Why some people are more altruistic than others | Abigail Marsh

Prevodilac: Milenka Okuka Lektor: Mile Živković

There's a man out there, somewhere,

Postoji čovek tamo negde

who looks a little bit like the actor Idris Elba,

koji pomalo liči na glumca Idrisa Elbu,

or at least he did 20 years ago.

ili je bar ličio pre 20 godina.

I don't know anything else about him,

Ne znam bilo šta više o njemu,

except that he once saved my life

osim toga da mi je jednom spasio život,

by putting his own life in danger.

rizikujući sopstveni život.

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

Ovaj čovek je pretrčao četiri trake na auto-putu u sred noći,

to bring me back to safety

kako bi me smestio na sigurno mesto

after a car accident that could have killed me.

nakon saobraćajne nesreće u kojoj sam mogla da poginem.

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

Zbog svega toga sam, očito, bila poprilično uzdrmana,

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

ali mi je takođe ostala žarka, izjedajuća želja

to understand why he did it,

da razumem zašto je to uradio,

what forces within him caused him to make the choice

koje su ga sile u njemu navele da napravi ovaj izbor

that I owe my life to,

kojima dugujem život,

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

da rizikuje sopstveni život kako bi spasio život strancu?

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

Drugim rečima, koji su razlozi za njegovu ili bilo čiju drugu sposobnost altruizma?

But first let me tell you what happened.

Ali prvo ću da vam ispričam šta se desilo.

That night, I was 19 years old

Te noći, bilo mi je 19 godina

and driving back to my home in Tacoma, Washington,

i vozila sam nazad svojoj kući u Takomi, Vašington,

down the Interstate 5 freeway,

duž auto-puta Interstejt 5,

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

kada se maleni pas džilitnuo direktno pred moj auto.

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

I uradila sam baš ono što ne bi trebalo,

which is swerve to avoid it.

skrenula sam da ga izbegnem.

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

I otkrila sam zašto ne bi trebalo to da radite.

I hit the dog anyways,

Svejedno sam udarila psa,

and that sent the car into a fishtail,

a zbog toga su zadnji točkovi proklizali

and then a spin across the freeway,

i auto se zavrteo preko auto-puta,

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

dok naposletku nisam završila na brzoj traci auto-puta

faced backwards into oncoming traffic

okrenuta leđima nadolazećem saobraćaju,

and then the engine died.

a potom se motor ugasio.

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

I bila sam sigurna u tom trenu da ću da umrem,

but I didn't

ali nisam

because of the actions of that one brave man

zbog postupka tog hrabrog čoveka,

who must have made the decision

koji mora da je doneo odluku

within a fraction of a second of seeing my stranded car

u deliću sekunde nakon što je video moj nasukan auto,

to pull over and run across four lanes of freeway traffic

da se zaustavi i pretrči četiri trake auto-puta

in the dark

po mraku,

to save my life.

kako bi mi spasio život.

And then after he got my car working again

I potom, nakon što je pokrenuo moj auto

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

i izveo me na sigurnost i uverio se da ću da budem dobro,

he drove off again.

ponovo se odvezao.

He never even told me his name,

Nikad mi ni svoje ime nije rekao

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

i gotovo sam sigurna da sam zaboravila da mu se zahvalim.

So before I go any further,

Pa pre nego što nastavim,

I really want to take a moment

zaista želim da odvojim tren

to stop and say thank you to that stranger.

da se zaustavim i kažem hvala tom strancu.

(Applause)

(Aplauz)

I tell you all of this

Sve ovo vam govorim

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

jer su događaji od te noći unekoliko promenili pravac mog života.

I became a psychology researcher,

Postala sam psiholog istraživač

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

i posvetila sam svoj rad razumevanju ljudske sposobnosti da mare za druge.

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

Odakle ona potiče i kako se razvija,

and what are the extreme forms that it can take?

i koji su ekstremni oblici koje može da poprimi?

