The 4 stories we tell ourselves about death | Stephen Cave

Translator: Alicia Ferreiro Reviewer: Carme Paz

I have a question:

Teño unha pregunta:

Who here remembers when they first realized

Quen dos presentes recorda a primeira vez que se deu conta

they were going to die?

de que ía morrer?

I do. I was a young boy,

Eu si. Era un neno pequeno,

and my grandfather had just died,

o meu avó acababa de morrer,

and I remember a few days later lying in bed at night

e recordo estar uns días despois na cama,

trying to make sense of what had happened.

intentando atoparlle sentido ao que sucedera.

What did it mean that he was dead?

Que significaba que estivera morto?

Where had he gone?

A onde fora?

It was like a hole in reality had opened up

Era coma se se abrira un buraco na realidade

and swallowed him.

e o engulira.

But then the really shocking question occurred to me:

Pero logo ocorréuseme a cuestión máis impactante:

If he could die, could it happen to me too?

se el morrera, podería pasarme a min tamén?

Could that hole in reality open up and swallow me?

Podería ese buraco na realidade abrirse e engulirme a min?

Would it open up beneath my bed

Abriríase debaixo da miña cama

and swallow me as I slept?

e tragaríame mentres durmía?

Well, at some point, all children become aware of death.

Ben, nalgún momento, todos os cativos toman consciencia da morte.

It can happen in different ways, of course,

Pode suceder de distintos xeitos,

and usually comes in stages.

e adoita suceder por fases.

Our idea of death develops as we grow older.

A nosa idea da morte desenvólvese a medida que envellecemos.

And if you reach back into the dark corners

E se rebuscas nos recantos agochados

of your memory,

da túa memoria,

you might remember something like what I felt

se cadra recordas algo similar ao que sentín

when my grandfather died and when I realized

cando o meu avó morreu, e me dei conta

it could happen to me too,

de que me podería pasar a min tamén,

that sense that behind all of this

esa sensación de que, detrás de todo isto,

the void is waiting.

espera o baleiro.

And this development in childhood

E esta evolución na infancia

reflects the development of our species.

reflicte a evolución da nosa especie.

Just as there was a point in your development

Tal como houbo un punto no teu desenvolvemento de neno

as a child when your sense of self and of time

en que a consciencia de ti mesmo e do tempo

became sophisticated enough

se volveu o suficientemente complexa

for you to realize you were mortal,

como para darte conta de que es mortal,

so at some point in the evolution of our species,

nalgún punto da evolución da nosa especie,

some early human's sense of self and of time

a conciencia dun mesmo e do tempo dos antigos humanos

became sophisticated enough

volveuse o suficientemente complexa

for them to become the first human to realize,

como para convertérense nos primeiros humanos en decatarse:

"I'm going to die."

"Vou morrer".

This is, if you like, our curse.

Esta é, se se quere ver así, a nosa maldición.

It's the price we pay for being so damn clever.

É o prezo de ser tan condenadamente intelixentes.

We have to live in the knowledge

Temos que vivir sabendo

that the worst thing that can possibly happen

que a peor cousa que pode pasar,

one day surely will,

un día pasará,

the end of all our projects,

a fin de todos os proxectos,

our hopes, our dreams, of our individual world.

esperanzas, soños, do noso mundo individual.

We each live in the shadow of a personal

Cada un de nós vive na sombra

dunha apocalipse persoal.

apocalypse.

And that's frightening. It's terrifying.

E iso asusta, é aterrador.

And so we look for a way out.

Entón buscamos unha saída.

And in my case, as I was about five years old,

E no meu caso, como tiña cinco anos,

this meant asking my mum.

foi preguntarlle á miña nai.

Now when I first started asking

Cando comecei a preguntar

what happens when we die,

que ocorre ao morrer,

the grown-ups around me at the time

os adultos do meu redor nese momento

answered with a typical English mix of awkwardness

contestaban cunha típica mestura inglesa de incomodidade

and half-hearted Christianity,

e cristianismo sen moita convicción,

and the phrase I heard most often

e a frase que oín máis a miúdo

was that granddad was now

era que o avó agora estaba

"up there looking down on us,"

"aí arriba mirándonos",

and if I should die too, which wouldn't happen of course,

e que se eu tivese que morrer, o que por suposto non ía pasar,

then I too would go up there,

entón eu tamén iría para alá arriba,

which made death sound a lot like

o que fixo que a morte me soase bastante

an existential elevator.

a un ascensor existencial.

