How to know if you're being selfish (and whether or not that's bad) - Mark Hopwood

譯者: 穎君 紀 審譯者: 麗玲 辛

In the kitchen at a friend's party,

在朋友的派對上，

you're in the midst of a profound moral conundrum.

你在廚房裡陷入重大的道德難題。

Famous philosophers whisper advice in your ear.

哲學名家們在你耳邊提出建議：

Utilitarian John Stuart Mill tells you that one should always strive

效益主義者約翰・彌爾告訴你，

你該努力為更多人爭取更多的幸福。

to bring about the greatest happiness for the greatest number of people.

Aristotle reminds you of the importance of the virtues of generosity and justice.

亞里斯多德提醒你 大方和正義感很重要。

But Thomas Hobbes points out that

湯瑪斯・霍布斯則指出：

"of all voluntary acts, the object is to every man his own good."

「所有自發的行為 都是出自於利己的動機。」

In other words, human beings are inherently selfish anyway.

也就是說，人類生而自私。

So why shouldn't you take the last cupcake for yourself?

那你為何不該吃掉最後一個杯子蛋糕？

This is actually one of philosophy's oldest questions.

這其實是個非常古老的哲學問題—

Not your cupcake dilemma—

不是你該不該吃掉杯子蛋糕，

the question of whether or not human beings are inherently selfish.

而是人類是否真的生而自私。

The idea that humans only act out of self-interest

認為人只為自己的利益行動的理論

is known as psychological egoism,

叫做「心理利己主義」。

and there aren't many philosophers who endorse this extreme stance.

支持這個理論的哲學家並不多。

There's simply too much evidence of humans sacrificing their self-interest,

有太多證據顯示 人會不惜犧牲自己的利益，

and sometimes their very lives, for the sake of others.

有時甚至犧牲自己性命，去幫助他人。

And studies by psychologists have shown that even very young children

心理學研究顯示，

連小孩子都會做出助人的行動，

demonstrate helpful behavior despite there being nothing in it for themselves.

即便沒有任何回報。

However, the idea that all humans have a deep selfish streak

不過，每個人的心底都有些私心，

is something many more philosophers would agree with.

這點多數的哲學家都認同。

German philosopher Immanuel Kant noted that while we often seem to act

德國哲學家伊曼努爾・康德說，

即使我們表面上看似為他人著想，

for the sake of others,

it's impossible to be sure we're not truly motivated

但也無法斬釘截鐵地說，

自己完全沒有被 心底的「自愛」所驅動。

by "a secret impulse of self-love."

For example, maybe when people make large donations to charity,

比如說，捐錢給慈善機構的人

they're actually more interested in looking good

可能是想讓自己看起來很慷慨，

or benefiting from tax breaks than helping others.

或想藉此減稅，而非幫助他人。

It's worth noting that not all philosophers think self-love

值得一提的是，並非每個哲學家

都覺得自愛是不好的。

is always a bad thing.

French philosopher Jean-Jacques Rousseau identified two kinds of self-love.

法國哲學家盧梭提出兩種不同的自愛：

He believed "Amour de soi," our basic need for self-preservation,

他認為「愛己心」， 即自我保存的基本需求，

is natural and essential.

是正常且必須的。

But he identified "amour propre,"

但「尊己心」，也就是

our toxic desire for recognition and social status,

渴望被認知、渴求權位的負面慾望，

as the cause of many unjust disparities.

會帶來許多不公平的差別待遇。

In a similar vein, Aristotle argued that humans are social beings

與此相似，亞里斯多德認為 人類是社會性動物，

who can only flourish when we seek the good of others as well as ourselves.

只有發掘自己和他人的 優點，才能成長茁壯。

By this logic, true self-love requires us to work against our selfish tendencies.

也就是說，戰勝自私的本性後， 才能找到真正的自愛。

For many philosophers, this is where the real problem lies—

對許多哲學家來說，這正是問題所在—

how do we overcome our selfishness?

要怎麼克服心中的自私呢？

Some, like Kant, have argued that our sense of moral duty

康德等哲學家認為道德義務感

is what helps us rise above our narrow self-interest.

能讓我們跨越狹隘的利己心態。

Others, like Rousseau and Adam Smith,

盧梭和亞當斯密

contend that emotions like pity and sympathy

則主張憐憫和同情心等情緒

are what allow us to consider the needs of others.

使我們能夠為他人的需求著想。

But 20th century philosopher-novelist Iris Murdoch

但二十世紀的哲學家及 小說家艾瑞斯・梅鐸

believed the only true solution to human selfishness was love.

相信化解自私心的唯一解方是－愛。

Or at least, a certain kind of love.

或者換個說法，某種愛。

For Murdoch, selfishness isn't about trivial things

梅鐸認為自私不是那些芝麻小事，

like taking the last cupcake.

像吃掉最後一個杯子蛋糕，

It's about seeing the world in a way that casts yourself as a star,

而是一個人看世界的方式： 把自己當成星系中央的恆星，

and everyone else as secondary characters.

其他人都是圍著自己轉的配角。

To explain this, Murdoch tells the story of a discontented mother-in-law.

為了解釋這個說法，梅鐸講了 一個永不滿意的婆婆的故事。

While the mother is always polite,

這位婆婆雖然平時彬彬有禮，

she secretly feels her son made a mistake marrying his "vulgar"

但打心底覺得自己兒子選錯妻子，

娶了個既粗鄙又孩子氣的女生。

and "tiresomely juvenile" wife.

To Murdoch, this mother is the picture of selfishness.

梅鐸認為，這位婆婆正是自私的化身－

By centering her own jealousy and insecurity,

把自己的嫉妒和不安擺在第一順位，

she's reducing the nuanced reality of her daughter-in-law to a caricature.

從而將擁有多個面向的媳婦 簡化成刻板印象。

But with some conscious effort,

但只要經過刻意的練習，

Murdoch believes the mother can learn to see her daughter in law as she truly is—

梅鐸相信這位婆婆可以學習 看到媳婦的真正面貌：

not vulgar or juvenile,

不粗俗、不幼稚，

but refreshingly straightforward and delightfully youthful.

而是直率又充滿活力。

To be clear, this doesn't mean

澄清一下，這並不代表

the mother should simply don rose-colored glasses.

她該戴上粉紅泡泡濾鏡美化一切。

Love, as Murdoch defines it, is "the extremely difficult realization

梅鐸定義的愛是「極為困難的領悟，

that something other than oneself is real."

意識到除了自己之外， 其他事物也是真實的。」

As challenging as this might be,

雖然這聽起來很難，

Murdoch believes we can all reach this realization

但梅鐸相信我們都能領悟，

by cultivating what she calls attention.

只要培養她所謂的「專注力」。

Partially inspired by Buddhist meditation,

部分受佛教思想啟發，

this practice could include engaging with art, learning foreign languages,

這些練習包括創作藝術作品、學外語，

or simply taking the time to observe the natural environment.

或單純花時間觀察身邊的大自然。

What's important for Murdoch is that the behavior

對梅鐸來說，重點是

這些行為幫助你把注意力 從自己身上轉移到更廣闊的世界，

helps direct your attention beyond the self.

Because only by practicing our ability to attend to the world around us

因為唯有練習專注於周圍的世界，

can we learn to see it as it truly is.

我們才能學會看清它的真實樣貌。