Jonathan Haidt: Religion, evolution, and the ecstasy of self-transcendence

譯者: Yuning912 陳又寧 審譯者: Gina Wang

I have a question for you:

問你們一個問題：

Are you religious?

你有宗教信仰嗎?

Please raise your hand right now

如果你覺得你是個有宗教信仰的人

if you think of yourself as a religious person.

請舉起你的手

Let's see, I'd say about three or four percent.

看來有百分之三到四的人

I had no idea there were so many believers at a TED Conference.

沒想到TED聽眾還有這麼多宗教信徒

(Laughter)

(笑聲)

Okay, here's another question:

好，下一個問題：

Do you think of yourself as spiritual

你覺得你是個有靈性的人嗎?

in any way, shape or form? Raise your hand.

無論各種型態，請舉手

Okay, that's the majority.

好，大部分的人都是

My Talk today

我今天的演講

is about the main reason, or one of the main reasons,

是要解釋

why most people consider themselves

為何我們人會認為自己屬靈

to be spiritual in some way, shape or form.

不管藉由什麼方法或型態

My Talk today is about self-transcendence.

我今天的演講有關"自我昇華"

It's just a basic fact about being human

這是個簡單的概念，有關我們人類

that sometimes the self seems to just melt away.

偶爾會不再以自我為中心

And when that happens,

而當我們無私時

the feeling is ecstatic

會有種難以言喻的狂喜

and we reach for metaphors of up and down

我們尋找各種言詞

to explain these feelings.

來表達這種內心的悸動

We talk about being uplifted

好比說"無比振奮"

or elevated.

或是"達到忘我的境界"

Now it's really hard to think about anything abstract like this

光看字面實在是很難想像

without a good concrete metaphor.

這到底是什麼樣的感受

So here's the metaphor I'm offering today.

所以我提供一個比喻來詮釋

Think about the mind as being like a house with many rooms,

想像你的腦是個大房子

most of which we're very familiar with.

我們很熟悉大多數的房間

But sometimes it's as though a doorway appears

但有時候，會有一道門

from out of nowhere

在我們面前突然出現

and it opens onto a staircase.

打開後是向上的階梯

We climb the staircase

我們走上階梯

and experience a state of altered consciousness.

感受到一股強烈的心靈悸動

In 1902,

在1902年

the great American psychologist William James

美國偉大的心理學家 William James

wrote about the many varieties of religious experience.

寫了有關各式的宗教經驗

He collected all kinds of case studies.

他蒐集自各種個案研究

He quoted the words of all kinds of people

引用人們口中

who'd had a variety of these experiences.

多種的宗教體驗

One of the most exciting to me

其中有個例子非常有趣

is this young man, Stephen Bradley,

這個年輕人 Stephen Bradley

had an encounter, he thought, with Jesus in 1820.

在1820年，自認遇見了耶穌

And here's what Bradley said about it.

以下是 Bradley 的口述：

(Music)

(音樂)

(Video) Stephen Bradley: I thought I saw the savior in human shape

(影片) "我見到道成肉身的救世主了

for about one second in the room,

差不多有一秒鐘的時間，在房裡

with arms extended,

張開雙臂

appearing to say to me, "Come."

彷彿對我說：到我這來

The next day I rejoiced with trembling.

隔天我興奮到發抖

My happiness was so great that I said I wanted to die.

那無比的快樂讓我想立刻死去

This world had no place in my affections.

我不再留戀世俗的一切

Previous to this time,

在這之前

I was very selfish and self-righteous.

我是個自私自利的人

But now I desired the welfare of all mankind

但現在我心中充滿了大愛

and could, with a feeling heart,

得以有顆飽富情感的心

forgive my worst enemies.

能原諒我的敵人"

JH: So note

所以注意到

how Bradley's petty, moralistic self

Bradley 的小我與私心

just dies on the way up the staircase.

