Why some people are more altruistic than others | Abigail Marsh

Prevoditelj: Sandra Sabic Recezent: Ivan Stamenković

There's a man out there, somewhere,

Ima jedan čovjek, tamo negdje,

who looks a little bit like the actor Idris Elba,

koji malo sliči na glumca Idrisa Elbu,

or at least he did 20 years ago.

ili je sličio prije 20 godina.

I don't know anything else about him,

Ne znam ništa drugo o njemu,

except that he once saved my life

osim da mi je jednom spasio život

by putting his own life in danger.

pritom ugrozivši svoj.

This man ran across four lanes of freeway traffic in the middle of the night

Čovjek je pretrčao četiri trake na autocesti usred noći

to bring me back to safety

da bi me doveo na sigurno

after a car accident that could have killed me.

nakon prometne nesreće koja me je mogla ubiti.

And the whole thing left me really shaken up, obviously,

Cijela stvar me je zbilja potresla, naravno

but it also left me with this kind of burning, gnawing need

ali također i ostavila sa gorućom, nagrizajućom potrebom

to understand why he did it,

da saznam zašto je to učinio,

what forces within him caused him to make the choice

koje su to sile unutar njega dovele do toga izbora

that I owe my life to,

kojemu dugujem svoj život,

to risk his own life to save the life of a stranger?

da riskira vlastiti život kako bi spasio život stranca?

In other words, what are the causes of his or anybody else's capacity for altruism?

Koji su uzroci njegove ili bilo čije sposobnosti za altruizam?

But first let me tell you what happened.

Ali prvo ću vam reći što se dogodilo.

That night, I was 19 years old

Te noći, bilo mi je 19 godina

and driving back to my home in Tacoma, Washington,

i vozeći doma u Tacomi, Washington

down the Interstate 5 freeway,

niz međudržavnu autocestu br.5,

when a little dog darted out in front of my car.

maleni pas je izletio pred moj auto.

And I did exactly what you're not supposed to do,

I učinila sam točno ono što se ne smije,

which is swerve to avoid it.

a to je da sam skrenula kako bih ga zaobišla.

And I discovered why you're not supposed to do that.

I saznala sam zašto se to ne smije raditi.

I hit the dog anyways,

Svejedno sam udarila psa,

and that sent the car into a fishtail,

auto je počeo krivudati,

and then a spin across the freeway,

a onda se zaokrenuo preko autoceste

until finally it wound up in the fast lane of the freeway

da bi konačno stao u brzoj traci

faced backwards into oncoming traffic

okrenut prema prometu iz suprotnog smjera,

and then the engine died.

a tad je motor "krepao".

And I was sure in that moment that I was about to die too,

U tom trenu sam bila sigurna da ću i ja umrijeti,

but I didn't

ali nisam

because of the actions of that one brave man

zbog postupka tog hrabrog čovjeka

who must have made the decision

koje je sigurno donijeo odluku

within a fraction of a second of seeing my stranded car

u djeliću sekunde, vidjevši moj zaglavljeni auto

to pull over and run across four lanes of freeway traffic

da zakoči i pretrči četiri trake autoceste

in the dark

u mraku

to save my life.

da spasi moj život.

And then after he got my car working again

Nakon što je pokrenuo moj auto

and got me back to safety and made sure I was going to be all right,

i odveo me u sigurnost i uvjerio se da sam u redu,

he drove off again.

odvezao se.

He never even told me his name,

Nikad mi nije rekao svoje ime,

and I'm pretty sure I forgot to say thank you.

a sigurna sam da mu nisam rekla hvala.

So before I go any further,

Prije nego što nastavim,

I really want to take a moment

željela bih se zaustaviti na trenutak

to stop and say thank you to that stranger.

i reći tom neznancu: "Hvala".

(Applause)

(Pljesak)

I tell you all of this

Ovo vam govorim

because the events of that night changed the course of my life to some degree.

zato što je ta noć promijenila moj život u određenoj mjeri.

I became a psychology researcher,

Postala sam istraživač psihologije,,

and I've devoted my work to understanding the human capacity to care for others.

i posvetila sam svoj rad razumijevanju ljudske sposobnosti za brigu za druge.

Where does it come from, and how does it develop,

Odakle dolazi, kako se razvija,

and what are the extreme forms that it can take?

i koje ekstremne oblike može poprimiti?

