The Story That Shapes Your Relationship with Nature | Damon Gameau | TED

翻译人员: Zheng Jia 校对人员: Iris Li

A few moments ago, before I walked onstage,

几分钟前，在我上台之前，

I was aware that there was this story playing out in my head.

我发现我的脑海中回荡着一段叙事（Story）——

It was actually a dance between two stories.

其实是摇摆在两种叙事之间。

One story was noticing the size of this audience

一种叙事是，我注意到在场观众的数量，

and the cameras that are around,

以及周围环绕的摄像机。

and was telling me that now would not be a good time to trip over a shoelace

它们都告诫我， 这可不是被鞋带绊倒、

or forget any lines.

或是忘词的好时机。

And the other story in my head was telling me to be grateful

而我脑海中的另一种叙事则告诉我，

for this opportunity.

感恩这个机会。

Go out, relish the experience,

走出去吧，去享受这段经历，

and have fun.

玩得开心就好。

I was aware that whichever story took hold

我知道无论何种叙事占据主导，

might impact the next 12 minutes of my life

都将影响我生命中接下来的 12 分钟，

and determine how this talk unfolds.

并决定这场演讲将如何呈现。

Therapists and psychologists tell us that the stories we tell ourselves

治疗师和心理学家告诉我们， 我们讲述给自己的这些叙事，

play a fundamental role in how we interact with the world around us.

在我们与周遭世界的交流中 扮演着至关重要的角色。

Some people tell themselves that they are not enough.

有些人对自己说， 他们还不够格；

Other people tell themselves that they're impostors.

另一些人则告诉自己， 他们是冒名顶替者。

And if you've ever seen the auditions of a television singing competition,

而如果你们看过电视歌唱比赛的试镜，

some people tell themselves they're a little better

就会发现有些人的自我认知

than they actually are.

其实比实际情况好那么一点。

But apart from the individual stories we tell ourselves,

但是除了我们讲给自己的个人叙事之外，

all of us are also taking part in larger, collective stories

我们所有人都参与着一个 更宏大的、集体的叙事，

that shape our behavior as a species.

它塑造了我们作为一个物种的行为。

A collective story enables people in India to treat cows as sacred,

正是因为集体叙事， 印度人将牛奉为神圣之物，

while people in America cram cows into feedlots.

而美国人则把牛挤进饲养场。

Our internal and external worlds are full of stories

我们的内部和外部世界都充满了

that shape our behaviors.

塑造我们行为的叙事。

Today, I want to talk about a collective story

今天，我想谈谈这个集体叙事——

that most people aren't even aware they're inhabiting.

大多数人甚至意识不到自己栖身其中。

It is a collective story that tells us that human beings are separate

这个集体叙事说的是， 人类独立且优越于自然。

and superior to nature.

It is a story that has taken us so close to the brink of an unimaginable crisis

这种叙事让我们无比接近 一场难以想象的危机的边缘，

that our survival now depends on telling a new story.

而我们的存续则取决于一场新的叙事。

So ...

所以……

Once upon a time, in a land far away --

从前，在一片遥远的土地上——

and right here, actually, on the lands that we're gathered today,

其实就在这里—— 在我们今天聚集的这片土地上，

the majority of people on planet Earth

地球上的大多数人

had a deep reverence and respect for nature.

都对自然秉持着深切的敬畏和尊重。

They saw very little separation

在他们眼中，

between themselves and the world around them.

自己与周遭的世界密不可分。

Many cultures saw nature as a giving parent.

许多文化将自然看作天赐的父母，

The plants and the animals were their relatives.

植被和动物是他们的亲人。

Indigenous Australians saw themselves as custodians of the land,

澳大利亚土著人认为自己是土地的守护者；

while the ancient Chinese

而中国的古人

considered themselves reverent guests of nature.

则将自己视作自然的客人。

Even prominent figures of Rome, like Ovid and Seneca,

即使是罗马的杰出人物—— 例如奥维德（Ovid）和塞内加（Seneca）——

argued that mining shouldn't be permissible,

也认为采矿不应被允许，

as it was too abusive to the natural world.

因为它对于自然世界来说太过残虐。

But then, things started to change.

然而，事情逐渐发生了变化。

A new craze called Christianity began to take hold.

一种名为基督教的狂潮开始席卷。

Word spread that their one God sat above and outside nature,

有传言说，他们唯一的上帝凌驾于自然之上。

and that God had made people in his own image

这位上帝以他自己的形象创造了人类，

and given them dominion over the Earth.

又赐予他们统治地球的力量。

"Sounds alright," said the people,

“听起来没错，”大家说，

passing on the news to friends and relatives,

然后将这消息转达给朋友、亲人、

missionaries, kings.

