生命的意义：英语精读讲义

People nowadays often say, sometimes in a sad way,

如今人们常说，有时带着些许悲伤，

other times more aggressively and cynically,

有时则带着更为强烈的攻击性与愤世嫉俗，

that life just has no meaning.

说生活根本毫无意义。

Two reasons are often given for this.

人们通常为此给出两个理由。

The first has to do with religion. 短語搭配

第一个与宗教有关。

Once upon a time, 短語搭配

曾几何时，

so the story goes, 表達脈絡

传说是这样的，

life had a clear meaning given to us by God.

上帝赋予了我们生命一个明确的意义。

It was about worshipping him.

那就是敬拜他。

But as religious belief has declined,

但随着宗教信仰的衰退，

not only has God supposedly died, 語法

不仅上帝被认为已经死亡，

but along with him the meaning he once guaranteed.

他曾经保证的那个意义也随之消亡。

Modern science is the second cause of the current crisis of meaning.

现代科学是当前意义危机的第二个原因。

Scientists tell us that life,

科学家告诉我们，生命，

which emerged from a random interplay of chemicals and gases,

这个由化学物质和气体随机相互作用而产生的东西，

does have meaning,

确实是有意义的，

but it's of a rather bleak, relentless, and narrow sort. 語法

但这是一种相当凄凉、冷酷且狭隘的意义。

For humans,

对人类而言，

as for all other living things, 短語搭配

就像对所有其他生物一样，

like amoeba,

比如变形虫，

the meaning of life is survival and the propagation of one's genetic material.

生命的意义在于生存和繁衍自身的遗传物质。

It sounds very true and at the same time distinctly futile and melancholy.

这听起来无比真实，同时又明显令人感到徒劳与忧郁。

Here we want to argue as follows: 表達脈絡

在这里，我们想提出如下观点：

to wonder about the meaning of life is an extremely important activity.

思考生命的意义是一项极其重要的活动。

Life does have substantial meaning, 語法

生命确实有着实质性的意义，

and there are in fact a range of practical steps we can take to ensure we end up leading lives of maximal meaningfulness. 講解

实际上，我们可以采取一系列切实可行的步骤，以确保最终过上极具意义的生活。

We should start by saying that there is no meaning in life outside of that which we can find by ourselves as a species. 講解

我们首先应该说明，除了作为一个物种所能找到的意义之外，生命中并不存在其他意义。

There isn't any kind of objective meaning written in the stars, 習語

没有任何一种客观的意义被写在星空里，

in a holy book,

写在神圣的经典中，

or in sequences of DNA.

或是写在DNA序列里。

What seems to prompt people to complain that life lacks meaning are particular varieties of unhappiness. 講解

似乎促使人们抱怨生活缺乏意义的，是某些特定种类的不幸。

Let's consider some central examples. 表達脈絡

让我们来看看一些核心的例子。

You're in a relationship,

你正在谈恋爱，

but the intensity you experienced at the start is long gone. 短語搭配

但开始时你所体验到的那种激情早已荡然无存。

You don't seem to talk about anything important anymore or share vulnerable feelings and ideas.

你们似乎不再谈论任何重要的事情，也不再分享脆弱的感受与想法。

It feels,

这感觉，

as you put it, 語氣意圖

正如你所言，

meaningless.

毫无意义。

Or else you're single,

或者你单身，

and though you have many friends,

虽然你有很多朋友，

every time you see them the conversation seems shallow and trivial.

但每次见到他们，谈话似乎都显得肤浅和琐碎。

Or you're at university studying for a degree.

或者你在大学里攻读学位。

You signed up for the course in part because you often feel confused about who you are and what you want. 講解

你选这门课，部分原因是你常常对自己的身份和想要什么感到迷茫。

You thought that reading books and going to lectures would shine a light on things, 習語

你原以为读书和听讲座能为你指点迷津，

but the topics are dull and disconnected from your confusion.

但这些话题不仅枯燥，而且与你的困惑毫不相干。

You complain that it feels meaningless.

