The history of human emotions | Tiffany Watt Smith

譯者: Lilian Chiu 審譯者: Marssi Draw

I would like to begin with a little experiment.

我想要從一個小實驗開始。

In a moment, I'm going to ask if you would close your eyes

等一下，我會請各位閉上眼睛，

and see if you can work out

看看你們是否能搞懂

what emotions you're feeling right now.

你們感受到的情緒是什麼。

Now, you're not going to tell anyone or anything.

你不能跟任何人說任何話。

The idea is to see how easy or perhaps hard you find it

我是想讓各位了解， 要指出自己的感受是什麼

to pinpoint exactly what you're feeling.

有多容易或困難。

And I thought I'd give you 10 seconds to do this.

我想我就給各位十秒鐘來做這件事。

OK?

好嗎？

Right, let's start.

好，咱們開始吧。

OK, that's it, time's up.

好，時間到。

How did it go?

進行得如何？

You were probably feeling a little bit under pressure,

你可能覺得有一點壓力，

maybe suspicious of the person next to you.

也許對旁邊的人感到有點懷疑。

Did they definitely have their eyes closed?

他們真的有把眼睛閉上嗎？

Perhaps you felt some strange, distant worry

也許你感受到的是 奇怪又遙遠的擔心，

about that email you sent this morning

擔心你今天早上寄出的電子郵件，

or excitement about something you've got planned for this evening.

或是對你今晚計畫 要做的事感到興奮。

Maybe you felt that exhilaration that comes when we get together

也許你感受到的是像 這麼一大群人聚集在一起時

in big groups of people like this;

會產生的愉快感；

the Welsh called it "hwyl,"

威爾斯人稱之為 「hwyl（熾熱感情）」，

from the word for boat sails.

這個字是來自船帆。

Or maybe you felt all of these things.

也許以上的感受你通通都有。

There are some emotions which wash the world in a single color,

有一些情緒會用 單一顏色來洗滌世界，

like the terror felt as a car skids.

比如當車子打滑時感受到的恐懼。

But more often, our emotions crowd and jostle together

但通常，我們的情緒 會聚集緊貼在一起，

until it is actually quite hard to tell them apart.

最後變得很難將它們分開。

Some slide past so quickly you'd hardly even notice them,

有些情緒一閃即逝， 你幾乎不會注意到，

like the nostalgia that will make you reach out

就像鄉愁，它會讓你想要伸出手，

to grab a familiar brand in the supermarket.

在超級市場中去拿起熟悉的品牌。

And then there are others that we hurry away from,

還有其他情緒，是我們急著脫離的，

fearing that they'll burst on us,

害怕它們會從我們身上蹦出來，

like the jealousy that causes you to search a loved one's pockets.

比如嫉妒，會讓你想去搜索 你愛人的口袋中有什麼。

And of course, there are some emotions which are so peculiar,

當然，還有些情緒相當奇怪，

you might not even know what to call them.

你甚至不知道它們叫什麼。

Perhaps sitting there, you had a little tingle of a desire

也許坐在這裡， 你會有小小的慾望，

for an emotion one eminent French sociologist called "ilinx,"

想要被著名法國社會學家 稱為「ilinx」的情緒刺激，

the delirium that comes with minor acts of chaos.

這是種因為製造混亂的小行為 所產生的興奮感。

For example, if you stood up right now and emptied the contents of your bag

比如，你現在站起來， 掏出你包包中的所有東西，

隨便丟在地上。

all over the floor.

Perhaps you experienced one of those odd, untranslatable emotions

也許你有經歷過那些怪異、 無法解譯的情緒，

for which there's no obvious English equivalent.

沒有明確的英文字可以用來描述。

You might have felt the feeling the Dutch called "gezelligheid,"

你可能會有一種荷蘭人稱為 「gezelligheid」的感受，

being cozy and warm inside with friends when it's cold and damp outside.

當外在環境又冷又濕時， 內在因為朋友而感到舒服和溫暖。

Maybe if you were really lucky,

也許你非常幸運，

you felt this:

你感覺到這個：

"basorexia,"

「basorexia」，

a sudden urge to kiss someone.

是種突然想親吻某人的衝動。

(Laughter)

（笑聲）

We live in an age

在我們所處的時代，

when knowledge of emotions is an extremely important commodity,

關於情緒的知識 是極重要且有用的東西，

where emotions are used to explain many things,

情緒會被用來解釋許多事物，

exploited by our politicians,

會被我們的政客利用，

manipulated by algorithms.