These questions are really important to understanding basic aspects

Ova pitanja su vrlo bitna za razumijevanje osnovnih vidova

of human social nature.

ljudske društvene prirode.

A lot of people, and this includes everybody

Puno ljudi, a to vrijede za sve

from philosophers and economists to ordinary people

od filozofa i ekonomista do običnih ljudi

believe that human nature is fundamentally selfish,

vjeruje da je ljudska priroda u suštini sebična

that we're only ever really motivated by our own welfare.

i da smo motivirani isključivo vlastitom dobrobiti.

But if that's true, why do some people, like the stranger who rescued me,

Ali ako je to tako, zašto neki ljudi, poput stranca koji me spasio,

do selfless things, like helping other people

čine nesebična djela, poput pomaganja drugima,

at enormous risk and cost to themselves?

uz ogromni rizik i cijenu?

Answering this question

Odgovor na ova pitanja

requires exploring the roots of extraordinary acts of altruism,

zahtijeva istraživanje korijena izvanrednih činova altruizma,

and what might make people who engage in such acts

i što točno čini ljude koji se upuštaju u to

different than other people.

drugačijim od ostalih.

But until recently, very little work on this topic had been done.

Do nedavno, vrlo malo istraživanja na ovu temu je bilo učinjeno

The actions of the man who rescued me

Postupci čovjeka koji me je spasio

meet the most stringent definition of altruism,

spadaju u najstrožu definiciju altruizma.

which is a voluntary, costly behavior

a to je dobrovoljno ponašanje uz određenu cijenu

motivated by the desire to help another individual.

motivirano željom da se pomogne drugome.

So it's a selfless act intended to benefit only the other.

To je nesebični čin sa namjerom da se poboljša položaj drugoga.

What could possibly explain an action like that?

Što bi moglo objasniti ovakvo ponašanje?

One answer is compassion, obviously,

Jedan odgovor je, naravno, suosjećanje,

which is a key driver of altruism.

koje je ključni čimbenik altruizma.

But then the question becomes,

Ali onda imamo pitanje,

why do some people seem to have more of it than others?

zašto ga neki ljudi imaju više od ostalih?

And the answer may be that the brains of highly altruistic people

Odgovor bi mogao biti da je mozak visoko altruističnih ljudi

are different in fundamental ways.

temeljito drugačiji.

But to figure out how,

No, da otkrijem kako točno

I actually started from the opposite end,

morala sam krenuti od suprotnog kraja,

with psychopaths.

od psihopata.

A common approach to understanding basic aspects of human nature,

Uobičajen pristup razumijevanju osnovnih aspekata ljudske prirode

like the desire to help other people,

poput želje da se pomogne drugima

is to study people in whom that desire is missing,

je proučavanje pojedinaca koji nemaju tu želju,

and psychopaths are exactly such a group.

a psihopati su upravo ta skupina.

Psychopathy is a developmental disorder

Psihopatija je razvojni poremećaj

with strongly genetic origins,

snažno ukorijenjen u genetici,

and it results in a personality that's cold and uncaring

koji uzrokuje osobnost koja je hladna i ravnodušna

and a tendency to engage in antisocial and sometimes very violent behavior.

sa sklonošću prema antidruštvenom i, ponekad, vrlo nasilnom ponašanju.

Once my colleagues and I at the National Institute of Mental Health

Jednom sam sa kolegama na Državnom institutu za mentalno zdravlje

conducted some of the first ever brain imaging research

provodila među prvim istraživanjima snimanja mozga

of psychopathic adolescents,

kod psihopata u adolescelenciji

and our findings, and the findings of other researchers now,

i ono što smo mi, i drugi istraživači pronašli,

have shown that people who are psychopathic

ukazuje na to da psihopati

pretty reliably exhibit three characteristics.

sa velikom pouzdanošću, iskazuju tri značajke.

First, although they're not generally insensitive to other people's emotions,

Prvo, iako općenito nisu neosjetljivi prema osjećajima drugih

they are insensitive to signs that other people are in distress.

nisu osjetljivi na znakove da su drugi u nevolji

And in particular,

Naročito

they have difficulty recognizing fearful facial expressions like this one.

imaju problema sa prepoznavanjem izraza lica, poput ovoga.