传教士、国王。

"The world was made for the sake of man,

“这个世界是为了人类而造的，

that it may serve him,"

它会服从于人类，”

said the bishop of Paris in the early 12th century.

12 世纪早期的巴黎主教如是说。

The Christian craze had now infiltrated Europe

基督教的狂潮已经渗透到欧洲了，

and was beginning its march into the Americas.

它正准备踏入美洲。

"But wait, there's more,"

“等一下，还有一点。”

said a couple of fancy-looking men in the early 1600s.

17 世纪初，几个光鲜靓丽的男人说道。

They told the people that they were from the Scientific Revolution,

他们告诉大家，他们来自科学革命，

and that they could empower the people even further.

他们能赋予人类更多的力量。

"We must hound nature in her wanderings,"

“我们需得在自然的漫游中追寻她，”

said the first man --

第一个人这样说。

Francis Bacon, the father of modern science.

他是弗朗西斯 · 培根（Francis Bacon）， 现代科学之父。

"We must find a way, at length, into her inner chambers.

“我们必要找到一条路，去探她的心房。

We must reveal the secrets still locked in nature's bosom.

我们要揭露，那仍被困锁于她怀抱的秘密。

Make her your slave,

去让她为你奴役，

subdue her,

去征服她，

shake her to her foundations."

去动摇她的根基。”

"Yes," said the men. "It sounds alright."

“是的，”那男人说。“听起来没错。”

The second man then chimed in.

第二个人在这时插话。

His name was René Descartes, the father of modern philosophy.

他叫勒内 · 笛卡尔（René Descartes）， 是现代哲学之父。

He confirmed to the people that, yes,

他让世人确信——是的，

they were superior to nature

他们比自然更加优越，

and added that animals were mindless machines to be mastered

并且动物是没有思想、可供驱使、

and exploited at will.

随意压榨的机器。

"Well, that's a relief," said the people.

“喔，那我们就放心了，”人们说。

"Now, we don't have to feel so bad about whipping our oxen."

“我们不用再对鞭打耕牛感到罪恶了。”

The influence of these two men,

这两个人的影响，

coupled with the religious craze,

配合着宗教狂潮，

meant that nature was no longer seen as a living thing

意味着自然不再被作为 有生命的东西受到敬畏和尊重，

to be revered and respected,

but instead as a machine to be manipulated for the benefits of mankind.

而是成为被人类利益操纵的机器。

This was a new and exciting story

这种叙事多么新鲜，多么振奋人心，

that set free natural resources for humans to achieve social and economic progress,

它为人类释放自然资源， 以此来实现社会和经济进步，

even if obtained through violent and suppressive acts.

即使这些资源是通过暴力和镇压获得的。

This new story was particularly enticing to the emerging capitalists of the time,

这种新叙事对当时的新兴资本家特别有吸引力，

because a nature devoid of reverence and respect

因为一个不再受到敬畏和尊重的自然

was much easier to commodify.

会更容易商品化。

And commodify they did.

而他们的确也这样做了。

The humans went to work,

人类开工了，

entering and penetrating all of those inner chambers.

他们踏破和刺穿所有的心房；

They tunneled her bosom for coal and metals,

他们剖开她的胸膛， 挖掘煤炭和金属；

they scraped and plowed over her skin with their tractors.

他们开着拖拉机犁过她的皮肤，

They took chain saws to her forests of follicles,

他们拿着链锯砍伐她毛囊的森林，

and they filled her waters with their waste.

再用废弃的垃圾填埋她血管的河流。

The new story had spread across the globe.

这种新的叙事席卷全球。

Humans had asserted their dominance,

人类确立了他们的统治地位，

they built wondrous things

他们制作出神奇的产品，

and improved the lives of billions of people,

改善了数十亿人的生活，

particularly in specific regions.

尤其是在某些地区。

Until one day ...

直到有一天……

their scientists began to notice.

他们中的科学家开始发现，

"Her animals are decreasing."

“她的动物在消亡。”

"Her atmosphere is heating."

“她的气候在变暖。”

"The soils are eroding."

“她的土壤在流失。”

"Our research is foreboding."

“我们的研究在警示不祥之兆。”

But still, the humans carried on.

可是，人类仍然没有停止。

You see, they couldn't hear the scientists,

你看，他们对科学家闭耳塞听，

because the facts don't matter much if they don't fit the story.

因为如果事实与叙事不符， 那么它就不重要。

And the story was deeply embedded now.

而这个叙事已经是如此地深入人心。

In 2019, the head of the Environmental Protection Agency in the US

2019 年，美国国家环境保护局局长

opposes regulations because, he says,

反对那些法规，因为——他说——

"We have a responsibility to harvest

“我们有责任收获自然资源，

the natural resources that we've been blessed with."