會被演算法操縱。

Emotional intelligence, which is the skill of being able to recognize and name

情緒智慧是種技能，

能夠認出且說出你自己的情緒 以及他人的情緒，

your own emotions and those of other people,

is considered so important, that this is taught in our schools and businesses

情緒智慧被認為相當重要， 所以在我們的學校和企業中都會教，

and encouraged by our health services.

連我們的保健服務 都會鼓勵要有情緒智慧。

But despite all of this,

但，儘管上述這些，

I sometimes wonder

我有時還會納悶，

if the way we think about emotions is becoming impoverished.

我們去思考情緒的方式 是否變得沒創意了。

Sometimes, we're not even that clear what an emotion even is.

有時，我們甚至不清楚情緒是什麼。

You've probably heard the theory

你們可能有聽過一個理論，

that our entire emotional lives can be boiled down

我們的整個情緒生活可以被濃縮

to a handful of basic emotions.

成為少數幾種基本情緒。

This idea is actually about 2,000 years old,

這個想法其實已經有兩千年歷史，

but in our own time,

但在我們自己的時代， 一些演化心理學家指出，

some evolutionary psychologists have suggested that these six emotions --

這六種情緒──

happiness, sadness, fear, disgust, anger, surprise --

快樂、悲傷、恐懼、 反感、生氣、驚訝──

are expressed by everyone across the globe in exactly the same way,

全世界所有人表達 這些情緒的方式完全一樣，

and therefore represent the building blocks

因此，這幾種基本情緒就代表了

of our entire emotional lives.

堆疊出我們整個情緒生活的幾種積木。

Well, if you look at an emotion like this,

如果你們用這種方式來看情緒，

then it looks like a simple reflex:

情緒看起來就會像是簡單的反射：

it's triggered by an external predicament,

它是由外在困境所觸發，

it's hardwired,

它是與生俱來的，

it's there to protect us from harm.

它是用來保護我們不受傷害的。

So you see a bear, your heart rate quickens,

所以你看到熊時，心跳就會加速，

your pupils dilate, you feel frightened, you run very, very fast.

瞳孔會放大，覺得害怕， 然後你就會跑得非常非常快。

The problem with this picture is,

這個寫照的問題是，

it doesn't entirely capture what an emotion is.

它並沒有完全捕捉到情緒的本質。

Of course, the physiology is extremely important,

當然，生理學是相當重要的，

but it's not the only reason why we feel the way we do

但並不是在任何時候 我們有任何感覺時，

at any given moment.

原因都一定是生理學。

What if I was to tell you that in the 12th century,

我可以告訴各位，在十二世紀，

some troubadours didn't see yawning

有些吟遊詩人並不認為打哈欠

as caused by tiredness or boredom like we do today,

是因為太累或太無聊所造成， 和我們現今認知不同，

but thought it a symbol of the deepest love?

他們認為打哈欠象徵的是最深的愛。

Or that in that same period, brave men -- knights --

還有，在同樣那個時期， 勇敢的人、騎士，

commonly fainted out of dismay?

常常會因為驚慌而昏倒。

What if I was to tell you

我還可以告訴各位，

that some early Christians who lived in the desert

早期一些住在沙漠的基督徒

believed that flying demons who mainly came out at lunchtime

相信會飛的惡魔通常 都會在午餐時間出來，

could infect them with an emotion they called "accidie,"

這些惡魔會讓他們感染到 所謂「accidie」的情緒，

是一種昏睡狀態，

a kind of lethargy that was sometimes so intense

這狀態有時候強到足以致人於死。

it could even kill them?

Or that boredom, as we know and love it today,

或是我們現今所知且熱愛的無聊，

was first really only felt by the Victorians,

最初只有維多利亞女王時代的人 才會感覺到它，

in response to new ideas about leisure time and self-improvement?

是針對關於閒暇時間 和自我改善的新點子所做出的反應。

What if we were to think again

我們可以再重新想想

about those odd, untranslatable words for emotions

那些怪異、無法解譯的情緒，

and wonder whether some cultures might feel an emotion more intensely

並且思忖是否有些文化對於 某種情緒的感受更強一些，

just because they've bothered to name and talk about it,

只因為他們花了心力去 把那情緒命名，然後去談論它？

like the Russian "toska,"

就像俄國人有「toska」，

a feeling of maddening dissatisfaction

一種讓人不滿意到發火的感覺，

said to blow in from the great plains.

