 我们大多数都倾向于认为After all, most of us are inclined to think
人们很难从道德上接受不平等that inequality is morally objectionable.
一些人无缘无故地贫穷It's bad that, through no fault of their own,
另一些人却也无缘无故地富有some people are poor and other people are rich. Or other people are rich.
如果人们无法在道德上接受不平等If inequality is morally objectionable,
那我们很可能会认为这样极度的不平等then it's very likely we're going to think it's morally horrendous
是道德上的灾难that there's this crucial inequality:
即 有些人在岁时夭折some of us die a the age of
而其他人可以活到高寿while others get to live to .
但为了便于我们集中探讨死亡的害处But in keeping with the focus of our discussion about the
我暂且把这些道德问题放到一边badness of death, I want to put aside the moral question
转而想想 对我来说and think about how good or bad for me
死亡的差异性有多好或者多坏is it that there's variability in death?
让我们先从两个最基本的方面着手Well, we might say, let's look at it from two basic perspectives,
即 寿命小于平均值的人those who get less than the average lifespan
以及寿命大于平均值的人and those who get more than the average lifespan.
对于那些寿命短的人来说From the point of view of somebody who gets less,
死亡显然是件坏事this is obviously a bad thing.
死得早实在是太糟糕了It's bad enough that I'm going to die too soon.
我说过我不会再重复这样的话I said I wasn't going to keep saying that remark,
但是现在我还是得说and here I am saying it anyway.
人终将死去这件事已经够坏的了It's bad enough that I'm going to die.
但更糟糕的是But what's even worse is
我的寿命还低于平均水平I'm going to get even less than the average amount of life.
这简直就是噩耗 但我们随后会怀疑That's clearly an extra-bad. But we might then wonder,
对于那些寿命短于平均值的人来说for every person who gets less than the average amount of life--
如果我们取个中位数suppose we take the median,
把人的寿命精确分成两部分take the amount of life that's exactly,
百分之五十的人寿命长于中位数 percent of

the people get more,
百分之五十寿命短于中位数 percent of the people get less.
对于每一个寿命短于中位数的人来说For every person who has less than the median amount of life,
总有另一个人there's another person
他的寿命大于中位数who has more than the median amount of life.
那么这个人会说 嘿 That person gets to say, hey. Well, you know,
虽然人必有一死或者英年早逝挺遗憾的it's a pity that I'm going to die or die too soon,
但至少我的寿命超过了平均值but at least I'm getting more than the average.
我还是赚了That's a plus.
所以也许这两方面就互相抵消了So perhaps these two aspects balance themselves out.
这样一来 既有There are people who are basically
因寿命低于均值而郁郁寡欢的人screwed by the fact that they get less than the average amount
也有寿命高于均值and people who are benefited
而受益颇丰的人by getting more than the average amount.
所以或许从个人的角度来看So perhaps in terms of the individual badness of death,
这种说法站得住脚 也许that's a wash. Maybe,
除此之外 对我来说 except it seems to me
这是一个关于人类心理的深刻事实it's a further fact about human psychology
我们更加关注短期变化that we care more about being short changed
而轻视过度补偿than we do about being, as we might put it, overcompensated.
我相当怀疑那些寿命I rather suspect that people
小于平均值的人who have less than the average of something,
所受到的伤害it hurts them more
要多于超出平均寿命的人than it benefits the people who have more
所获得的好处than the average of something.
如果这话正确And if that's right--
那么情况也许是这样的and that seems likely to be the case,
特别是像死亡这种...especially for something like death--
对于那些寿命小于平均值的人来说the extra bad of the fact that there's variability
差异性带来的额外害处...and so some people get less than average--
我怀疑那额外的害处that extra bad, I suspect, outweighs the extra benefit
可以把高于平均寿命人获得的益处抵消掉of some people having more than average.
现在让我们考虑死亡的另一个特点Well, let's consider a different feature.
我们探讨了死亡的必然性和差异性We've had inevitability; we had variability.
对于不可预见性 情况又是怎样的呢What about unpredictability?
不单说死亡无法避免Not only is it inevitable that you're going to die;
也不仅仅是说一些人活得比其他人更长not only do some people live longer than others,
而是你不知道你还剩下多少时间you don't know how much more time you've got.
你会想 我们刚才讲差异性的时候Now, you might think, well, didn't we already discuss that
不是已经讨论过这个问题了吗when we started thinking about variability?
但事实上 至少从逻辑