它是属于我们的赏赐。”

A prominent evangelist tells his followers

一位著名的布道家告诉他的追随者，

that refusing to use fossil fuels hurts God's feelings.

拒绝使用石油是在辜负上帝的感情。

The story was so embedded

这种叙事太深入人心了，

that the humans' nightly news bulletins measured their success

以至于人类的晚间新闻仅仅用财务指标 来衡量他们的成功，

by financial metrics alone,

while the living world that allowed the gains in those metrics

而供养了那些指标的 这个活生生的世界，

was being eviscerated out of sight.

却被抛诸脑后。

And the story was so embedded

这种叙事太深入人心了，

that when researchers looked at the names of trees, birds, flowers

以至于研究者们发现， 树木、飞鸟、花朵、

and other keywords relating to nature,

以及其他与自然息息相关的词汇，

used across millions of books, songs and movies,

在 1900 年到 2014 年间 数以百万的书本、歌谣和电影中，

from 1900 to 2014 ...

they found a dramatic decline in the use of those words

经历了使用率的巨幅下降。

across that period.

The humans were spending seven hours a day on their screens.

人类每天在他们的电子屏幕上花费七个小时。

So not only were they experiencing

他们不仅与自然相行渐远，

fewer stories and actual experiences of nature ...

but they were being bombarded by up to 10,000 advertisements a day,

更是每天都要受到多达一万的广告轰炸，

largely for products that are inflicting even more ecological damage.

其中大部分产品甚至 对生态造成了更大的破坏。

Nature was being hounded in her wanderings.

自然在她的漫游中被擒获了。

And yet, the humans remain trapped in their story.

然而，人类仍然困在他们的叙事中，

Trapped in their cultural programming ...

困在他们的文化编码中，

like goldfish in a tank,

就像是鱼缸里的金鱼，

unaware of the unfolding chaos beyond the colored pebbles

沉溺在五光十色的气泡和人造水景中，

and the artificial logs.

对徐徐展开的混乱一无所知。

So when those same scientists resorted to blocking traffic

所以当同样一批科学家 为了警醒世人而阻塞交通，

and tying themselves to poles

把自己绑在杆子上抗议，

or screaming that the Amazon rainforest,

或是对着亚马逊雨林尖利呼喊——

the most spectacular of all her forests,

那是她最壮观的雨林，

was nearing a tipping point that would turn her into a savanna ...

却在沦为稀树大草原的边缘……

still, the humans did nothing.

人类仍然什么都没做。

Because to them, those trees ...

因为对他们来说，那些树木……

those trees that were home to thousands of species of animals

那些曾是千万动物

and millions of species of insects,

和百万昆虫的家园的树木，

those trees that sent nutrients to each other

那些通过地下真菌网络彼此输送营养的树木，

via underground fungal networks ...

those trees that transpired moisture into the air to create rainfall

那些向空气蒸腾水分、产生降雨的树木，

that would feed crops in countries thousands of kilometers away ...

它们本可以为数千公里外的国家提供粮食……

those trees were just ...

那些树木只不过是……

timber for decking.

铺装用的木材，

Pulp for toilet paper.

厕纸用的纸浆，

Or space for more cows.

或者为更多奶牛腾出的空间。

Those trees were worth more dead than alive ...

那些树活着还不如死了更有价值……

because that's what the story had told them.

因为这就是这个叙事告诉他们的。

But then, something remarkable happened.

然而，不可思议的事情发生了。

It started with the children,

它开始于孩子们，

who began to skip school and take to the streets.

他们逃学罢课去游街抗议；

It started with the farmers who chose to stop fighting nature

它开始于农民们， 他们重建土壤而非抵抗自然；

and instead rebuild their soils.

It started when the Indigenous people,

它开始了，当土著居民们

who, for centuries, had been reminding everybody of their story,

向世人呼喊了几个世纪的警示 终于被听到；

were finally being listened to.

And it started when nature herself,

它开始了，当自然本身

through fires and storms,

通过烈火和暴雨，

through droughts and rising waters,

通过干旱和水灾，

forced her way back into the people's lives

重新闯入人们的生活，

and demanded their respect.

寻求人们的尊重。

A new, regenerative story about human beings and nature

一个全新的、再生的、 关于人类和自然的叙事，

was emerging.

诞生了。

But of course, it wasn't a new story at all.

但是当然，它不完全是一个崭新的叙事。

It was the retelling of an old story.

它是一个古老叙事的重述。

But this time,

但是这一次，

the old story was supported by the science.

这个古老的叙事由科学支撑。

And it was telling the people

它在告诉人们，

that every breath they took was dependent on trees

他们的每一次呼吸 都仰仗树木和浮游植物，

and phytoplankton,

And that trillions of bacteria and fungi lived on them and in them

数以万亿计的细菌和真菌 生活在他们的表皮和内部，

and kept them alive.