These questions are really important to understanding basic aspects

Ova pitanja su uistinu važna za razumevanja osnovnih aspekata

of human social nature.

ljudske društvene prirode.

A lot of people, and this includes everybody

Mnogi ljudi, a ovo uključuje sve

from philosophers and economists to ordinary people

od filozofa i ekonomista do običnih ljudi,

believe that human nature is fundamentally selfish,

veruju da je ljudska priroda u osnovi sebična,

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

da smo zaista uvek motivisani sopstvenom dobrobiti.

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

No, ako je to tačno, zašto neki ljudi, poput stranca koji me je spasio,

do selfless things, like helping other people

rade nesebične stvari, poput pomaganja drugima

at enormous risk and cost to themselves?

uprkos ogromnom riziku i ceni po njih same?

Answering this question

Odgovor na ovo pitanje

requires exploring the roots of extraordinary acts of altruism,

zahteva istraživanje korena neverovatnih činova altruizma

and what might make people who engage in such acts

i šta bi moglo te ljude koji ispoljavaju altruizam

different than other people.

da razlikuje od drugih ljudi.

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

No sve do nedavno, veoma malo se radilo na ovom problemu.

The actions of the man who rescued me

Čin čoveka koji me je spasio

meet the most stringent definition of altruism,

se uklapa u najskučeniju definiciju altruizma,

which is a voluntary, costly behavior

da je to voljno, rizično ponašanje

motivated by the desire to help another individual.

motivisano željom da se pomogne drugom pojedincu.

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

Te je to nesebičan čin namenjen da bude od koristi jedino drugom.

What could possibly explain an action like that?

Šta bi uopšte moglo da objasni sličan čin?

One answer is compassion, obviously,

Jedan od očitih odgovora je samilost,

which is a key driver of altruism.

koja je ključni pokretač altruizma.

But then the question becomes,

No to povlači za sobom pitanje:

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

zašto je kod nekih ljudi prisutnija nego kod drugih?

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

A odgovor bi mogao da bude da su mozgovi veoma altruističnih ljudi

are different in fundamental ways.

u osnovi različiti.

But to figure out how,

No da bismo razumeli kako,

I actually started from the opposite end,

zapravo sam krenula sa suprotnog kraja,

with psychopaths.

od psihopata.

A common approach to understanding basic aspects of human nature,

Uobičajen pristup razumevanju osnovnih aspekata ljudske prirode,

like the desire to help other people,

poput žudnje da se pomogne drugima,

is to study people in whom that desire is missing,

je izučavanje ljudi kod kojih ta žudnja ne postoji,

and psychopaths are exactly such a group.

a psihopate su upravo takva grupa.

Psychopathy is a developmental disorder

Psihopatija je razvojni poremećaj

with strongly genetic origins,

sa čvrstim genetskim uporištem,

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

i rezultira ličnošću koja je hladna i nemarna

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

i teži ispoljavanju antisocijalnog i ponekad veoma nasilnog ponašanja.

Jednom smo moje kolege i ja sa Nacionalnog instituta za mentalno zdravlje

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

conducted some of the first ever brain imaging research

sproveli jedno od prvih istraživanja snimaka mozga

of psychopathic adolescents,

adolescenata psihopata,

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

i naša otkrića, kao i trenutna otkrića drugih istraživača

have shown that people who are psychopathic

su pokazala da ljudi koji su psihopate

pretty reliably exhibit three characteristics.

prilično pouzdano ispoljavaju tri karakteristike.

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

Prvo, iako generalno nisu bezosećajni za emocije drugih ljudi,

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

bezosećajni su prema znacima da su drugi ljudi u nevolji.

And in particular,

A naročito

they have difficulty recognizing fearful facial expressions like this one.

imaju problema u prepoznavanju uplašenih izraza lica, poput ovoga.