在登上那段台階後都消失了

And on this higher level

在這更高的層次裡

he becomes loving and forgiving.

他變得有愛，有憐憫

The world's many religions have found so many ways

世界上，各宗教都有自己的方法

to help people climb the staircase.

來幫助人們登上這道階梯

Some shut down the self using meditation.

有人坐禪來忘我

Others use psychedelic drugs.

有人用迷幻藥

This is from a 16th century Aztec scroll

這是16世紀阿茲提克手繪

showing a man about to eat a psilocybin mushroom

圖中的男子正在吃迷幻菇

and at the same moment get yanked up the staircase by a god.

同時，神來將他「拽上階梯」

Others use dancing, spinning and circling

另外有的用跳舞、轉圈和繞圈

to promote self-transcendence.

來達到自我昇華的境界

But you don't need a religion to get you through the staircase.

但你不需經由信仰來自我昇華

Lots of people find self-transcendence in nature.

許多人在大自然裡找到方式

Others overcome their self at raves.

有的可以在狂歡中得到解放

But here's the weirdest place of all:

但，其中最奇怪的管道是

war.

戰爭

So many books about war say the same thing,

許多關於戰爭的書籍都提過

that nothing brings people together

世界上沒有任何方法能像戰爭

like war.

把人緊密的凝聚在一起

And that bringing them together opens up the possibility

這種群體意識加強了人們

of extraordinary self-transcendent experiences.

超脫自我的體驗

I'm going to play for you an excerpt

我將從Glenn Gray的書

from this book by Glenn Gray.

摘出一段做舉例

Gray was a soldier in the American army in World War II.

Gray當時是二次世界大戰的美國軍人

And after the war he interviewed a lot of other soldiers

戰後他去拜訪了許多當時有參戰的軍人

and wrote about the experience of men in battle.

之後寫了關於軍人在戰場的經驗

Here's a key passage

在裡面有個重要段落

where he basically describes the staircase.

描述他達到那境界的過程

(Video) Glenn Gray: Many veterans will admit

(影片) Glenn Gray：許多退役軍人都承認

that the experience of communal effort in battle

在戰場上，大家是榮辱與共的

has been the high point of their lives.

而這也是他們人生的高峰

"I" passes insensibly into a "we,"

「我」變成「我們」

"my" becomes "our"

「我的」變成「我們的」

and individual faith

而個人價值

loses its central importance.

失去了意義

I believe that it is nothing less

我相信，沒有甚麼

than the assurance of immortality

比永恆不朽的榮譽

that makes self-sacrifice at these moments

更能讓自我犧牲奉獻

so relatively easy.

變得容易

I may fall, but I do not die,

我也許會死，但我的意念不會

for that which is real in me goes forward

我的意念會傳承給

and lives on in the comrades

那些和我有過命之交

for whom I gave up my life.

的好夥伴們

JH: So what all of these cases have in common

這些例子都有一個共通點

is that the self seems to thin out, or melt away,

自我變得渺小，甚至不重要

and it feels good, it feels really good,

但卻讓人們自我感覺更良好

in a way totally unlike anything we feel in our normal lives.

這些都是我們平常生活中很難感受到的

It feels somehow uplifting.

是一種昇華的感覺

This idea that we move up was central in the writing

這觀點在法國有名的社會學家

of the great French sociologist Emile Durkheim.

Emile Durkheim的著作中十分重要

Durkheim even called us Homo duplex,

Durkheim甚至稱我們為雙面人

or two-level man.

或雙階人

The lower level he called the level of the profane.

他說低階那面是世俗的

Now profane is the opposite of sacred.

世俗是超然的反面

It just means ordinary or common.

意思是平凡或普通

And in our ordinary lives we exist as individuals.

在日常生活中，我們都是獨立生活的

We want to satisfy our individual desires.

我們都希望滿足自我的慾望

We pursue our individual goals.

追求自己的目標

But sometimes something happens

但有時一些事情發生

that triggers a phase change.

