Who am I? A philosophical inquiry - Amy Adkins

我是誰？ 一個哲學問題 - 艾米．阿德金斯

譯者: Amy Jin 審譯者: Geoff Chen

Throughout the history of mankind,

在人類歷史中

three little words have sent poets to the blank page,

三個簡簡單單的字 讓詩人翻開空白的紙張

philosophers to the Agora,

讓哲學家步入阿戈拉

and seekers to the oracles:

讓尋求者尋求預言

"Who am I?"

“我是誰？”

From the ancient Greek aphorism inscribed on the Temple of Apollo,

從阿波羅神廟上刻著古希臘警句：

"Know thyself,"

“了解你自己”

to The Who's rock anthem, "Who Are You?"

到誰人樂隊中的歌曲“你是誰？”

philosophers, psychologists, academics,

哲學家、心理學家、學者、

scientists, artists, theologians and politicians

科學家、藝術家、神學家甚至政治家

have all tackled the subject of identity.

都被關於自我身份的話題難住了

Their hypotheses are widely varied and lack significant consensus.

他们的假設各有不同 但都不能達成共識

These are smart, creative people,

他們都是卓越而有創造力的人

so what's so hard about coming up with the right answer?

既然如此，得出正確的答案 又為甚麼這麼難呢？

One challenge certainly lies

其中的一個難點

with the complex concept of the persistence of identity.

就是身份持久性的複雜概念

Which you is who?

哪一個你是問題中的“誰”呢？

The person you are today?

今天的你嗎？

Five years ago?

還是五年前的你？

Who you'll be in 50 years?

還是五十年後的你？

And when is "am"?

而問題中的“是”又指什麼時候呢？

This week?

這週？

Today?

今天？

This hour?

這個小時？

This second?

這一秒鐘？

And which aspect of you is "I"?

而那一面的你又是問題中的“我”呢？

Are you your physical body?

是你的身體嗎？

Your thoughts and feelings?

你的想法和感受嗎？

Your actions?

你的行為嗎？

These murky waters of abstract logic are tricky to navigate,

這些模糊的抽象概念 讓人難以尋到回答的方向

and so it's probably fitting that to demonstrate the complexity,

這或許就適合用來 證明這個問題的複雜性

the Greek historian Plutarch used the story of a ship.

希臘的歷史學家普魯塔克 曾用過一艘船的故事來說明這個問題

How are you "I"?

為甚麼你是“我”？

As the tale goes, Theseus, the mythical founder King of Athens,

故事中說道，傳說中建造希臘的王忒修斯

single-handedly slayed the evil Minotaur at Crete,

單手在克里特島誅殺了邪惡的牛頭怪

then returned home on a ship.

然後乘船回到了家鄉

To honor this heroic feat,

為了紀念這個英雄事蹟

for 1000 years Athenians painstakingly maintained his ship in the harbor,

一千多年來，雅典人苦心 將他的船保留在了港口

and annually reenacted his voyage.

並且每年都會重演一次這個旅行

Whenever a part of the ship was worn or damaged,

一旦船的任一部分被風化了或者損壞了

it was replaced with an identical piece of the same material

那一部分都會被 同一材質的單獨一部分所替代

until, at some point, no original parts remained.

直到沒有一塊原配件存留

Plutarch noted the Ship of Theseus

普魯塔克認為忒修斯之船

was an example of the philosophical paradox

便是一個關於

revolving around the persistence of identity.

身份持久性的哲學悖論的例子

How can every single part of something be replaced,

一件物品怎麼可能在被全部替換之後

yet it still remains the same thing?

依舊是同樣的一件物品呢？

Let's imagine there are two ships:

請想像一共有兩艘船：

the ship that Theseus docked in Athens, Ship A,

一條是被忒修斯入塢雅典的船一

and the ship sailed by the Athenians 1000 years later, Ship B.

一條是一千年後雅典人乘坐的船二

Very simply, our question is this: does A equal B?

我們的問題很簡單： 船一與船二相同嗎？

Some would say that for 1000 years there has been only one Ship of Theseus,

有人說一千年來只有一條忒修斯之船

and because the changes made to it happened gradually,

因為船的變化是逐漸發生的

it never at any point in time stopped being the legendary ship.

所以它一直都是那艘載著傳奇的船

Though they have absolutely no parts in common,

儘管這兩艘船沒有一點相同點

the two ships are numerically identical, meaning one and the same,

兩艘船從數量來講都是相同的 這意味著一艘船和一艘同樣的船

so A equals B.

所以船一和船二是相同的

However, others could argue that Theseus never set foot on Ship B,

但是，也有人爭論到 忒修斯從未登上船二

and his presence on the ship is an essential qualitative property

從性質上來講 他在船上的存在才是

of the Ship of Theseus.

忒修斯之船必備的寶貴之處

It cannot survive without him.

這其中是必須要有他的

So, though the two ships are numerically identical,

所以，儘管從數量上來講 兩艘船是相同的

they are not qualitatively identical.

它們從性質上來說確是不同的

Thus, A does not equal B.

因此，船一與船二不相同

But what happens when we consider this twist?

如果我們這麼想 這個悖論又會怎樣呢？

What if, as each piece of the original ship was cast off,

如果原船上的每一部分都被丟棄了

somebody collected them all, and rebuilt the entire original ship?

有人把它們收集起來 然後重建了原來的船？

When it was finished, undeniably two physical ships would exist:

當這艘船完工之後 不可否認地，這兩艘船都是存在的：

the one that's docked in Athens,

一艘停泊在希臘

and the one in some guy's backyard.

另一艘在某人的後院裡

Each could lay claim to the title, "The Ship of Theseus,"

每艘船都可以被冠以 “忒修斯之船”的名號

but only would could actually be the real thing.

但其中只有一艘船是真正的那一艘

So which one is it,

因此，那艘船才是真的呢？

and more importantly, what does this have to do with you?

更重要的是，這和你又有些什麼關係呢？

Like the Ship of Theseus,

就像忒修斯之船一樣

you are a collection of constantly changing parts:

你是一個由不斷變化的部分組成的集合

your physical body, mind, emotions, circumstances, and even your quirks,

你的身體、思想、感情、 環境，甚至你說的俏皮話

always changing, but still in an amazing and sometimes illogical way,

都是在不斷變化的 但不可思議甚至不合邏輯的是：

you stay the same, too.

你依舊是你

This is one of the reasons that the question, "Who am I?" is so complex.

這就是為甚麼“我是誰”這個問題 如此難以回答的原因之一

And in order to answer it,

就像在你之前的那些學者一樣

like so many great minds before you,

為了回答這個問題

you must be willing to dive into the bottomless ocean of philosophical paradox.

你必須願意深入哲學悖論的深淵

Or maybe you could just answer,

或許你可以只是回答：

"I am a legendary hero sailing a powerful ship on an epic journey."

“我是一個在史詩的進程中 在一艘威武的船上航行的傳奇人物”

That could work, too.

這也是一個答案