And fearful expressions convey urgent need and emotional distress,

A uplašeni izrazi prenose hitnu potrebu i emotivni nespokoj

and they usually elicit compassion and a desire to help

i obično mame samilost i potrebu za pomaganjem

in people who see them,

kod ljudi koji ih vide,

so it makes sense that people who tend to lack compassion

te ima smisla da ljudi kojima nedostaje samilosti

also tend to be insensitive to these cues.

takođe znaju da budu bezosećajni prema ovome.

The part of the brain

Deo mozga

that's the most important for recognizing fearful expressions

koji je najvažniji za prepoznavanje preplašenih izraza

is called the amygdala.

se zove amigdala.

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

Retki su slučajevi ljudi kojima u potpunosti nedostaje amigdala

and they're profoundly impaired in recognizing fearful expressions.

i oni su istinski nesposobni da prepoznaju ispoljavanje straha.

And whereas healthy adults and children

Dok su kod zdravih odraslih osoba i dece

usually show big spikes in amygdala activity

obično vidljivi veliki skokovi u aktivnosti amigdale

when they look at fearful expressions,

kada posmatraju uplašena lica,

psychopaths' amygdalas are underreactive to these expressions.

amigdale psihopata su nedovoljno reaktivne na ove izraze lica.

Sometimes they don't react at all,

Ponekad uopšte ne reaguju,

which may be why they have trouble detecting these cues.

zbog čega možda imaju problema da prepoznaju ove znake.

Finally, psychopaths' amygdalas are smaller than average

Na kraju, amigdale kod psihopata su u proseku manje

by about 18 or 20 percent.

za oko 18 do 20 procenata.

So all of these findings are reliable and robust,

Dakle, sva ova otkrića su pouzdana i snažna

and they're very interesting.

i veoma su zanimljiva.

But remember that my main interest

Znate da moje glavno interesovanje

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

nije razumevanje zašto ljudi ne mare za druge,

It's understanding why they do.

već razumevanje zašto mare.

So the real question is,

Stoga je istinsko pitanje:

could extraordinary altruism,

da li bi izuzetan altruizam,

which is the opposite of psychopathy

koji je suprotan psihopatiji

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

u smislu saosećanja i žudnje da se pomogne drugima,

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

mogao da proistekne iz mozga koji je takođe suprotan mozgu psihopate?

A sort of antipsychopathic brain,

Neki vid antipsihopatskog mozga,

better able to recognize other people's fear,

koji je više u stanju da prepozna strah drugih ljudi,

an amygdala that's more reactive to this expression

amigdale koja je reaktivnija na ovaj izraz lica

and maybe larger than average as well?

i takođe je možda veća od prosečne?

As my research has now shown,

Moje istraživanje je pokazalo

all three things are true.

da su sve tri stvari tačne.

And we discovered this

A ovo smo otkrili,

by testing a population of truly extraordinary altruists.

testirajući populaciju istinski izvanrednih altruista.

These are people who have given one of their own kidneys

To su ljudi koji su donirali jedan svoj bubreg

to a complete stranger.

potpunom strancu.

So these are people who have volunteered to undergo major surgery

Te su to ljudi koji su volontirali da prođu kroz tešku operaciju

so that one of their own healthy kidneys can be removed

kako bi jedan od njihovih zdravih bubrega bio uklonjen

and transplanted into a very ill stranger

i transplantiran veoma bolesnom strancu

that they've never met and may never meet.

koga nikad nisu i verovatno i neće upoznati.

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

"Zašto bi bilo ko ovo uradio?" je uobičajeno pitanje.

And the answer may be

A odgovor bi mogao da bude

that the brains of these extraordinary altruists

da mozgovi ovih izuzetnih altruista

have certain special characteristics.

imaju neke naročite karakteristike.

They are better at recognizing other people's fear.

Bolji su u prepoznavanju straha kod drugih ljudi.

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

Bukvalno su bolji u otkrivanju kad je neko drugi u nevolji.

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

Ovo bi delimično moglo da bude jer im je amigdala reaktivnija na ova lica.