And fearful expressions convey urgent need and emotional distress,

Izrazi straha izražavaju hitnu potrebu i emocionalnu bol

and they usually elicit compassion and a desire to help

i obično izazivaju suosjećanje i želju da se pomogne

in people who see them,

u ljudima koji ih vide,

so it makes sense that people who tend to lack compassion

tako da ima smisla da ljudi koji nemaju suosjećanja

also tend to be insensitive to these cues.

nisu osjetljivi na te znakove.

The part of the brain

Dio mozga

that's the most important for recognizing fearful expressions

koji je najbitniji za prepoznavanje izraza straha

is called the amygdala.

zove se amigdala.

There are very rare cases of people who lack amygdalas completely,

Postoje vrlo rijetki slučajevi ljudi koji nemaju amigdalu

and they're profoundly impaired in recognizing fearful expressions.

i značajno su onemogućeni kod prepoznavanja izraza straha,

And whereas healthy adults and children

Dok kod zdravih odraslih i djece

usually show big spikes in amygdala activity

obično dolazi do značajnog porasta a aktivnosti amigdale

when they look at fearful expressions,

prilikom promatranja izraza straha,

psychopaths' amygdalas are underreactive to these expressions.

amigdala kod psihopata reagira slabije na te izraze.

Sometimes they don't react at all,

Ponekada ne reagira uopće,

which may be why they have trouble detecting these cues.

što je možda uzrok zašto teško detektiraju te znakove.

Finally, psychopaths' amygdalas are smaller than average

Na kraju, amigdala u psihopata je manja od prosječne

by about 18 or 20 percent.

za između 18-20 posto.

So all of these findings are reliable and robust,

Sva ova saznanja su pouzdana i izdržljiva,

and they're very interesting.

i jako zanimljiva.

But remember that my main interest

Ali, moj glavni interes

is not understanding why people don't care about others.

nije razumijevanje toga zašto ljudi ne mare za druge

It's understanding why they do.

već razumijevanje zašto to čine.

So the real question is,

Pravo pitanje je,

could extraordinary altruism,

može li se vanserijski altruizam,

which is the opposite of psychopathy

koji je suprotnost psihopatiji

in terms of compassion and the desire to help other people,

u pogledu suosjećanja i želje za pomaganjem drugima,

emerge from a brain that is also the opposite of psychopathy?

pojaviti iz mozga koji je isto suprotnost psihopatiji?

A sort of antipsychopathic brain,

Neka vrsta antipsihopatičnog mozga,

better able to recognize other people's fear,

sposobnijeg u prepoznavanju straha kod drugih ljudi,

an amygdala that's more reactive to this expression

amigdala koja reagire jače na tu ekspresiju

and maybe larger than average as well?

možda je i veća od prosjeka?

As my research has now shown,

Moje istraživanje je pokazalo,

all three things are true.

da su sve tri stvari istinite.

And we discovered this

To smo otkrili

by testing a population of truly extraordinary altruists.

testrirajući uzorak istinski vanserijskih altruista.

These are people who have given one of their own kidneys

To su ljudi koji su dali vlastite bubrege

to a complete stranger.

potpunim neznancima.

So these are people who have volunteered to undergo major surgery

Znači, ti ljudi su dobrovoljno išli na operaciju

so that one of their own healthy kidneys can be removed

kako bi im izvadili jedan zdravi bubreg

and transplanted into a very ill stranger

i transplantirali ga bolesnom strancu

that they've never met and may never meet.

kojega nikada nisu, i možda neće ni sresti

"Why would anybody do this?" is a very common question.

"Zašto bi itko to učinio?" je vrlo uobičajeno pitanje

And the answer may be

Odgovor bi mogao biti

that the brains of these extraordinary altruists

da mozak ovih vanserijskih altruista

have certain special characteristics.

ima određene posebne značajke.

They are better at recognizing other people's fear.

Bolje prepoznaju tuđi strah.

They're literally better at detecting when somebody else is in distress.

Doslovno su bolji u otkrivanju da je netko u nevolji.

This may be in part because their amygdala is more reactive to these expressions.

Ovo je djelomično zato jer njihova amigdala jače reagira na te izraze.

And remember, this is the same part of the brain that we found

Sjećate se da je to isti dio mozga koje je nađen da

was underreactive in people who are psychopathic.

reagira slabije kod ljudi koji su psihopati.

And finally, their amygdalas are larger than average as well,

Naposljetku, njihove amigdale su veće od prosjeka,

by about eight percent.

za oko osam posto.

