Jamil Zaki: How to escape the cynicism trap | TED

翻译人员: Ying Hu 校对人员: Ethan Huang

This is it.

终于到了。

Here we all are, together at last,

我们总算都聚集于此地，

to talk about optimism.

来探讨乐观主义。

If this isn't nice, I don't know what is.

如果这还不算好， 我不知道什么才算了。

Here's the problem: it's 2021.

问题在于：现在是2021年。

We are living through a global plague,

我们正经历一场全球性的瘟疫，

one that revealed our worst instincts at the worst times.

它在最坏的时期 暴露出了我们最糟的本性。

We are so divided that public health has become a power struggle.

我们分裂到以至于公共卫生 已变成了一场权力争夺。

We pioneered a vaccine, a moon-landing level innovation,

我们率先研发出了 堪比登月的创新疫苗，

and then kept it among wealthy countries while poor ones suffered.

然后把它留给富裕国家享有， 让贫穷的国家受苦受难。

Against this backdrop, isn't talking about optimism,

在此背景下谈论乐观主义，

不会像在现在去讨论 传呼机和马车一样吗？

like discussing pagers or horse-drawn carriages?

Isn't optimism obsolete, backwards and naive,

鉴于我们所经历的这一切，

乐观主义难道不过时， 落后和天真吗？

given all we've been through?

Shouldn't it be replaced

难道它不应该

with a more up-to-date cognitive technology?

被一种更与时俱进的认知 所替换掉吗？

Well, lots of people have replaced it with cynicism:

很多人将它换为了犬儒主义，

其认为人类是贪婪， 自私和不诚实的。

the notion that humanity is greedy, selfish and dishonest.

In 1972, 45 percent of Americans thought that most people can be trusted.

在1972年，45%的美国人 认为大多数人是可以信任的。

By 2018, that had dropped to about 30 percent.

到了2018， 这个比例下跌到约30%。

We are living through a cynicism epidemic.

我们正生活在犬儒主义盛行的世界中。

I should know --

我应该知道的，

last year, it infected me, and I'm supposed to be immune.

而在去年，我虽理应对此免疫， 但也受其影响。

I'm a psychologist and neuroscientist,

我是一名心理学家和神经科学家，

and my whole career, I've studied the sunny side of human nature.

而我的整个学术生涯， 都是在研究人性的善良面。

My lab and I have found that giving away money

我和实验室的同事们发现

捐款会像吃巧克力一样 刺激大脑中的相似部分，

activates similar parts of your brain as eating chocolate,

and that helping other people through their stress calms our own.

并且帮助他人渡过压力 也会让我们获得平静。

Our punch line is clear:

我们口号的点睛之笔很明确：

there is good in us, and it does good for us.

人性有善，善利人心。

Now, people love hearing this,

人们对此喜闻乐见，

but in 2020, I started to hate saying it.

但在2020年， 我开始厌恶说这样的话了。

I was building hope in others while losing my own.

我为他人建立希望的同时， 自己却在逐渐失去。

I was evangelizing for human kindness all day

我整天传播人性之善

and then doomscrolling at night.

并在晚上 却不停地刷一屏又一屏的负面消息。

I was peddling something that I would never want to buy anymore.

我就像在兜售 自己永远不会买的商品。

I felt like a fraud,

我感觉自己像个骗子，

or, at best, maybe a fax-machine salesman.

或者说好听点， 像传真机销售员。

(Laughter)

（笑声）

But here's the thing.

但重点来了。

You might think that cynicism is a system upgrade

你们可能觉得犬儒主义 是会让我们看清人类本质的

that allows us to see who we really are.

认知系统升级。

It's not.

但并非如此。

It traps us in a version of the world we don't want to live in,

它将我们困在了一个我们不愿

and one we don't have to.

也不必生活其中的世界里。

One of my favorite studies of all time occurred in southeastern Brazil.

我最喜爱的一个研究 发生在巴西东南部。

Two fishing villages there are separated by just 30 miles.

那里有两个相隔仅30英里的渔村。

One sits by the ocean,

其中之一坐落于捕鱼需要大型船只

where fishing requires large boats and heavy equipment.

和重型设备的海边。

To make a living there, fishermen must work together.

渔民们必须协同工作以谋求生计。

The other sits by a lake,

另一个渔村位于河边，

where fishermen strike out alone on small boats

那里的渔民驾驶小船独自谋生

and compete with one another.