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

I setite se da je to isti deo mozga za koji smo otkrili

was underreactive in people who are psychopathic.

da je nedovoljno reaktivan kod psihopata.

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

I, na kraju, njihove amigdale su takođe veće od prosečnih

by about eight percent.

za otprilike osam posto.

So together, what these data suggest

Pa, svi ovi podaci nagoveštavaju

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

postojanje nečega, poput kontinuuma brige u svetu

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

koji je s jedne strane označen ljudima koji su izrazite psihopate,

and at the other by people who are very compassionate

a s druge strane ljudima koji su veoma saosećajni

and driven to acts of extreme altruism.

i pokreću ih dela ekstremnog altruizma.

But I should add that what makes extraordinary altruists so different

Ali ću da dodam da ono po čemu su izuzetni altruist toliko različiti

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

nije samo to što su u proseku saosećajniji.

They are,

Jesu,

but what's even more unusual about them

ali još neobičnije kod njih

is that they're compassionate and altruistic

je da su saosećajni i altruistični

not just towards people who are in their own innermost circle

ne samo prema ljudima koji su u njihovom najužem krugu

of friends and family. Right?

prijatelja i porodice. U redu?

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

Jer saosećati sa ljudima koje volite i s kojima se identifikujete

is not extraordinary.

nije izuzetno.

Truly extraordinary altruists' compassion extends way beyond that circle,

Istinski izvanredna saosećajnost altruiste se proteže daleko mimo tog kruga,

even beyond their wider circle of acquaintances

čak i mimo njihovog šireg kruga poznanika,

to people who are outside their social circle altogether,

na ljude koji su potpuno van njihovog društvenog kruga,

total strangers,

na potpune strance,

just like the man who rescued me.

baš poput čoveka koji me je spasio.

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

I imala sam priliku da pitam mnoge altruistične donatore bubrega

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

kako to uspevaju da stvore tako širok krug saosećajnosti,

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

da su spremni da daju svoj bubreg potpunom strancu.

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

I otkrila sam da je za njih uistinu teško da odgovore na to pitanje.

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

Pitam: "Kako to da ste spremni da uradite ovo,

when so many other people don't?

kad mnogi drugi ljudi ne bi?

You're one of fewer than 2,000 Americans

Vi ste jedan od manje od 2000 Amerikanaca

who has ever given a kidney to a stranger.

koji je dao bubreg strancu.

What is it that makes you so special?"

Šta vas čini tako posebnim?"

And what do they say?

A šta oni kažu?

They say, "Nothing.

Kažu: "Ništa.

There's nothing special about me.

Nema ništa naročito kod mene.

I'm just the same as everybody else."

Ista sam kao i svi drugi."

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

I mislim da je to zapravo odgovor koji mnogo otkriva

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

jer nagoveštava da krugovi ovih altruista ne izgledaju ovako,

they look more like this.

pre su sličniji ovome.

They have no center.

Nemaju centar.

These altruists literally don't think of themselves

Ovi altruisti bukvalno ne vide sebe

as being at the center of anything,

kao centar bilo čega,

as being better or more inherently important than anybody else.

da su bolji ili suštinski važniji od bilo koga drugog.

Kad sam altruistkinju pitala kakvog je smisla imalo doniranje bubrega,

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

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

rekla je: "Jer se ne radi o meni."

Another said,

Druga je rekla:

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

"Nisam različita. Nisam jedinstvena.

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

Vaše istraživanje će da otkrije da sam ista kao i vi."

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

Smatram da je najbolji opis ovog divnog odsustva samoobuzetosti -

is humility,

skromnost,

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

a to je vrlina, koja prema rečima Sv. Avgustina

makes men as angels.

od ljudi pravi anđele.

And why is that?

Zašto je tako?

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

Tako je jer ako nemate središte kruga,

there can be no inner rings or outer rings,

onda nema unutrašnjih ili spoljašnjih krugova,

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

niko nije više ili manje vredan vaše brige i saosećanja

than anybody else.

od bilo koga drugog.