改變這個型態

Individuals unite

人與人開始聯合

into a team, a movement or a nation,

產生隊伍、社會運動或國家

which is far more than the sum of its parts.

所產生的力量大於個人的總和

Durkheim called this level the level of the sacred

Durkheim稱這為超然的階段

because he believed that the function of religion

他深信宗教的作用

was to unite people into a group,

就是把一群人聚在一起

into a moral community.

最終變成道德社群

Durkheim believed that anything that unites us

Durkheim相信任何凝聚人群的因素

takes on an air of sacredness.

都會無形中被視為神聖

And once people circle around

當人們圍繞著

some sacred object or value,

神聖的東西或價值觀

they'll then work as a team and fight to defend it.

他們會一起合作保護它

Durkheim wrote

Durkheim提到

about a set of intense collective emotions

一股強烈的集體情緒

that accomplish this miracle of E pluribus unum,

可以讓人奇蹟般的合而為一

of making a group out of individuals.

將個人組織成團體

Think of the collective joy in Britain

試想二次世界大戰結束時

on the day World War II ended.

英國普世歡騰的氣氛

Think of the collective anger in Tahrir Square,

和當時在埃及解放廣場的集體怒氣

which brought down a dictator.

讓獨裁者被推翻

And think of the collective grief

還有美國

in the United States

在9/11後

that we all felt, that brought us all together,

那種集體悲傷

after 9/11.

讓我們團結一心

So let me summarize where we are.

到此讓我先做個結論

I'm saying that the capacity for self-transcendence

超脫自我

is just a basic part of being human.

其實只是人類的基本能力

I'm offering the metaphor

我說了那腦海中

of a staircase in the mind.

登上階梯的比喻

I'm saying we are Homo duplex

我們身為雙面人

and this staircase takes us up from the profane level

而這階梯會引領我們從平凡境界

to the level of the sacred.

到達非凡的境界

When we climb that staircase,

當我們攀爬那階梯時

self-interest fades away,

自我利益不再重要

we become just much less self-interested,

我們不再這麼自私

and we feel as though we are better, nobler

我們覺得自己更加美好，更高貴

and somehow uplifted.

甚至感到振奮

So here's the million-dollar question

至此，對像我一樣的社會科學家

for social scientists like me:

有一個極其重要的問題：

Is the staircase

這座階梯

a feature of our evolutionary design?

是不是我們自進化所得來的？

Is it a product of natural selection,

還是就好像我們的雙手

like our hands?

是與生俱來的?

Or is it a bug, a mistake in the system --

或是它根本就是系統出錯

this religious stuff is just something

宗教這東西就像是

that happens when the wires cross in the brain --

大腦中的線路錯接突然產生的現象

Jill has a stroke and she has this religious experience,

Jill中風時，她也有這宗教的經驗

it's just a mistake?

這只是一時的出錯嗎?

Well many scientists who study religion take this view.

許多研究宗教的科學家是這麼認為的

The New Atheists, for example,

像是，新無神論者

argue that religion is a set of memes,

覺得宗教是一系列的模仿

sort of parasitic memes,

一種寄生的模仿

that get inside our minds

會入侵我們的想法

and make us do all kinds of crazy religious stuff,

影響我們做出一系列瘋狂的宗教行為

self-destructive stuff, like suicide bombing.

或是自我毀滅，像是人體炸彈

And after all,

最終

how could it ever be good for us

失去自我對我們來說

to lose ourselves?

真的好嗎?

How could it ever be adaptive

不管任何生物體

for any organism

怎樣可能有辦法

to overcome self-interest?

克服自我私利？

Well let me show you.

讓我來告訴你

In "The Descent of Man,"

在《人類的起源》裡

Charles Darwin wrote a great deal

達爾文寫了許多

about the evolution of morality --

關於道德進化論這件事

where did it come from, why do we have it.