并且相互竞争。

Years ago,

多年前，

researchers tested how people in each of these villages

研究人员测试了这两个村子的人们

对一系列社会实验进行如何反应。

responded to a set of social experiments.

Ocean fishermen trusted strangers and cooperated with their neighbors.

海边的渔民信任陌生人 并愿意与邻里合作。

Lake fishermen competed and mistrusted instead.

而河边的渔民相互竞争 且不信任彼此。

But here's the crazy part.

但最荒唐的是，

These folks didn't start out any different from each other,

这些渔民们在一开始时 并没有任何不同，

but the longer fishermen worked on the lake,

但他们在河上工作的时间越长，

the more they competed.

他们的竞争越是激烈。

The longer they worked on the ocean, the less they did.

他们在海上工作的时间越长 则竞争就越少。

Some families, schools and companies are like ocean villages.

有些家庭、学校和公司 就好似海边的渔村。

People trust, because they know others will earn it.

人们相互信任， 因为他们知道别人值得信任。

Some are like lake towns --

另一些就像河边的渔村，

people look out for themselves, because no one else will.

人们只为自己着想， 因为没有其他人会关心他们。

Our social worlds shape us, like clay,

我们的社会生活如塑黏土般

into hopeful or cynical versions of ourselves.

将我们变为满怀希望 或愤世嫉俗版本的自我。

And right now,

此时此刻，

many of us are living in a lake town of historic proportion.

史无前例多的人们生活在河边小镇。

Inequality has soared, injustice is all around,

不平等程度加剧， 不平等现象无处不在。

self-interest might as well be pumped into the water supply.

自私自利就像在水供给里一样 非常普遍。

These forces raise cynicism,

这些因素和灾难

一同推高了愤世嫉俗。

and so do times of disaster.

After the last 18 months,

在经历了过去的18个月后，

there's a real chance we could tip into a sort of cynical permafrost.

我们可能真的会永久陷入犬儒主义里。

Now,

现在，

我猜测今天的观众中 可能会有骄傲的愤世嫉俗者，

I'm going to guess there may be some proud cynics in the audience today,

and you might be thinking, "Good.

而你可能会想，

“很好，更多人应该转向黑暗面。

More people should turn to the dark side.

Optimism might feel nice --

乐观主义者可能感觉良好，

so would calling tiramisu a health food,

就像他们把提拉米苏 称为健康食品一样。

but we don't get to go around believing whatever we like."

但我们不能凭着我们的喜好认知一切。”

乔治 · 伯纳德 · 萧告诉我们，

George Bernard Shaw tells us

that the power of accurate observation is commonly called "cynicism"

对于没有准确的洞察力的人而言，

准确的洞察力 通常就被叫做愤世嫉俗。

by those who haven't got it.

(Laughter)

（笑声）

107 years later,

在那107年后，

the cartoon philosopher Lisa Simpson

漫画哲学家丽莎 · 辛普顿

taught us that as intelligence goes up, happiness goes down.

告诉我们越聪明就越不幸福。

Maybe hope does, too.

可能同样也越不怀有希望吧。

Maybe cynicism is the price of being right.

也许犬儒主义就是作为正确的代价。

Most people think so.

大部分人都是这么想的。

70 percent think cynics are smarter than noncynics;

70%的人认为愤世嫉俗者 比非愤世嫉俗者更聪明；

85 percent think they would make better lie detectors.

85%的人则认为愤世嫉俗者 更能看穿谎言。

Most people are wrong.

他们都错了。

It turns out that cynics tend to perform less well than noncynics

事实证明愤世嫉俗者在认知测试中

on cognitive tests.

往往表现得更差。

They earn less money,

他们的收入更少

and they lose more often in negotiations.

并且他们更容易在谈判中失利。

They're not even good at spotting bad guys.

他们甚至都不擅长发现坏人。

In one study,

在一项研究中，

researchers conducted mock job interviews,

研究人员进行了模拟面试，

asking half the candidates to lie and half to tell the truth.

要求一半应聘者说谎 而另一半人说实话。

Cynics and noncynics watched videos of these interviews

愤世嫉俗者和非愤世嫉俗者 观看这些面试

and guessed who was lying.

然后猜测谁在说谎。

And cynics did way worse.

愤世嫉俗者表现得要差得多。

More generally, they assume liars are everywhere

更概括地说， 因为他们认为骗子无处不在，

so can't pick real ones out of a crowd.

所以他们没法从人群中 辨别出真正的说谎者。

So cynicism might not be as smart as you think it is,

因此犬儒主义可能没有你想象中 那么有智慧，

but it's still powerful,

但它仍然影响深远，

because our stories about each other become self-fulfilling.