Now this didn't sound very plausible.

Isto non soaba moi realista.

I used to watch a children's news program at the time,

Adoitaba ver daquela un programa infantil de novas,

and this was the era of space exploration.

e isto foi na era da exploración espacial.

There were always rockets going up into the sky,

Sempre había foguetes indo ao ceo,

up into space, going up there.

ao espazo, alá arriba.

But none of the astronauts when they came back

Pero ningún dos astronautas ao volver

ever mentioned having met my granddad

mencionou nunca que se atoparan co meu avó

or any other dead people.

ou con calquera outra persoa falecida.

But I was scared,

Pero estaba asustado,

and the idea of taking the existential elevator

e a idea de subir ao ascensor existencial

to see my granddad

para ver o meu avó

sounded a lot better than being swallowed

soaba mellor que ser engulido

by the void while I slept.

polo baleiro mentres durmía.

And so I believed it anyway,

E aínda así crino,

even though it didn't make much sense.

a pesar de non ter moito sentido.

And this thought process that I went through

E este proceso mental que pasei de cativo,

as a child, and have been through many times since,

e que pasei moitas veces desde aquela,

including as a grown-up,

incluso de adulto,

is a product of what psychologists call

é o produto do que os psicólogos chaman

a bias.

un nesgo cognitivo.

Now a bias is a way in which we systematically

Un nesgo é a forma en que por sistema

get things wrong,

interpretamos mal as cousas,

ways in which we miscalculate, misjudge,

a forma en que que calculamos mal, xulgamos mal,

distort reality, or see what we want to see,

distorsionamos a realidade ou vemos o que queremos ver,

and the bias I'm talking about

e o nesgo do que falo

works like this:

funciona do seguinte xeito:

Confront someone with the fact

Enfronta alguén co feito

that they are going to die

de que vai morrer

and they will believe just about any story

e crerá calquera historia

that tells them it isn't true

que lle asegure que non é certo,

and they can, instead, live forever,

e que poderá, en lugar diso, vivir para sempre,

even if it means taking the existential elevator.

incluso aínda que implique coller o ascensor existencial.

Now we can see this as the biggest bias of all.

Podemos ver isto como o maior nesgo de todos.

It has been demonstrated in over 400

Demostrouse en máis

de 400 estudos empíricos.

empirical studies.

Now these studies are ingenious, but they're simple.

Estes estudos son enxeñosos, pero simples,

They work like this.

Funcionan do seguinte xeito:

You take two groups of people

Colles dous grupos de persoas

who are similar in all relevant respects,

que sexan similares en todos os aspectos significativos,

and you remind one group that they're going to die

e recórdaslle a un dos grupos que vai morrer

but not the other, then you compare their behavior.

pero ao outro non, e logo comparas o seu comportamento.

So you're observing how it biases behavior

Así ves como se condiciona o comportamento

when people become aware of their mortality.

cando a xente toma consciencia da súa propia mortalidade.

And every time, you get the same result:

E sempre obtés o mesmo resultado:

People who are made aware of their mortality

As persoas conscientes da súa mortalidade

are more willing to believe stories

están máis dispostas a crer historias

that tell them they can escape death

que lles din que poden escapar da morte

and live forever.

e vivir para sempre.

So here's an example: One recent study

Aquí vai un exemplo: Un estudo recente

took two groups of agnostics,

colleu dous grupos de agnósticos,

that is people who are undecided

persoas indecisas acerca

in their religious beliefs.

das súas crenzas relixiosas.

Now, one group was asked to think about being dead.

A un grupo pedíuselle que pensase en estar morto,

The other group was asked to think about

e ao outro grupo pedíuselle pensar

being lonely.

en estaren sós.

They were then asked again about their religious beliefs.

Despois preguntóuselles de novo polas súas crenzas;

Those who had been asked to think about being dead

aqueles aos que se lles pedira pensar en estar mortos

were afterwards twice as likely to express faith

eran despois o dobre de propensos a expresar fe

in God and Jesus.

en Deus e en Xesús.