據說是從北美大平原吹來的情緒。

The most recent developments in cognitive science show

在認知科學領域中 最近期的發展顯示，

that emotions are not simple reflexes,

情緒並非僅是反射，

but immensely complex, elastic systems

而是相當複雜、有彈性的系統，

that respond both to the biologies that we've inherited

這些系統對於我們繼承的生物學，

and to the cultures that we live in now.

以及我們現在所處的文化都會有反應。

They are cognitive phenomena.

它們是認知現象。

They're shaped not just by our bodies, but by our thoughts,

它們不只是由我們的身體，

也由我們的思想、 觀念、語言形塑出來。

our concepts, our language.

The neuroscientist Lisa Feldman Barrett has become very interested

神經科學家麗莎．費德曼．巴瑞特

對於言詞和情緒間的動態關係 很感興趣。

in this dynamic relationship between words and emotions.

She argues that when we learn a new word for an emotion,

她主張，當我們學到關於 一種情緒的一個新單字時，

new feelings are sure to follow.

接著就一定會有新感覺出現。

As a historian, I've long suspected that as language changes,

身為歷史學家，我長久以來 一直猜想，隨著語言的改變，

our emotions do, too.

我們的情緒也會改變。

When we look to the past, it's easy to see that emotions have changed,

當我們回頭看過去， 很容易看到情緒的改變，

sometimes very dramatically,

有時候改變得很大，

in response to new cultural expectations and religious beliefs,

以因應新的文化期待、宗教信仰，

new ideas about gender, ethnicity and age,

以及對性別、種族、年齡的新想法，

even in response to new political and economic ideologies.

甚至因應新的政治和經濟意識形態。

There is a historicity to emotions

情緒是有史實性的，

that we are only recently starting to understand.

我們直到最近才開始了解這一點。

So I agree absolutely that it does us good to learn new words for emotions,

我絕對同意學習關於情緒的新字詞 對我們來說是有益的，

but I think we need to go further.

但我認為我們還要再進一步。

I think to be truly emotionally intelligent,

我認為，若要真正有情緒智慧，

we need to understand where those words have come from,

我們就得要了解那些字詞的來源，

and what ideas about how we ought to live and behave

以及它們偷偷夾帶著哪些想法， 關於我們該如何過生活、

they are smuggling along with them.

該做出什麼行為舉止的想法。

Let me tell you a story.

讓我告訴各位一個故事。

It begins in a garret in the late 17th century,

故事始於十七世紀末的一間閣樓，

in the Swiss university town of Basel.

在瑞士的大學鎮巴塞爾。

Inside, there's a dedicated student living some 60 miles away from home.

住在閣樓裡的是一位很認真的學生， 他離家六十英哩。

He stops turning up to his lectures,

他不再出現在他的課堂上，

and his friends come to visit and they find him dejected and feverish,

他的朋友去探望他， 發現他很沮喪且在發燒，

having heart palpitations,

他有心悸，

strange sores breaking out on his body.

身體突然有奇怪的痠痛。

Doctors are called,

醫生被找來了，

and they think it's so serious that prayers are said for him

他們認為狀況很嚴重，

甚至在當地教堂裡為他禱告。

in the local church.

當他們正準備要把 這位年輕人送回家，

And it's only when they're preparing to return this young man home

so that he can die,

讓他能死在家鄉，

that they realize what's going on,

他們才了解發生了什麼事，

because once they lift him onto the stretcher,

因為當他們把他抬起來放到擔架上，

his breathing becomes less labored.

他的呼吸就沒那麼費力了。

And by the time he's got to the gates of his hometown,

當到了他家鄉的城門時，

he's almost entirely recovered.

他幾乎完全恢復了。

And that's when they realize

那時他們才了解，

that he's been suffering from a very powerful form of homesickness.

他的問題是出於 一種非常強大的思鄉病。

It's so powerful, that it might have killed him.

強大到很可能會害死他。

Well, in 1688, a young doctor, Johannes Hofer,

在 1688 年，有一位年輕醫生 叫做約翰尼斯．霍費爾，

heard of this case and others like it

他聽到了這個案例 以及其他相似案例，

and christened the illness "nostalgia."

把這種病命名為「鄉愁」。

The diagnosis quickly caught on in medical circles around Europe.

這項診斷很快就在 歐洲的醫療圈傳開。

The English actually thought they were probably immune

英國人還認為自己免疫，

because of all the travel they did in the empire and so on.