因为我们对彼此的叙述 会成为现实。

Cynics are more likely to refuse intimacy and cooperation.

愤世嫉俗者更可能 拒绝亲密关系和协同合作。

They hurt others to avoid being hurt.

他们伤害别人以避免自己受伤。

They tend to spy on their colleagues and suspect their friends,

他们会暗中监视同事并怀疑朋友，

and other people, unsurprisingly, react badly --

而其他人毫无疑问会做出不好的反应 ——

sometimes, acting selfishly in response.

有时他们作为回应会表现得自私。

In other words, by mistreating others,

换句话说，愤世嫉俗者通过欺负他人

cynics create the exact conditions they fear.

恰恰创造了他们担忧的环境。

They tell a story full of villains and end up living in it.

他们认为四处都是恶棍， 最终却生活这样的世界中。

I call this the cynicism trap,

我称之为犬儒主义陷阱，

and my lab explores ways that people fall into it.

而我的实验室 研究人们是如何陷入其中的。

In one study, we asked people how happiness works.

在一项研究中， 我们问人们幸福感是怎么回事。

Some thought that it's a zero-sum game,

有些人认为这是一种零和博弈，

meaning that as one person's happiness goes up,

意思是当一个人的幸福感上升时，

another person's must go down.

那么另一个人的幸福感必然下降。

Now they're wrong.

他们错了。

It turns out that when we act generously towards others,

事实证明当我们慷慨待人时，

that tends to increase our happiness.

我们的幸福感会增加。

But cynics acted on their illusion.

但愤世嫉俗者 会根据他们的幻想行事。

When given chances to help strangers, they were less likely to do so.

在有机会帮助陌生人时， 他们不太会去提供帮助。

They ended up less happy as well.

最后他们也不会感到快乐。

By hoarding well-being,

将善意隐藏在心中，

they lost out on one of its key ingredients --

他们错失了幸福感的一个关键要素 ——

other people.

他人。

In other work,

在另一项研究中，

我们询问共和党人和民主党人

we asked Republicans and Democrats

what it would mean to empathize with the other side.

设身处地理解对方意味着什么。

Some people saw politics as a war,

有的人把政治视为一场战争，

and thought empathy would be as useful as bringing cotton candy to a gunfight.

他们认为拥有同理心 就像带棉花糖参加枪战一样毫无用处。

These folks didn't want to cooperate with the other side,

这样的人不想与对方合作，

or even to know them at all.

甚至根本不想了解他们。

In one study,

还有一项研究，

we measured college students' cynicism about empathy

我们评估了大学生 对于同情心的愤世嫉俗程度

and asked about the friends they made on campus.

并问及了 他们在学校里结交的朋友。

Here, each dot is a person,

这里的每个点代表一个人，

coded blue to red based on ideology,

这些点根据意识形态 被分为蓝色到红色，

and each line is a friendship.

每条线则代表朋友关系。

Now, this was a pretty liberal campus,

这个学校的学生非常偏向自由主义，

but nonetheless, noncynics managed to find ideologically diverse friends.

尽管如此，非愤世嫉俗者 还是会结交意识形态不同的朋友。

Cynics stuck to their own kind.

而愤世嫉俗者只与同类交往。

Now that's, of course, their right.

当然他们有权这么做。

But most of us wish our country was less divided,

但我们大多数人 都希望我们的国家少一些分裂，

and empathy is critical to moving us towards that goal.

并且同理心对于这一目标的实现 至关重要。

By giving up on it, cynics lose that chance.

愤世嫉俗者对同理心不抱希望。 致其失去了减少分裂的机会。

Our studies and many others

我们的和许多其他的研究

give us a clear picture of the cynicism trap.

都清晰地描绘了犬儒主义的陷阱。

When we decide everyone's out for themselves,

当我们认为每个人只为自己着想时，

we stop seeing their kindness.

我们就会对他人的善良视而不见。

When we think the world is zero-sum,

当我们认为世界是零和的时，

everyone becomes a potential enemy.

那每个人都会成为自己潜在的敌人。

These views spread across us, too.

这些观点也在我们之中传播。

Parents pass on their suspicions to their kids.

父母把他们的怀疑传递给孩子，

Politicians act in bad faith

政客的行为背信弃义

and damage voters' faith in each other.

并损害了选民的相互信任。

Media companies trade in judgment and outrage.