Twice as likely.

O dobre de propensos.

Even though the before they were all equally agnostic.

A pesar de que antes eran todos igual de agnósticos.

But put the fear of death in them,

Pero metéronlles o medo á morte,

and they run to Jesus.

e correron cara a Xesús.

Now, this shows that reminding people of death

Ben, isto mostra que recordarlle á xente a morte

biases them to believe, regardless of the evidence,

indúceos a crer, a pesar das evidencias,

and it works not just for religion,

e non só funciona coa relixión,

but for any kind of belief system

senón con calquera sistema de crenzas

that promises immortality in some form,

que lles prometa algún xeito de inmortalidade,

whether it's becoming famous

xa sexa facerse famosos,

or having children

ou ter fillos,

or even nationalism,

ou incluso o nacionalismo,

which promises you can live on as part of a greater whole.

que che promete que podes vivir como parte dun todo maior.

This is a bias that has shaped

É un nesgo que condiciounou

the course of human history.

o transcurso da historia da humanidade.

Now, the theory behind this bias

Ben, a teoría tras este nesgo

in the over 400 studies

en máis de 400 estudos

is called terror management theory,

chámase teoría da xestión do terror

and the idea is simple. It's just this.

e a idea é simple. É simplemente isto:

We develop our worldviews,

desenvolvemos os nosos puntos de vista,

that is, the stories we tell ourselves

é dicir, o que nos contamos a nós mesmos

about the world and our place in it,

sobre o mundo e o noso lugar nel

in order to help us manage

co obxecto de axudarnos a xestionar

the terror of death.

o terror á morte.

And these immortality stories

E estas historias de inmortalidade

have thousands of different manifestations,

maniféstanse de miles de maneiras

but I believe that behind the apparent diversity

pero eu creo que tras a disparidade aparente

there are actually just four basic forms

en realidade hai só catro formas básicas

that these immortality stories can take.

en que se poden presentar estas historias de inmortalidade.

And we can see them repeating themselves

E podemos ver como se van repetindo

throughout history, just with slight variations

ao longo da historia, con lixeiras variacións

to reflect the vocabulary of the day.

para reflectir o vocabulario do momento.

Now I'm going to briefly introduce these four

Agora vou presentar brevemente estas catro

basic forms of immortality story,

formas de historias de inmortalidade,

and I want to try to give you some sense

e quero darvos unha idea

of the way in which they're retold by each culture

do xeito en que se repiten en cada cultura

or generation

ou xeración

using the vocabulary of their day.

utilizando o vocabulario do momento.

Now, the first story is the simplest.

Ben, a primeira historia é a máis sinxela.

We want to avoid death,

Queremos evitar a morte,

and the dream of doing that in this body

e o soño de facelo neste corpo,

in this world forever

neste mundo para sempre

is the first and simplest kind of immortality story,

é a primeira e máis simple historia de inmortalidade,

and it might at first sound implausible,

e se cadra ao primeiro non soa posible,

but actually, almost every culture in human history

pero en realidade, case todas as culturas na historia da humanidade

has had some myth or legend

tiveron algún tipo de mito ou lenda

of an elixir of life or a fountain of youth

sobre un elixir de vida ou unha fonte da eterna xuventude

or something that promises to keep us going

ou algo que prometa manternos

forever.

vivos para sempre.

Ancient Egypt had such myths,

O antigo Exipto tiña estes mitos,

ancient Babylon, ancient India.

a antiga Babilonia, a antiga India.

Throughout European history, we find them in the work of the alchemists,

Na historia europea, vémolo no traballo dos alquimistas,

and of course we still believe this today,

e, por suposto, aínda o cremos hoxe,

only we tell this story using the vocabulary

só que o contamos usando o vocabulario

of science.

da ciencia.

So 100 years ago,

Así, hai cen anos,

hormones had just been discovered,

descubríronse as hormonas

and people hoped that hormone treatments

e críase que os tratamentos hormonais

were going to cure aging and disease,

curarían o envellecemento e a enfermidade

and now instead we set our hopes on stem cells,

e agora, en troques, poñemos as esperanzas nas células nai,

genetic engineering, and nanotechnology.

na enxeñaría xenética e a nanotecnoloxía.