道德是從哪來的? 我們怎麼會擁有它?

Darwin noted that many of our virtues

達爾文指出了許多人性的美德

are of very little use to ourselves,

只有極小部分有利於我們

but they're of great use to our groups.

但是對我們的社群卻是極其有利的

He wrote about the scenario

他寫了一篇例子

in which two tribes of early humans

早期人類有兩個部落

would have come in contact and competition.

會交流和比賽

He said, "If the one tribe included

他說："如果其中一方擁有

a great number of courageous, sympathetic

較多有膽量，有同情心

and faithful members

又忠誠的人民

who are always ready to aid and defend each other,

且隨時願意幫助和保護別人

this tribe would succeed better

這個部落肯定會比較成功

and conquer the other."

並且征服另一個部落"

He went on to say that "Selfish and contentious people

他還說："自私和愛爭吵的人

will not cohere,

無法凝聚一起

and without coherence

缺少同心協力

nothing can be effected."

甚麼事情都不會有效果"

In other words,

換句話說

Charles Darwin believed

達爾文相信

in group selection.

群體篩選

Now this idea has been very controversial for the last 40 years,

這一觀點在過去的40年裡爭論不斷

but it's about to make a major comeback this year,

但是今年，將會再度盛行

especially after E.O. Wilson's book comes out in April,

尤其是當E.O. Wilson的新書在4月份出版之後

making a very strong case

會帶來很震撼的實例

that we, and several other species,

書裡面說，我們和其他物種

are products of group selection.

都是群體篩選下的產物

But really the way to think about this

但認真的思考下去

is as multilevel selection.

這就像是多重篩選

So look at it this way:

我們應該要這樣來看：

You've got competition going on within groups and across groups.

你一直都處在團體裡和團體間的競爭

So here's a group of guys on a college crew team.

比方說有一群學生在划船隊裡

Within this team

在這隊伍裡

there's competition.

一定有競爭

There are guys competing with each other.

學生們會互相較勁

The slowest rowers, the weakest rowers, are going to get cut from the team.

最慢跟最弱者最終會被踢出隊伍

And only a few of these guys are going to go on in the sport.

只有一小部分的人會繼續待在這個運動

Maybe one of them will make it to the Olympics.

也許其中一人能參加奧運

So within the team,

因此，一個團體之中

their interests are actually pitted against each other.

個人的利益是互相競爭的

And sometimes it would be advantageous

有時，會有人

for one of these guys

經由陷害其他團員

to try to sabotage the other guys.

而獲得個人利益

Maybe he'll badmouth his chief rival

好比在教練面前

to the coach.

毀謗團體裡主要的競爭對手

But while that competition is going on

但當這個船上的隊員

within the boat,

彼此競爭較勁時

this competition is going on across boats.

不同船隊間的競賽也在進行中

And once you put these guys in a boat competing with another boat,

而當另一個競爭團體出現

now they've got no choice but to cooperate

他們就非得合作不可

because they're all in the same boat.

只因他們在同一艘船上

They can only win

他們想贏

if they all pull together as a team.

就必須合作

I mean, these things sound trite,

這聽起來是老生常談

but they are deep evolutionary truths.

但卻是演化上不爭的鐵實

The main argument against group selection

群體篩選論

has always been

的反對者指出：

that, well sure, it would be nice to have a group of cooperators,

群體合作固然很好

but as soon as you have a group of cooperators,

但當一個群體只剩下合作團結者

they're just going to get taken over by free-riders,

他們將會被投機者利用而後推翻

individuals that are going to exploit the hard work of the others.

自私的人會投機且剝削合作團體

Let me illustrate this for you.

讓我解釋一下

Suppose we've got a group of little organisms --

假設我們有一群有機體

they can be bacteria, they can be hamsters; it doesn't matter what --

他們可以是細菌或倉鼠

and let's suppose that this little group here, they evolved to be cooperative.