媒体公司靠判断力 和愤怒情绪做生意。

Our cynicism is their product,

我们的愤世嫉俗 就是他们的产品

and it is a growth industry.

而且这个产业还在不断增长。

So no, cynicism doesn't help us see reality more clearly,

所以犬儒主义并不能帮我们 更透彻地认清现实，

but it does change reality,

但它确实改变了现实。

poisoning our relationships, our lives and our culture.

它损害了我们的人际关系、 生活和文化。

It is not a system upgrade,

这是心理上的恶意软件

it's mental malware.

而非认知系统的升级。

But we don't have to accept it.

但我们不必接受它。

We can take control of our stories.

我可以掌控自己的生活。

To escape the cynicism trap, we have to.

为摆脱犬儒主义陷阱， 我们必须这么做。

My lab tries to help.

我的实验室试图提供帮助。

In one study,

在一项研究中，

we taught people that happiness is not a zero-sum game,

我们告诉人们 幸福不是零和博弈，

and that helping others helps us, too.

并且帮助他人也是在帮助自己。

These folks, compared to those in a cynical condition,

与那些愤世嫉俗的人相比，

donated more to charity afterwards,

这些事后向慈善机构捐款更多的人

and they ended up happier as well.

最终也变得更幸福。

In other work, we changed how people thought about empathy in politics.

在其他研究中， 我们改变了人们对政治中同理心的看法。

Some people were randomly chosen to read a cynical essay.

一些人被随机选中 去读愤世嫉俗的文章。

It began, and I'm paraphrasing,

它开头的大致意思是这样的，

"You might think empathy is a weakness

“你可能认为同理心

that will make you lose every argument,

是一种会让你输掉每场辩论的弱点，

的确是这样的。”

and you'd be right."

Afterwards, we asked these folks to write a note about gun control

之后，我们要求这些人 向他们观点相反的人

to someone they disagreed with,

就枪支管制话题进行写作，

and they sniped at each other.

然后他们就开始互相攻击了。

Here’s a voice actor reading what one Democrat wrote to a Republican.

这是一位配音演员读民主党人 写给共和党人的信的录音。

Recording: “It’s hard not to state this bluntly.

“隐约其辞地指出枪支管理是很难的。

You should be in favor of stricter gun laws

你应该支持更严格的枪支法

because you should care about the lives of other people

因为你更应该关心其他人的生命

more than your outdated feelings of machismo."

而不是你过时的大男子主义。”

Jamil Zaki: And here’s a Republican writing to a Democrat.

接下来是一位共和党人 写给一位民主党人的信的录音。

“人们需要知道

Recording: "People need to know

他们应有自由携带武器

they're able to have the freedom to bear arms

以保护自己。

in order to protect themselves.

你们民主党人 不能剥夺我们的权利。”

You democrats don't get to take that away from us."

JZ: Basically, we recreated Twitter, by accident.

基本上， 我们无意中重建复刻了推特。

(Laughter)

（笑声）

Other people read a different essay.

其他人则读到了不同的文章。

It began,

它的开头是，

"You might think empathy is a weakness that will make you lose every argument,

“你可能认为同理心是一种弱点， 会让你输掉每场辩论，

但你错了。”

and you'd be wrong."

接着，文章将同理心 描述为政治中的一种优势。

... and went on to describe empathy as a strength in politics.

Again, we asked these folks to write to an opponent about gun control,

同样，我们要求这些人给反对者 就枪支管制写作，

but this time, things changed.

但这一次，事情有所变化。

Here’s a Democrat.

这是一位民主党人所写的。

Recording: "There are some common-sense regulations

录音是： “我们应该实施一些常识性的规定

以保证人们的安全。

that we should implement to keep people safe.

我们都希望做出对国家最有利的事，

We all want what is best for the country,

and there are things we can meet in the middle on

以及我们可以找到折中的方法

to tackle the issue of gun violence."

以着手解决枪支暴力问题。”

JZ: And a Republican.

这是一位共产党人写的。

Recording: "Horrible crimes can be committed using guns ...

“枪支可以用来犯下可怕的罪行，

everything from school shootings

从校园枪击案

to murders because of racism and white supremacy.

到种族主义和白人至上主义导致的谋杀， 无所不包。

It's very understandable that you think it makes sense

非常可以理解

你们认为制定更严格的枪支法 是有意义的。

to make gun laws more strict.

We're all reasonable people,

我们都是通情达理的人，

and we just want what's best for our loved ones."