But the idea that science can cure death

Pero a idea de que a ciencia pode curar a morte,

is just one more chapter in the story

é só un capítulo máis da historia

of the magical elixir,

do elixir máxico,

a story that is as old as civilization.

unha historia tan vella como a civilización.

But betting everything on the idea of finding the elixir

Pero apostar todo á idea de atopar o elixir

and staying alive forever

e sobrevivir para sempre

is a risky strategy.

é unha estratexia arriscada.

When we look back through history

Cando miramos cara a atrás ao longo da historia

at all those who have sought an elixir in the past,

cara a todos os que buscaron o elixir,

the one thing they now have in common

o único que teñen en común

is that they're all dead.

é que están todos mortos.

So we need a backup plan, and exactly this kind of plan B

Así que precisamos un plan de apoio, e exactamente esta especie de plan B

is what the second kind of immortality story offers,

é o que nos ofrece a segunda historia de inmortalidade,

and that's resurrection.

e esa é a resurrección.

And it stays with the idea that I am this body,

E mantense na idea de que eu son este corpo,

I am this physical organism.

son este organismo físico

It accepts that I'm going to have to die

e acepta a idea de ter que morrer,

but says, despite that,

pero di, a pesar diso,

I can rise up and I can live again.

podo levantarme e vivir de novo.

In other words, I can do what Jesus did.

Noutras palabras, podo facer o que fixo Xesús.

Jesus died, he was three days in the [tomb],

Xesús morreu, estivo tres días na [tumba]

and then he rose up and lived again.

e logo levantouse e viviu de novo.

And the idea that we can all be resurrected to live again

E a idea de que todos podemos resucitar e vivir de novo,

is orthodox believe, not just for Christians

é unha crenza ortodoxa non só para os cristiáns,

but also Jews and Muslims.

senón tamén para os xudeus e os musulmáns.

But our desire to believe this story

Pero o noso desexo de crer esta historia

is so deeply embedded

está tan profundamente arraigado

that we are reinventing it again

que o estamos reinventando de novo

for the scientific age,

para a era da ciencia,

for example, with the idea of cryonics.

por exemplo, coa idea da crionización.

That's the idea that when you die,

Esa é a idea de que ao morrer,

you can have yourself frozen,

podes ser conxelado,

and then, at some point when technology

e logo, no punto en que a tecnoloxía

has advanced enough,

avance abondo,

you can be thawed out and repaired and revived

poderás ser desconxelado, amañado e revivido

and so resurrected.

e, polo tanto, resucitado.

And so some people believe an omnipotent god

E así, algunha xente cre que un Deus omnipotente

will resurrect them to live again,

a resucitará para volver á vida,

and other people believe an omnipotent scientist will do it.

e outra xente cre que o farán científicos omnipotentes.

But for others, the whole idea of resurrection,

Pero para outros, toda esa idea da resurrección,

of climbing out of the grave,

de saír gabeando da tumba,

it's just too much like a bad zombie movie.

seméllase demasiado a unha película mala de zombis.

They find the body too messy, too unreliable

Pensan que o corpo é demasiado caótico e pouco fiable,

to guarantee eternal life,

para garantir a vida eterna,

and so they set their hopes on the third,

así que deixan as súas expectativas na terceira

more spiritual immortality story,

e máis espiritual historia da inmortalidade,

the idea that we can leave our body behind

a idea de que podemos deixar o corpo atrás,

and live on as a soul.

e continuar vivindo como alma.

Now, the majority of people on Earth

A maioría da xente na Terra

believe they have a soul,

cre que ten unha alma,

and the idea is central to many religions.

e é unha idea fundamental para moitas relixións

But even though, in its current form,

A pesar de que, na súa forma actual,

in its traditional form,

a máis tradicional,

the idea of the soul is still hugely popular,

a idea de alma é aínda altamente popular,

nonetheless we are again

aínda estamos aí de novo,

reinventing it for the digital age,

reinventándoa para a era dixital,

for example with the idea

por exemplo, coa idea

that you can leave your body behind

de que podes deixar o corpo atrás

by uploading your mind, your essence,

cargando a mente, a túa esencia,

the real you, onto a computer,

o ti real, nun ordenador,

and so live on as an avatar in the ether.

e continuar vivo polo tanto como un avatar etéreo.