他們演化成一群合作者

Well that's great. They graze, they defend each other,

這樣很好， 他們一起分享食物，互相幫助

they work together, they generate wealth.

他們合作並繁殖壯大

And as you'll see in this simulation,

如同這個模擬影片所示

as they interact they gain points, as it were, they grow,

他們良性互動，逐漸成長

and when they've doubled in size, you'll see them split,

當成長成兩倍大，他們分裂繁殖

and that's how they reproduce and the population grows.

他們的群體數量提升

But suppose then that one of them mutates.

但假設其中一個出現變異

There's a mutation in the gene

他的基因突變

and one of them mutates to follow a selfish strategy.

導致他自私自利

It takes advantage of the others.

他利用其他無私付出的夥伴

And so when a green interacts with a blue,

當他們互動時

you'll see the green gets larger and the blue gets smaller.

如您所見，綠色壯大但藍色萎縮

So here's how things play out.

這就是來龍去脈

We start with just one green,

一開始不過是一個綠色

and as it interacts

但他在群體裡占盡便宜

it gains wealth or points or food.

從其他對象搜刮財富與食物

And in short order, the cooperators are done for.

然後很快的，合作者被耗盡

The free-riders have taken over.

投機者取代了他們

If a group cannot solve the free-rider problem

任何團體如果解決不了這難題

then it cannot reap the benefits of cooperation

就無法促成團體利益

and group selection cannot get started.

群體篩選論就不能成立

But there are solutions to the free-rider problem.

但其實，這難題

It's not that hard a problem.

並非無解

In fact, nature has solved it many, many times.

事實上，大自然早已解決它許多次了

And nature's favorite solution

大自然絕佳的解決方法

is to put everyone in the same boat.

就是把大家放進同一艘船

For example,

舉例來說

why is it that the mitochondria in every cell

為什麼每個細胞的線粒體

has its own DNA,

有它們自己的DNA

totally separate from the DNA in the nucleus?

跟細胞核裡的DNA完全分離

It's because they used to be

這是因為本來線粒體

separate free-living bacteria

是跟細菌分別生存的

and they came together

後來它們合作共生

and became a superorganism.

成為超級有機體

Somehow or other -- maybe one swallowed another; we'll never know exactly why --

我們不懂它們如何變成共生體 也許一方被另一方被吞噬

but once they got a membrane around them,

但當它們共同活在一個細胞膜內

they were all in the same membrane,

它們就是同一個細胞

now all the wealth-created division of labor,

所有的努力，食糧

all the greatness created by cooperation,

所有分工合作的成果

stays locked inside the membrane

都鎖在同一個細胞膜裡

and we've got a superorganism.

這就是超級有機體

And now let's rerun the simulation

現在，我們再試一次模擬程式

putting one of these superorganisms

把這個超級有機體放進

into a population of free-riders, of defectors, of cheaters

一群投機者、背叛者、作弊者之中

and look what happens.

看看會發生什麼事

A superorganism can basically take what it wants.

超有機體基本上無懈可擊

It's so big and powerful and efficient

它強大且有效率

that it can take resources

可以從其它綠色的投機者、背叛者、作弊者

from the greens, from the defectors, the cheaters.

取得想得到的資源

And pretty soon the whole population

過不了多久

is actually composed of these new superorganisms.

整個群體就被超有機體取代了

What I've shown you here

我這裡所展示的

is sometimes called a major transition

在演化的歷史上

in evolutionary history.

被稱做主要過度期

Darwin's laws don't change,

達爾文的進化法則沒有改變

but now there's a new kind of player on the field

只是當有新玩家加入

and things begin to look very different.

整件事就變得不一樣了

Now this transition was not a one-time freak of nature

這個轉變不是一次性的大自然變異

that just happened with some bacteria.