因為他們在大英帝國 做過這麼多旅行等等。

But soon there were cases cropping up in Britain, too.

但很快在英國也有案例開始出現了。

The last person to die from nostalgia

最後一個死於鄉愁的人

was an American soldier fighting during the First World War in France.

是一名美國大兵， 一次大戰時在法國作戰。

How is it possible that you could die from nostalgia

怎麼可能真有人死於鄉愁，

less than a hundred years ago?

而且還是不到一百年前的事？

But today, not only does the word mean something different --

但現今，鄉愁這個詞 有不同的意義──

a sickening for a lost time rather than a lost place --

對於失去的時間， 而非失去的地方，感到煩惱──

but homesickness itself is seen as less serious,

而且思鄉這件事本身 也不那麼被認真看待了，

sort of downgraded from something you could die from

有點像是被降級了，從會致死的病

to something you're mainly worried your kid might be suffering from

降級到只是你擔心 你的孩子在朋友家過夜時

可能會有的感受而已。

at a sleepover.

This change seems to have happened in the early 20th century.

這種轉變似乎是在 二十世紀初發生的。

But why?

但為什麼？

Was it the invention of telephones or the expansion of the railways?

是因為電話的發明或是鐵路的擴展？

Was it perhaps the coming of modernity,

還是因為現代性的到來，

with its celebration of restlessness and travel and progress

頌揚的是不定性、旅行、前進，

that made sickening for the familiar

讓這種煩惱

seem rather unambitious?

變得似乎很平凡了？

You and I inherit that massive transformation in values,

你我都繼承了那種價值觀的大轉變，

and it's one reason why we might not feel homesickness today

那是現今我們的思鄉感不會像以前

as acutely as we used to.

那麼劇烈的原因之一。

It's important to understand

很重要的是要了解到，

that these large historical changes influence our emotions

這些歷史的大改變 會影響我們的情緒，

partly because they affect how we feel about how we feel.

部分原因是因為它們會影響 我們對自己感受的感受。

Today, we celebrate happiness.

現今，我們頌揚快樂。

Happiness is supposed to make us better workers

快樂應該會讓我們成為

更好的工作者、父母、伴侶；

and parents and partners;

it's supposed to make us live longer.

快樂應該會讓我們更長壽。

In the 16th century,

在十六世紀，

sadness was thought to do most of those things.

悲傷有上述大部分的功能。

It's even possible to read self-help books from that period

在那個時期，甚至有可能 自助書籍的內容，

which try to encourage sadness in readers

是列出一堆讓人失望的理由，

by giving them lists of reasons to be disappointed.

來鼓勵讀者悲傷。

(Laughter)

（笑聲）

These self-help authors thought you could cultivate sadness as a skill,

自助書作者認為你能夠 培養悲傷這項技能，

since being expert in it would make you more resilient

當你變成悲傷專家，

難免遇到壞事發生時， 你的恢復力就會較佳。

when something bad did happen to you, as invariably it would.

I think we could learn from this today.

我想，現今我們能從這現象中學習。

Feel sad today, and you might feel impatient, even a little ashamed.

現今，若感到悲傷，你可能會 無法忍受，甚至有點羞恥。

Feel sad in the 16th century, and you might feel a little bit smug.

在十六世紀，若感到悲傷， 你可能會覺得有點沾沾自喜。

Of course, our emotions don't just change across time,

當然，我們的情緒不只會隨時間改變，

they also change from place to place.

不同地方的情緒也會有不同。

The Baining people of Papua New Guinea speak of "awumbuk,"

巴布亞紐幾內亞的拜寧人 會說「awumbuk」，

a feeling of lethargy that descends when a houseguest finally leaves.

來家裡過夜的訪客終於離開之後 會突然出現的一種沒精打采感。

(Laughter)

（笑聲）

Now, you or I might feel relief,

這種時候，你我可能會覺得鬆了一口氣，

but in Baining culture,

但在拜寧文化中，

departing guests are thought to shed a sort of heaviness

人們認為即將離開的客人 會落下一種沉重感，

so they can travel more easily,

這樣他們會比較容易上路，

and this heaviness infects the air and causes this awumbuk.

而這種沉重感會感染空氣， 造成主人的這種 awumbuk。

And so what they do is leave a bowl of water out overnight

他們的做法是把 一碗水放在外面整夜，

來吸收這種空氣，

to absorb this air,

and then very early the next morning, they wake up and have a ceremony

隔天一早，他們起床就會做個儀式，

然後把這碗水丟掉。

and throw the water away.