我们只是希望 我们所爱的人得到最好的。”

JZ: To us, this was wild.

对我们来说，这太出乎意料了。

Remember,

记住，

just like ocean and lake fishermen,

就像是在海边和在河边的渔民，

这些人在一开始时并没有什么不同，

these people did not start out any different,

but just reading one essay turned some of them into new optimists

但仅仅通过读一篇文章， 一些人就变成了新的乐观主义者

and others into new cynics.

而另一些变成了新的愤世嫉俗者。

This shaped how they acted, and their effect on other people.

这塑造了他们的行为方式 以及对其他人的影响。

We sent all of these notes

我们把所有写的东西

to people who really disagreed with the writer about gun control,

发给在枪支管制问题上 与作者意见完全相左的人，

and found that notes written by new optimists

并且我们发现 新的乐观主义者写的东西

were more persuasive than those written by new cynics,

比新的愤世嫉俗者的更有说服力。

more likely to make other people change their mind.

更可能改变其他人的想法。

In other words,

换句话说，

we taught these people that empathy was useful,

我们告诉这些人同理心是有用的，

they used it, and it became useful.

他们开始换位思考， 同理心就变得有用了。

This is what I want you to remember and what I want you to know:

这就是我想让你们记住 和知道的事：

that if cynical stories can become self-fulfilling,

如果愤世嫉俗的叙述 会最终实现，

our work shows that hopeful ones can as well.

我们的实验证明 充满希望的也可以。

Now, cynicism is not the only root of our problems,

愤世嫉俗并不是问题的唯一根源，

and optimism alone will not fix them.

仅靠乐观主义也不能解决这些问题。

But it's hard to change a broken system

但如果你认为这个破碎的系统

if you think it's a mirror reflecting our broken nature.

是一面能反映我们破碎本性的镜子， 那么就很难将它改变。

If people are selfish to our core,

如果人在本性上就是自私的，

then toxic laws and practices are here to stay.

那么有害的法律 和行为会仍继续存在。

But we can all choose to tell a different story.

但我们可以选择做出不同的诠释。

We can be skeptical --

我们可以在相信别人之前要求提供证据

demanding evidence before we believe in people --

以保持持怀疑的态度，

but hopeful, knowing they can change for the better.

但要心怀知道他们可以变得更好的希望。

We can notice their kindness even when the media doesn’t

即使媒体没有注意到， 我们也能关注到他人的善良

and envision systems built on that kindness.

并设想在这种善良的基础上 建立认知体系。

We can find other people in our neighborhoods,

我们可以在我们的社区、 工会和宗教团体中

unions and faith communities who want the same thing.

找到其他追求同样东西的人。

We can use our collective optimism

我们可以利用我们的集体乐观主义

to build pockets of solidarity and mutual aid,

来建立团结互助的小团体，

miniature ocean villages that can grow over time.

就像是随着时间的推移而成长的 海边渔村的缩影。

Now, this is the part of the talk

到了演讲里我应该告诉你们，

where I'm supposed to tell you how I cured my own cynicism.

我是如何治愈自己的犬儒主义的部分了。

But the truth is, I still struggle.

但事实是， 我仍在与之斗争。

Depending on the day or the hour,

我保证在时间的推移下，

I promise, I can be as cynical as anyone here.

我可以和任何人一样变得 愤世嫉俗。

But I see cynicism for what it is --

但我看到了犬儒主义的本质，

a psychological quicksand

它是一种我越往前走

that will pull me in deeper, the more I move through it.

就越会让我陷得更深的 心理上的流沙。

So I fight to believe in people,

因此我努力去相信别人，

not because it feels good,

不是因为这样让我感觉很好，

but because stories matter,

而是因为这背后的经历很重要

and we're telling ours all the time, together.

并且我们一直在一起讲述我们的故事。

We all get stuck in quicksand --

我们都被困在流沙中，

sometimes, that's OK.

有时候这样没关系。

But the next time you manage to pull yourself out,

但下次你设法抽身

and find some faith in humanity,

并找到对人性的一些信任时，

try to remember to reach back and grab someone else who's stuck,

记得向后伸手， 抓住其他被困住的人

until more of us can make it to solid ground.

直到大部分人能踏上坚实的地面。

Because optimism is not a relic of the past.

因为乐观主义不是过时的产物。

It's one key to building a better future by letting us see it more clearly.

它是让我们能更清楚地看到前景 从而建立更美好未来的关键。

Thank you.

谢谢大家。

(Applause)

（鼓掌声）