只發生在細菌中

It happened again

它再次發生

about 120 or a 140 million years ago

在約1億2千萬或1億4千萬年前

when some solitary wasps

當一些獨居的黃蜂

began creating little simple, primitive

開始建立一些簡單、原始的

nests, or hives.

巢穴

Once several wasps were all together in the same hive,

當越來越多胡蜂住在一個巢穴中

they had no choice but to cooperate,

牠們別無選擇只得合作

because pretty soon they were locked into competition

因為很快的，牠們開始面對

with other hives.

其它蜂巢的競爭

And the most cohesive hives won,

而最有凝聚力的蜂巢會勝出

just as Darwin said.

完全符合達爾文的理論

These early wasps

這些早期黃蜂的模式

gave rise to the bees and the ants

後來被蜜蜂，螞蟻等引用

that have covered the world

逐漸傳佈到整個世界

and changed the biosphere.

並改變了整個生態體系

And it happened again,

它又再次發生

even more spectacularly,

不過更驚人的

in the last half-million years

在50萬年前

when our own ancestors

當我們人類的祖先

became cultural creatures,

變成有文化的生物

they came together around a hearth or a campfire,

他們聚集在火灶旁

they divided labor,

開始分工合作

they began painting their bodies, they spoke their own dialects,

他們開始在身上繪圖紋身、說方言

and eventually they worshiped their own gods.

逐漸的，他們崇拜屬於他們的神

Once they were all in the same tribe,

當他們屬同一個部落

they could keep the benefits of cooperation locked inside.

就可以把獲得的利益鎖在部落裡

And they unlocked the most powerful force

人類的合作

ever known on this planet,

開啟了地球上

which is human cooperation --

史無前例的強大力量

a force for construction

創造的力量

and destruction.

與毀滅的力量

Of course, human groups are nowhere near as cohesive

當然，人類的團體

as beehives.

一點都不如蜂巢那般有凝聚力

Human groups may look like hives for brief moments,

我們也許一開始看似如此

but they tend to then break apart.

不久後就趨向分裂與毀滅

We're not locked into cooperation the way bees and ants are.

我們的團體模式並不像蜜蜂或螞蟻般堅固

In fact, often,

事實上

as we've seen happen in a lot of the Arab Spring revolts,

就如我們在阿拉伯春天運動所見

often those divisions are along religious lines.

我們的團體大多被宗教劃分

Nonetheless, when people do come together

然而當人們群聚

and put themselves all into the same movement,

因共同的目標而凝聚

they can move mountains.

大山可被剷平

Look at the people in these photos I've been showing you.

看看這照片裡的人

Do you think they're there

你覺得他們在那

pursuing their self-interest?

是在追求個人利益嗎?

Or are they pursuing communal interest,

或是為追求族群的榮勝

which requires them to lose themselves

捨去自我

and become simply a part of a whole?

成為大群體中的一份子

Okay, so that was my Talk

好，以上就是我的演講

delivered in the standard TED way.

照著TED的標準方式呈現

And now I'm going to give the whole Talk over again

現在我要把所有重點

in three minutes

用更全面的角度

in a more full-spectrum sort of way.

在三分鐘內重複一次

(Music)

(音樂)

(Video) Jonathan Haidt: We humans have many varieties

(影片)Jonathan Haidt: 我們人類

of religious experience,

有許多不同的宗教經驗

as William James explained.

就像William James解釋的

One of the most common is climbing the secret staircase

其中最大的共同點是登上隱藏的階梯

and losing ourselves.

捨去自我

The staircase takes us

這階梯引領我們

from the experience of life as profane or ordinary

從世俗的，平凡的人生

upwards to the experience of life as sacred,

昇華到神聖的境界

or deeply interconnected.

且緊密的與他人連結

We are Homo duplex,

我們人類是雙重的

as Durkheim explained.

如Durkheim所言

And we are Homo duplex

我們會變成這樣

because we evolved by multilevel selection,

是因多層級的演化篩選

as Darwin explained.