So together, what these data suggest

Sve zajedno, podaci ukazuju na

is the existence of something like a caring continuum in the world

postojanje nečega nalik "kontinuumu marenja"

that's anchored at the one end by people who are highly psychopathic,

na čijem jednom kraju imamo visoko psihopatične ljude,

and at the other by people who are very compassionate

a na drugom ljude koji su vrlo suosjećajni

and driven to acts of extreme altruism.

i vođeni ka djelima ekstremnog altruizma.

But I should add that what makes extraordinary altruists so different

Moram dodati da ono što čini ekstremne altruiste drugačijima

is not just that they're more compassionate than average.

nije samo to što su iznadprosječno suosjećajni.

They are,

Oni to jesu,

but what's even more unusual about them

ali još neobičnije u vezi njih

is that they're compassionate and altruistic

je da su suosjećajni i altruistični

not just towards people who are in their own innermost circle

ne samo prema ljudima iz vlastitog najbliskijeg kruga

of friends and family. Right?

prijatelja i obitelji. Točno?

Because to have compassion for people that you love and identify with

Jer suosjećanje za ljude koje volite i sa kojima se identificirate

is not extraordinary.

nije neouobičajeno.

Truly extraordinary altruists' compassion extends way beyond that circle,

Pravo suosjećanje izvanrednih altruista proteže se van toga kruga,

even beyond their wider circle of acquaintances

čak i izvan kruga poznanika

to people who are outside their social circle altogether,

na ljude koji su skroz izvan njihovog društvenog kruga,

total strangers,

potpuni stranci,

just like the man who rescued me.

baš poput čovjeka koji me je spasio.

And I've had the opportunity now to ask a lot of altruistic kidney donors

Imala sam priliku pitati puno altruističnih donatora

how it is that they manage to generate such a wide circle of compassion

kako uspjevaju stvoriti toliko puno suosjećanja

that they were willing to give a complete stranger their kidney.

da su spremni dati svoj bubreg potpunom strancu.

And I found it's a really difficult question for them to answer.

Ispostavilo se da im je jako teško odgovoriti na to pitanje.

I say, "How is it that you're willing to do this thing

Ja im velim: "Kako to da ste vi spremni učiniti ovo

when so many other people don't?

kada toliko drugih ljudi nije?

You're one of fewer than 2,000 Americans

Vi ste jedni od manje od 2000 Amerikanaca

who has ever given a kidney to a stranger.

koji su dali svoj bubreg neznancu.

What is it that makes you so special?"

Što je to što vas čini posebnima?

And what do they say?

I što oni kažu?

They say, "Nothing.

Oni kažu: "Ništa.

There's nothing special about me.

Nema ničega posebnoga u meni.

I'm just the same as everybody else."

Ja sam kao i svi ostali."

And I think that's actually a really telling answer,

Ja msilim da je to upravo odogovor koji puno otkriva,

because it suggests that the circles of these altruists don't look like this,

jer sugerira da krugovi tih altruista ne izgledaju ovako,

they look more like this.

več više ovako.

They have no center.

Nemaju sredinu.

These altruists literally don't think of themselves

Ovi altruisti doslovno ne misle o sebi

as being at the center of anything,

kao o centru nečega,

as being better or more inherently important than anybody else.

poput bivanja boljim ili važnijim od bilo koga drugoga.

When I asked one altruist why donating her kidney made sense to her,

Kada sam pitala jednu altruistkinju zašto davanje bubrega ima smisla

she said, "Because it's not about me."

rekla je: "Zato što se ne radi o meni."

Another said,

Netko drugi je rekao,

"I'm not different. I'm not unique.

"Nisam drugačiji. Nisam jedinstven.

Your study here is going to find out that I'm just the same as you."

Tvoja studija će pokazati da sam baš poput tebe."

I think the best description for this amazing lack of self-centeredness

Mislim da je najbolji opis za ovaj nedostatak usredotočenosti na sebe

is humility,

poniznost,

which is that quality that in the words of St. Augustine

kvaliteta koja, po riječima svetog Augustina

makes men as angels.

čini ljude anđelima.

And why is that?

Zašto je tome tako?

It's because if there's no center of your circle,

Zato što, ako ne postoji centar tvoga kruga,

there can be no inner rings or outer rings,

ne postoji unutarrnji obruč, niti vanjski obruč,

nobody who is more or less worthy of your care and compassion

nitko nije više ili manje vrijedan tvoje pažnje i suosjećanja

than anybody else.

od bilo koga drugoga.