And I think that this is what really distinguishes extraordinary altruists

I mislim da ovo zaista razlikuje izuzetne altruiste

from the average person.

od prosečnih osoba.

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

Ali takođe smatram da je ovaj pogled na svet dostižan mnogima

and maybe even most people.

a možda čak i većini ljudi.

And I think this because at the societal level,

A ovo smatram jer na društvenom nivou,

expansions of altruism and compassion are already happening everywhere.

širenje altruizma i saosećajnosti se već svuda dešava.

The psychologist Steven Pinker and others have shown

Psiholog Stiven Pinker i drugi su pokazali

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

da širom sveta za ljude postaje sve manje prihvatljiva

of suffering in ever-widening circles of others,

patnja u krugovima koji su sve širi za druge,

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

a to je dovelo do pada u svim vidovima okrutnosti i nasilja,

from animal abuse to domestic violence to capital punishment.

od zlostavljanja životinja i porodičnog nasilja do smrtne kazne.

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

I dovelo je do porasta u svim vidovima altruizma.

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

Pre sto godina ljudi bi smatrali da je smešno

how normal and ordinary it is

koliko je normalno i uobičajeno

for people to donate their blood and bone marrow

da ljudi doniraju svoju krv i koštanu srž

to complete strangers today.

trenutno potpunim strancima.

Is it possible that a hundred years from now

Da li je moguće da će za sto godina od sad

people will think that donating a kidney to a stranger

ljudi da smatraju da je doniranje bubrega strancu

is just as normal and ordinary

jednako normalno i uobičajeno

as we think donating blood and bone marrow is today?

kao što danas smatramo da je doniranje krvi i koštane srži?

Maybe.

Možda.

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

Pa, šta je u korenu svih ovih sjajnih promena?

In part it seems to be

Delimično se čini

increases in wealth and standards of living.

da je to porast bogatstva i životnog standarda.

As societies become wealthier and better off,

Kako društva postaju bogatija i imućnija,

people seem to turn their focus of attention outward,

čini se da ljudi usmeravaju svoju pažnju ka spolja,

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

i posledica toga je porast u raznim vidovima altruizma prema strancima,

from volunteering to charitable donations and even altruistic kidney donations.

od volontiranja i dobrotvornih donacija, čak i do altruističnih donacija bubrega.

But all of these changes also yield

Ali sve ove promene takođe povlače

a strange and paradoxical result,

čudne i paradoksalne rezultate,

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

a to je da čak iako svet postaje bolje i humanije mesto,

which it is,

a jeste tako,

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

uobičajeno je viđenje da postaje sve gori

and more cruel, which it's not.

i okrutniji, a nije tako.

And I don't know exactly why this is,

I ne znam tačno zašto je tako,

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

ali mislim da je možda zato što znamo mnogo više

about the suffering of strangers in distant places,

o patnji stranaca na udaljenim mestima

and so we now care a lot more

i stoga sad marimo daleko više

about the suffering of those distant strangers.

o patnji tih dalekih stranaca.

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

Ali su evidentni vidovi promene koju trenutno pokazujemo;

that the roots of altruism and compassion

da su koreni altruizma i saosećajnosti

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

podjednako deo ljudske prirode kao okrutnost i nasilje,

maybe even more so,

možda čak i više,

and while some people do seem to be inherently more sensitive

i dok se neki ljudi čine po prirodi osetljivijim

to the suffering of distant others,

prema patnji udaljenih drugih,

I really believe that the ability to remove oneself

zaista verujem da je sposobnost izmeštanja sebe

from the center of the circle

iz središta kruga

and expand the circle of compassion outward to include even strangers

i širenje kruga saosećanja ka spolja, da bismo uključili čak i strance,

is within reach for almost everyone.

dostižno skoro svim ljudima.

Thank you.

Hvala vam.

(Applause)

(Aplauz)