如達爾文所言

I can't be certain if the staircase is an adaptation

我無法斷言這階梯的存在

rather than a bug,

是演化或是隨機變異

but if it is an adaptation,

但如果它果真是演化

then the implications are profound.

這含義極其深遠

If it is an adaptation,

若這是演化

then we evolved to be religious.

我們勢必要成為虔誠的生物

I don't mean that we evolved

我不是說我們演化是為了

to join gigantic organized religions.

參加龐大的宗教團體

Those things came along too recently.

這種東西是近代的產物

I mean that we evolved

我是說我們進化出一種天性

to see sacredness all around us

能賦予自然神聖的含意

and to join with others into teams

然後加入其他的群體

and circle around sacred objects,

一同群聚在這神聖物品

people and ideas.

人物或想法的周圍

This is why politics is so tribal.

這就是為何政治就像部落

Politics is partly profane, it's partly about self-interest,

一部分世俗，一部分是為了中飽私囊

but politics is also about sacredness.

但政治也是為了神聖的理想

It's about joining with others

與其他人緊密結合

to pursue moral ideas.

追求崇高的道德理念

It's about the eternal struggle between good and evil,

這是正邪之間永恆的抗衡

and we all believe we're on the good team.

而我們老以為我們是正義的一方

And most importantly,

最重要的

if the staircase is real,

若這階梯是存在的

it explains the persistent undercurrent

它解釋了人們內心隱藏的

of dissatisfaction in modern life.

在現代生活中永恆的不滿足感

Because human beings are, to some extent,

因為人類，或多或少

hivish creatures like bees.

就像是群聚的蜜蜂

We're bees. We busted out of the hive during the Enlightenment.

我們在啟蒙開化後離開舊巢

We broke down the old institutions

破壞舊有體系

and brought liberty to the oppressed.

把自由傳揚給受壓抑的人們

We unleashed Earth-changing creativity

人類發揮前所未有的創造力

and generated vast wealth and comfort.

營造財富與舒適生活

Nowadays we fly around

現今，我們四處翱翔

like individual bees exulting in our freedom.

像蜜蜂一樣歡樂的享受自由

But sometimes we wonder:

但有時，我們自問：

Is this all there is?

難道就是這樣了?

What should I do with my life?

我的生命的目的是什麼?

What's missing?

是否缺少了什麼?

What's missing is that we are Homo duplex,

我們這樣想因為人類是雙重的

but modern, secular society was built

而現今存在的社會價值

to satisfy our lower, profane selves.

是建立在低階的私人私利上

It's really comfortable down here on the lower level.

這樣低階的層次是很舒適沒錯

Come, have a seat in my home entertainment center.

來，參觀我的家庭劇院

One great challenge of modern life

現代人生活上的挑戰

is to find the staircase amid all the clutter

是去找尋這混亂之中的階梯

and then to do something good and noble

並登上階梯頂端

once you climb to the top.

做些美好與為高尚的事情

I see this desire in my students at the University of Virginia.

我維吉尼亞大學的學生們都渴望

They all want to find a cause or calling

尋找自己的使命感

that they can throw themselves into.

讓他們可以全心投入、奉獻

They're all searching for their staircase.

他們全都在尋找各自的階梯

And that gives me hope

這讓我感到欣慰

because people are not purely selfish.

因為人類不是全然自私自利

Most people long to overcome pettiness

大多數的人想克服內心的卑鄙與自私

and become part of something larger.

然後成為更遠大目標的一份子

And this explains the extraordinary resonance

這實在的解釋了

of this simple metaphor

這個在約400年前

conjured up nearly 400 years ago.

凝結成的簡單字句：

"No man is an island

"沒有人是座孤島

entire of itself.

與他人完全隔絕

Every man is a piece of the continent,

所有島嶼都是大陸的一部分

a part of the main."

我們人同是如此"

JH: Thank you.

謝謝

(Applause)

(掌聲)