And I think that this is what really distinguishes extraordinary altruists

Mislim da to razlikuje izvanserijske altruiste

from the average person.

od prosječne osobe.

But I also think that this is a view of the world that's attainable by many

Ali smatram i da da ovaj pogled na svijet dohvatljiv za mnoge

and maybe even most people.

možda čak većini ljudi.

And I think this because at the societal level,

I mislim da se to, zbog socijetalnog nivoa,

expansions of altruism and compassion are already happening everywhere.

širenje altruizma i suosjećanja već događa posvuda.

The psychologist Steven Pinker and others have shown

Psiholog Steven Parker je, sa ostalima, dokazao

that all around the world people are becoming less and less accepting

da ljudi diljem svijeta sve manje i manje prihvaćaju

of suffering in ever-widening circles of others,

patnju u sve više širećim krugovima drugih,

which has led to declines of all kinds of cruelty and violence,

što je dovelo do pada okrutnosti i nasilja,

from animal abuse to domestic violence to capital punishment.

od životinjskog i obiteljskog zlostavljanja do smrtne kazne.

And it's led to increases in all kinds of altruism.

I to je dovelo do porasta svih oblika altruizma.

A hundred years ago, people would have thought it was ludicrous

Prije 100 godina, ljudi bi mislili kako je suludo

how normal and ordinary it is

koliko je normalno i uobičajeno

for people to donate their blood and bone marrow

da ljudi daruju svoju krv i koštanu srž

to complete strangers today.

potpunim strancima.

Is it possible that a hundred years from now

Je li moguće da će za 100 godina

people will think that donating a kidney to a stranger

ljudi misliti kako je darivanje bubrega strancu

is just as normal and ordinary

jednako normalno i uobičajeno

as we think donating blood and bone marrow is today?

kao što mi mislimo o darivanju krvi i koštane srži danas?

Maybe.

Možda.

So what's at the root of all these amazing changes?

Što je u korijenu svih ovih nevjerojatnih promjena?

In part it seems to be

Djelomično, čini se da bi mogao biti

increases in wealth and standards of living.

porast bogatstva i životnog standarda.

As societies become wealthier and better off,

Kako društva postaju bogatija i boljeg standarda,

people seem to turn their focus of attention outward,

čini se da ljudi okreću svoju pažnju prema vani,

and as a result, all kinds of altruism towards strangers increases,

a rezultat je povećanje svih oblika altruizma prema strancima,

from volunteering to charitable donations and even altruistic kidney donations.

od volontiranja do donacija, te čak i darivanja bubrega.

But all of these changes also yield

Ali sve ove promjere također su iznjedrile

a strange and paradoxical result,

neobičan i paradoksalan rezultat,

which is that even as the world is becoming a better and more humane place,

tim više očit kako svijet postaje bolje i humanije mjesto,

which it is,

a to je da

there's a very common perception that it's becoming worse

postoji vrlo uobičajeno shvaćanje da postaje sve gore

and more cruel, which it's not.

i okrutnije, što nije istina.

And I don't know exactly why this is,

Ne znam točno zašto je tome tako,

but I think it may be that we now just know so much more

ali mislim da je zato što sada znamo puno više

about the suffering of strangers in distant places,

o patnji stranaca u dalekim mjestima,

and so we now care a lot more

tako da nam je sada puno više stalo

about the suffering of those distant strangers.

do njihove patnje.

But what's clear is the kinds of changes we're seeing show

Ali očito vrste promjena koje sada vidimo pokazuju

that the roots of altruism and compassion

da su korijeni altruizma i suosjećanja

are just as much a part of human nature as cruelty and violence,

jednako dijelom ljudske prirode kao i okrutnost i nasilje,

maybe even more so,

možda čak i više,

and while some people do seem to be inherently more sensitive

i iako se neki ljudi ljudi čine suštinski više osjetljivi

to the suffering of distant others,

prema patnji drugih,

I really believe that the ability to remove oneself

zaista vjerujem da je sposobnost da se odstrani

from the center of the circle

iz centra kruga

and expand the circle of compassion outward to include even strangers

i proširi krug suosjećanja na van, da uključi čak i nepoznate

is within reach for almost everyone.

u dosegu gotovo svakoga.

Thank you.

Hvala vam.

(Applause)

(Pljesak)