But of course there are skeptics who say

Por suposto, hai escépticos que din

if we look at the evidence of science,

que se miramos as evidencias da ciencia,

particularly neuroscience,

en concreto da neurociencia,

it suggests that your mind,

suxiren que a túa mente,

your essence, the real you,

a túa esencia, o auténtico ti,

is very much dependent on a particular part

é moi dependente dunha parte particular do corpo,

of your body, that is, your brain.

que é o cerebro.

And such skeptics can find comfort

E tales escépticos poden atopar consolo

in the fourth kind of immortality story,

no cuarto tipo de historia de inmortalidade,

and that is legacy,

que é o legado,

the idea that you can live on

a idea de que podes seguir vivo

through the echo you leave in the world,

a través do eco que deixas no mundo,

like the great Greek warrior Achilles,

como o gran guerreiro grego Aquiles,

who sacrificed his life fighting at Troy

que sacrificou a vida loitando en Troia

so that he might win immortal fame.

para así poder lograr unha fama inmortal.

And the pursuit of fame is as widespread

E a persecución da fama está tan estendida

and popular now as it ever was,

e é tan popular como sempre foi,

and in our digital age,

e na nosa era dixital

it's even easier to achieve.

e incluso máis fácil de lograr.

You don't need to be a great warrior like Achilles

Non tes que ser un gran guerreiro como Aquiles,

or a great king or hero.

nin un gran rei ou heroe.

All you need is an Internet connection and a funny cat. (Laughter)

Todo o que precisas é unha conexión a Internet e un gato simpático.

(Risos)

But some people prefer to leave a more tangible,

Pero algunha xente prefire deixar algo máis tanxible,

biological legacy -- children, for example.

un legado biolóxico, fillos, por exemplo.

Or they like, they hope, to live on

Ou queren, esperan, vivir

as part of some greater whole,

como parte de algo máis grande,

a nation or a family or a tribe,

unha nación ou unha familia ou unha tribo,

their gene pool.

o seu clan xenético.

But again, there are skeptics

Pero, de novo, hai escépticos

who doubt whether legacy

que dubidan de que este legado

really is immortality.

sexa realmente a inmortalidade.

Woody Allen, for example, who said,

Woody Allen, por exemplo, dixo:

"I don't want to live on in the hearts of my countrymen.

"Non quero seguir vivindo no corazón dos meus paisanos,

I want to live on in my apartment."

quero seguir vivindo no meu apartamento".

So those are the four

Pois estes son os catro

basic kinds of immortality stories,

tipos básicos de historias de inmortalidade

and I've tried to give just some sense

e intentei darlle un pouco de sentido

of how they're retold by each generation

a como son repetidas por cada xeración

with just slight variations

con só pequenas variacións

to fit the fashions of the day.

para axustarse ás modas do momento.

And the fact that they recur in this way,

E o feito de que se repitan deste xeito,

in such a similar form but in such different belief systems,

cunha forma tan similar, en sistemas de crenzas tan distintos

suggests, I think,

suxire, diría eu,

that we should be skeptical of the truth

que deberiamos ser escépticos sobre a veracidade

of any particular version of these stories.

de calquera versión concreta destas historias.

The fact that some people believe

O feito de que algunhas persoas crean

an omnipotent god will resurrect them to live again

nun Deus omnipotente que as resucitará para vivir de novo

and others believe an omnipotent scientist will do it

e outras crean que o farán científicos omnipotentes

suggests that neither are really believing this

suxire que ninguén cre isto

on the strength of the evidence.

baseándose na forza das probas.

Rather, we believe these stories

Máis ben, cremos estas historias

because we are biased to believe them,

porque estamos predispostos a crelas,

and we are biased to believe them

e estamos predispostos a crelas

because we are so afraid of death.

porque lle temos moito medo á morte.

So the question is,

Polo tanto, a cuestión é:

are we doomed to lead the one life we have

estamos condenados a levar a única vida que temos

in a way that is shaped by fear and denial,

dun xeito marcado polo medo e a negación,

or can we overcome this bias?

ou podemos superar este nesgo?

Well the Greek philosopher Epicurus

Ben, o filósofo grego Epicuro

thought we could.

pensou que podiamos.