你抱怨说这感觉毫无意义。

Or you're working in a large profitable company and earning a decent sum every week, 用詞

或者你在一家利润丰厚的大公司工作，每周都能赚到一笔可观的收入，

but the work doesn't seem in the grander scheme important, 習語

但从宏观层面上看，这份工作似乎并不重要，

by which you mean two things: 表達脈絡

你的意思包含两方面：

that you don't seem to be making any great difference to anyone's life, 短語搭配

一是你似乎没有对任何人的生活产生什么重大影响，

and also that there's no profound part of you that you're able to bring to or incorporate in your work.

二是你无法将自己内心深处的部分带入或融入到工作中。

It might as well be done by a robot. 語氣意圖

这份工作同样也可以由机器人来完成。

From these strands, 表達脈絡

从这些线索中，

we can start to extrapolate a theory of meaning. 短語搭配

我们可以开始推断出一种关于意义的理论。

Meaning is to be found in three activities in particular: 短語搭配

意义尤其存在于三种活动中：

communication,

交流、

understanding,

理解，

and service.

和服务。

Let's look at communication first.

让我们先来看看交流。

We are by nature isolated creatures,

我们天生是孤独的生物，

and it appears that some of our most meaningful moments are to do with instances of connection with a lover,

而我们一些最富有意义的时刻，似乎都与爱人建立联系的瞬间有关，

for example,

例如，

when we reveal our intimate physical and psychological selves,

当我们展露自己亲密无间的生理与心理层面时，

or when we form friendships where substantial truths about our respective lives can be shared.

或者当我们建立起能够分享彼此生活中实质真相的友谊时。

Or on a journey to a new country,

抑或是在前往一个新国家的旅途中，

when we strike up a conversation with a stranger and feel a thrilling sense of victory over linguistic and cultural barriers. 短語動詞

当我们与陌生人攀谈，并感受到一种克服了语言和文化障碍的令人战栗的胜利感时。

Then there's the meaning that emerges via understanding.

其次是透过理解而产生的意义。

This is about the pleasure that can be felt whenever we correct confusion and puzzlement about ourselves or the world.

这关乎每当我们消除对自己或对世界的困惑与不解时所能体会到的快乐。

We might be scientific researchers or economists,

我们可能是科学研究员或经济学家、

poets, or patients in psychotherapy.

诗人，或是接受心理治疗的患者。

The pleasure of our activities stems from a common ability to map and make sense of what was once painfully unfamiliar and strange. 講解

我们活动的乐趣源于一种共同的能力，即描绘并弄懂那些曾经令人痛苦、陌生和不熟悉的事物。

Thirdly, there's service.

第三，是服务。

One of the most meaningful things we can do is to serve other people, 語法

我们能做的最有意义的事情之一就是服务他人，

to try to improve their lives,

努力改善他们的生活，

either by alleviating sources of suffering or else by generating new sources of pleasure. 語法

要么通过减轻痛苦的根源，要么通过创造新的快乐源泉。

That includes medical professionals,

这包括医疗专业人士，

but also people who bake cakes, write songs, or dance for a living. 短語搭配

也包括那些以烤蛋糕、写歌或跳舞为生的人。

We're often told to think of ourselves as inherently selfish, 短語搭配

我们常常被告知要把自己想作是天生自私的，

but some of the most meaningful moments come when we can transcend our egos and put ourselves at the service of others or the planet. 短語搭配

但一些最有意义的时刻，往往发生在我们能够超越自我、为他人或地球提供服务的时候。

One should add that in order for service to feel meaningful, 講解

需要补充的是，为了让服务感觉有意义，

it has to be in sync with our own native sincere interests. 習語

它必须与我们自身本真且真诚的兴趣步调一致。

It's a case of knowing enough about ourselves to find a particular path to service. 語法

这意味着我们需要对自己有足够的了解，才能找到一条特定的服务之路。

Armed with such ideas, 習語

带着这些理念，

we can move towards defining nothing less than the meaning of life. 習語

我们可以着手去定义生命的意义本身。

The meaning of life is to pursue human flourishing through communication, 用詞

生命的意义就是通过交流、

understanding,

理解，

and service.

以及服务来追求人类的繁荣。

We may not have meaningful lives yet,

我们或许尚未拥有充满意义的生活，

but it's central to affirm that the concept of a meaningful life is eminently plausible and that it comprises elements that can be clearly named and gradually fought for. 用詞

但至关重要的是，我们要确信，充满意义的生活这一概念是完全可信的，而且它所包含的元素是可以被清晰命名并去逐步争取的。