让他们得以存活。

Viewing the natural world as separate to humans

将自然世界与人类隔绝，

was now empirically false.

现在在经验上是错误的了。

Humans are nature.

人类就是自然。

But the science was also telling them that plants could see,

科学也告诉他们， 植物有视觉，

they could smell, hear ...

有嗅觉，有听觉……

they could learn and store memories.

它们能学习，能存储记忆。

That dolphins gossiped and spoke in local dialects,

海豚用方言八卦，

elephants held ceremonies for dead relatives,

大象为死去的亲人举行仪式，

grasshoppers could turn into locusts and back again in a matter of hours,

蚱蜢可以在几个小时内变成蝗虫， 然后再变回来，

and that termites had built an underground metropolis

白蚁建造了一座整个英国那么大的地下都市。

the size of the United Kingdom.

The same scientific inquiry that had led to domination and extraction

曾经造成霸权和攫取的科学探索，

had gone so deep into nature's bosom that it was revealing her secrets.

已经深入到大自然的怀抱， 去揭示她的秘密。

And her secrets were divulging that she was anything but mechanistic.

她的秘密逐渐被揭开—— 她绝不是无情的机器，

That she was deserving of the utmost reverence and respect.

她理应得到最大的敬畏和尊重。

And that the original story had been right all along.

而最原始的叙事一直都是对的。

And so perhaps now,

所以或许现在，

the humans would no longer refer to nature as an unruly female to be tamed

人类将不再把自然看作 一个需要驯服的、不守规矩的女人，

or an "it" to be exploited ...

或者一个要被利用的“它”……

but would refer to nature simply ...

而只是将自然看作家人。

as kin.

Nobody knows how this new but old story ends

没有人知道这个崭新的古老叙事最终会如何，

because it is still being written.

因为它仍然在被写就。

But if it is to have the Hollywood ending,

但是如果它的结尾是好莱坞式的，

if we are to break free from our cultural programming

如果我们要从文化编码中挣脱，

and pull off the miraculous comeback when all seems lost,

要在看似一无所有的境况中卷土重来，

then the new but old story will have to be rapidly spread throughout the culture.

那么这个崭新的古老叙事， 就必须快速地散播在整个文化中。

It will need to be embedded into all levels of curriculum,

它需要被囊括进各个层次的课程中，

particularly at the early stages,

尤其是早期课程，

so children can see the world as a living system,

这样，孩子们就能将世界 看作一个有生命的系统，

not as a machine full of stocks and commodities.

而不是一架充斥着股票和商品的机器。

It will need to inform a redesign of the economy,

它需要为经济的重塑提供信息，

so it values nature

这样它就能珍视自然，

and reflects the true environmental costs of the materials we all use.

反映我们使用的所有材料的真实环境成本。

It will need to revamp the nightly news bulletins

它需要修改夜间新闻简报，

so we'd measure soil health, atmospheric pollution, species loss

这样我们就会去衡量 土壤健康，大气污染和物种流失，

alongside the financial metrics.

而不只是财务指标。

And crucially,

另外，重要的是，

the new but old story will need to be amplified

这个崭新的古老叙事 需要由叙述者们去丰富。

by the storytellers.

The musicians, the artists,

音乐家，艺术家，

those that can create the emotional connection

那些能再次与这个活生生的世界 创造情感连结的叙述者们，

to the living world once again,

and paint visions of a nature-filled future

那些能为充盈着自然的未来 描绘图景的叙述者们——

that people can see and feel and strive for.

如此，人们会看到和感知到这个未来， 并为之奋斗。

Because stories shape culture.

因为叙事塑造文化，

Culture shapes leaders,

文化塑造领袖，

leaders shape policies, and policies shape the system.

领袖塑造政策， 而政策塑造系统。

And perhaps,

而或许

just perhaps, one day ...

只是或许，有一天……

a few hundred years from now ...

从现在起的几百年后……

historians will look back to this moment, and they'll see that,

历史学家们回望这一刻，他们会发现，

amongst the chaos and the nihilism and the fear and the extinctions

在混乱、虚无、恐惧和灭亡之中，

that there were groups of people who chose to turn the page

有一群人选择将它们翻页，

and begin to write a new chapter for humanity.

并开始书写人类的新篇章。

A chapter full of diverse characters, from a range of professions and places,

这个篇章里充满了不同个性的人们， 他们从事不同的职业，来自不同的地方，

who came together

他们一同来到这里，

to create a thriving,

创造一个欣欣向荣的、 再生的、生态的未来。

regenerative,

ecological future.

The end.

到此结束。

(Cheers and applause)

（掌声和欢呼）