He argued that the fear of death is natural,

Argumentaba que o medo á morte é natural,

but it is not rational.

pero non racional.

"Death," he said, "is nothing to us,

"A morte -dicía- non é nada para nós,

because when we are here, death is not,

porque cando nós estamos aquí, a morte non o está,

and when death is here, we are gone."

e cando a morte está aquí, nós xa non estamos".

Now this is often quoted, but it's difficult

Isto cítase a miúdo, pero é difícil

to really grasp, to really internalize,

comprendelo de verdade, interiorizalo,

because exactly this idea of being gone

porque exactamente esta idea de xa non estar

is so difficult to imagine.

é moi difícil de imaxinar.

So 2,000 years later, another philosopher,

Así que 2000 anos despois, outro filósofo,

Ludwig Wittgenstein, put it like this:

Ludwig Wittgenstein, expresouno así:

"Death is not an event in life:

"A morte non é un evento na vida:

We do not live to experience death.

non vivimos para experimentar a morte."

And so," he added,

E polo tanto -engadiu-

"in this sense, life has no end."

"neste sentido, a vida non ten final."

So it was natural for me as a child

Polo que era natural que eu, de neno,

to fear being swallowed by the void,

tivese medo de ser engulido polo baleiro,

but it wasn't rational,

pero non era racional,

because being swallowed by the void

porque ser engulido polo baleiro

is not something that any of us

é algo que ningún de nós

will ever live to experience.

vai poder experimentar.

Now, overcoming this bias is not easy because

Agora, superar este nesgo non é fácil porque

the fear of death is so deeply embedded in us,

o medo á morte está moi arraigado en nós,

yet when we see that the fear itself is not rational,

aínda así, cando vemos que o medo en si mesmo non é racional,

and when we bring out into the open

e cando sacamos á luz

the ways in which it can unconsciously bias us,

os xeitos en que inconscientemente nos condiciona,

then we can at least start

podemos polo menos empezar

to try to minimize the influence it has

a intentar minimizar a influencia que ten

on our lives.

nas nosas vidas.

Now, I find it helps to see life

Ben, penso que axuda ver a vida

as being like a book:

como un libro:

Just as a book is bounded by its covers,

Tal como un libro está limitado polas cubertas,

by beginning and end,

por un comezo e un final,

so our lives are bounded by birth and death,

a nosa vida está limitada polo nacemento e a morte,

and even though a book is limited by beginning and end,

e aínda que un libro está limitado por un comezo e un final,

it can encompass distant landscapes,

pode abarcar paraxes distantes,

exotic figures, fantastic adventures.

exóticas personaxes, aventuras fantásticas.

And even though a book is limited by beginning and end,

E aínda que un libro está limitado por un comezo e un final,

the characters within it

as súas personaxes

know no horizons.

non coñecen horizontes.

They only know the moments that make up their story,

Só coñecen os momentos que conforman a súa historia,

even when the book is closed.

incluso cando o libro está pechado.

And so the characters of a book

Así, as personaxes dun libro

are not afraid of reaching the last page.

non teñen medo de acadar a última páxina,

Long John Silver is not afraid of you

Long John Silver non ten medo de que ti

finishing your copy of "Treasure Island."

remates de ler A illa do tesouro.

And so it should be with us.

Así deberiamos ser nós,

Imagine the book of your life,

imaxina o libro da túa vida,

its covers, its beginning and end, and your birth and your death.

as cubertas, o comezo e o final, o nacemento e a morte,

You can only know the moments in between,

Só podes coñecer os momentos intermedios,

the moments that make up your life.

os momentos que conforman a túa vida.

It makes no sense for you to fear

Non ten sentido que te asustes

what is outside of those covers,

do que hai fóra desas cubertas,

whether before your birth

xa sexa antes do teu nacemento

or after your death.

ou despois da túa morte.

And you needn't worry how long the book is,

E non precisas preocuparte da lonxitude do libro,

or whether it's a comic strip or an epic.

de se é unha tira cómica ou unha epopea.

The only thing that matters

O único que importa,

is that you make it a good story.

é que fagas dela unha boa historia.

Grazas.

Thank you.

(Aplausos)

(Applause)