Now, here's a good example

還有一個好例子，

of spiritual practices and geographical realities combining

說明將靈修和地理現實結合，

to bring a distinct emotion into life

將一種獨特的情緒帶到人生中，

and make it disappear again.

再讓它消失。

One of my favorite emotions is a Japanese word, "amae."

我最喜歡的情緒之一， 是一個日本字「amae」。

Amae is a very common word in Japan,

在日本，amae 是個很常見的字，

but it is actually quite hard to translate.

但很難翻譯。

It means something like the pleasure that you get

它的意思類似是一種愉悅，

when you're able to temporarily hand over responsibility for your life

當你能暫時將你人生責任交給他人時

to someone else.

產生的愉悅。

(Laughter)

（笑聲）

Now, anthropologists suggest

人類學者指出，

that one reason why this word might have been named and celebrated

在日本會將這個字命名

並頌揚的原因之一，

in Japan

is because of that country's traditionally collectivist culture,

是因為該國在傳統上 有種集體主義文化，

whereas the feeling of dependency

而依賴的感受

may be more fraught amongst English speakers,

可能會被英語人士 認為是令人憂慮的，

who have learned to value self-sufficiency and individualism.

因為這些人過去學的是 自給自足及個人主義。

This might be a little simplistic,

這樣說可能有點過分簡單化，

but it is tantalizing.

但很讓人著迷。

What might our emotional languages tell us not just about what we feel,

有沒有可能，我們的情緒語言 告訴我們的，不只是我們的感受，

but about what we value most?

還有我們最珍視的是什麼？

Most people who tell us to pay attention to our well-being

大部分的人告訴我們 要注意我們的幸福，

talk of the importance of naming our emotions.

他們會談到將我們的情緒 名稱說出來的重要性。

But these names aren't neutral labels.

但這些名字並不是中立的標籤。

They are freighted with our culture's values and expectations,

它們裝滿了我們文化的價值和期待，

and they transmit ideas about who we think we are.

它們會傳遞關於我們認為 我們是什麼人的想法。

Learning new and unusual words for emotions will help attune us

學習新的和不尋常的情緒字詞，

能協助我們適應內在人生中 紋理更細密的面向。

to the more finely grained aspects of our inner lives.

But more than this, I think these words are worth caring about,

不只如此，我認為 這些字詞是值得在乎的，

because they remind us how powerful the connection is

因為它們會提醒我們，我們的想法

between what we think

和我們最終的感受間的連結有多強大。

and how we end up feeling.

True emotional intelligence requires that we understand

要有真正的情緒智慧，我們得要了解

the social, the political, the cultural forces

社會、政治和文化的力量，

that have shaped what we've come to believe about our emotions

因為這些力量形塑了 我們相信我們擁有的情緒，

and understand how happiness or hatred or love or anger

我們也需要去了解 快樂、恨、愛或生氣

might still be changing now.

現在可能還如何在改變著。

Because if we want to measure our emotions

因為如果我們想要測量我們的情緒，

and teach them in our schools

並在我們的學校中教導情緒，

and listen as our politicians tell us how important they are,

且在我們的政客告訴我們 情緒有多重要時能夠傾聽，

then it is a good idea that we understand

那麼我們最好要能夠了解

where the assumptions we have about them

我們對於情緒的假設是來自何處，

have come from,

and whether they still truly speak to us now.

以及現在它們是否仍然 真正在對我們說話。

I want to end with an emotion I often feel

我想要用我身為歷史學家常常

when I'm working as a historian.

感受到的一種情緒來作結。

It's a French word, "dépaysement."

是個法文字「dépaysement」。

It evokes the giddy disorientation that you feel in an unfamiliar place.

當你身處在一個不熟悉的地方時， 會產生的暈眩迷失方向感。

身為歷史學家，我最喜歡的一點是

One of my favorite parts of being a historian

is when something I've completely taken for granted,

當我完全視為理所當然的東西，

some very familiar part of my life,

我人生中非常熟悉的部分，

is suddenly made strange again.

突然又變得陌生了。

Dépaysement is unsettling,

Dépaysement 會使人不安，

but it's exciting, too.

但也讓人興奮。

And I hope you might be having just a little glimpse of it right now.

我希望你們現在也有 一點點這樣子的感受。

Thank you.

謝謝。

(Applause)

（掌聲）