意识的起源：无意识的事物如何变得有意识：英语精读讲义

Consciousness is perhaps the biggest riddle in nature.

意识也许是自然界中最大的谜团。

Stripped to its core meaning, 短語搭配

剥离到其最核心的意义，

consciousness is what allows us to be aware both of our surroundings and of our own inner state. 語法

意识就是让我们能够感知周围环境和自身内在状态的能力。

But thinking about consciousness has this habit of taking us round in circles. 習語

但是，思考意识这件事往往会让我们陷入死胡同。

We all intuitively know what consciousness is.

我们直觉上都知道意识是什么。

It's this.

就是这个。

It's what you're experiencing here right now.

就是你此时此刻在这里体验到的东西。

But once we try to pinpoint just what exactly it is, 語法

但一旦我们试图准确指出它到底是什么，

it leaves us grasping at thin air. 習語

就会发现仿佛在抓空气。

And not just us. 表達脈絡

不仅是我们这样。

Philosophers and scientists struggle to define consciousness.

哲学家和科学家们也在努力给意识下定义。

Different schools and ideas compete with one another, 短語搭配

不同的学派和观点相互碰撞，

but no one has come close to figuring it out. 短語搭配

但没人能真正弄清楚它。

It's unsettling to realize that we don't understand what makes us aware of ourselves and the world. 語法

意识到我们并不理解是什么让我们感知自我和世界，这挺令人不安的。

In this fuzzy area,

在这个模糊的领域，

consciousness and intelligence are also related,

意识和智力也是相关的，

although they are not the same.

尽管它们并不等同。

We'll talk in greater depth about theories of consciousness and intelligence in other videos.

我们将在其他视频中深入探讨意识和智力的理论。

Like much of what makes us human,

就像许多造就我们人类的特质一样，

our consciousness is likely to have evolved from less complex forms as a product of evolution by natural selection. 文化背景

我们的意识很可能是通过自然选择的进化，从较不复杂的形式发展而来的。

It has probably emerged from an immense several hundred million year sequence of countless micro steps

它可能起源于数亿年来无数个微小进化步骤的漫长累积，

that together make up a sort of gradient of consciousness. 短語動詞

这些步骤共同构成了意识的某种渐变阶梯。

What was the first step on this path from the non-conscious

在这个从无意识

to the basic consciousness that ultimately led to the convoluted consciousness we humans enjoy today?

到基础意识，最终演化成我们人类今天所拥有的复杂意识的道路上，第一步是什么？

Take a stone. 表達脈絡

以石头为例。

The consensus is that a stone is not conscious, 表達脈絡

普遍共识是石头没有意识，

though not everyone agrees even on this.

尽管并非所有人都在这一点上意见一致。

Some panpsychists claim that a lump of rock may have an inner life. 文化背景

一些泛心论者声称一块岩石可能有内在生命。

However,

然而，

there are no real grounds for any such assumption, 短語搭配

并没有真正的依据来支持这种假设，

since stones never show behavior.

因为石头从不表现出任何行为。

Their inner life can neither be proven nor disproven. 語法

它们的内在生命既无法证实也无法证伪。

A more common starting point is with the living things.

一个更常见的起点是从生物开始。

A living thing or a self is a part of the universe that sustains itself and makes more of its kind.

一个生物或一个自我，是宇宙中能够自我维持并繁衍后代的一部分。

To do so,

为了做到这一点，

it needs energy.

它需要能量。

And this is where an awareness of the world comes in handy. 習語

这就是对世界的感知派上用场的地方。

The original function of consciousness was probably to direct a mobile self that was short of energy

意识最初的作用，很可能是引导一个缺乏能量的移动中的自我

to a fresh supply of food.

去寻找新鲜的食物来源。

On the smaller scales of life,

在较小的生命尺度上，

you don't need to be aware to find food.

你不需要有意识就能找到食物。

Trichoplax adhaerens,

丝盘虫，

one of the simplest of all animals,

作为所有动物中最简单的一种，

moves around haphazardly.

会漫无目的地四处移动。

It slows down in the presence of food 短語搭配

当附近有食物时它会减速，

and speeds up in its absence.

没有食物时它就会加速。

This is highly effective and makes the tiny creature spend more time where there is food 語法

这非常有效，使得这个小生物在有食物的地方花费的时间

than where there is not.

比在没有食物的地方多。

But it never moves in a particular direction towards a particular target,

但它从不朝向特定的目标沿特定方向移动，

and there's no need for it to be conscious of its environment.

因此它不需要对环境有意识。

The first major step towards consciousness

迈向意识的第一个重大步骤

was probably taken when mobile selves started to move themselves directionally.

很可能发生在移动中的自我开始有方向性地移动自己时。

Moving towards what was good for them, 語法

向对它们有利的东西移动，

say food,

比如食物，

and away from what was less good,

并远离对它们不利的东西，

say someone else who thought that they were food.

比如把它们当成食物的其它生物。

Take Dugesia tigrina,

以虎斑涡虫为例，

a tiny worm known for its funny face.

这种小虫子以其滑稽的脸而闻名。

Sometimes the worm is hungry,

有时这只虫子会饿，

and sometimes not.

有时则不饿。

This means that when it moves,

这意味着当它移动时，

the worm self is not simply producing an automatic response to an external stimulus, 語法

这个虫子自我不仅仅是对外部刺激做出自动反应，

but that its actions depend upon its inner physiological state,

而是其行动取决于它的内在生理状态，

whether it's hungry or sated. 語法

也就是它是饥饿还是饱足。

When it's just eaten,

当刚刚吃过东西时，

the worm is less energetic,

虫子的活力较弱，

but when starved for a while, 語法

但饿了一段时间后，

it will move itself in the direction of tasty things.

它就会朝向好吃的东西移动。

It uses chemoreceptors on its head

它利用头部的化学感受器

to smell its environment and guide it in the direction where the scent of food is strongest.

来嗅探环境，并引导自己向食物气味最浓的方向移动。

After finding and eating a meal,

在找到并吃完一顿大餐后，

our worm buddy heads back to a dark sheltered spot to digest it in safety, 短語動詞

我们的虫子兄弟会回到一个黑暗隐蔽的地方安全地消化食物，

until it's hungry again.

直到再次感到饥饿。

But animals that blindly follow their sense of smell don't have a concrete objective in view. 習語

但盲目跟随嗅觉的动物并没有一个具体的视野目标。

They still lack any sense of where they are heading.

它们仍然缺乏对自己前进方向的感知。

So the next step on the ladder of consciousness

所以意识阶梯上的下一步

is to add some perception at a distance,

是增加一些距离感知能力，

like vision.

比如视觉。

Vision adds context and depth to our world.

视觉为我们的世界增添了背景和深度。

With vision comes a sense of the space we and our food exist in. 語法

有了视觉，我们对自身和食物存在的空间有了感知。

It adds a whole new dimension to awareness 習語

它为感知能力增加了一个全新的维度，

and is a huge step towards more familiar consciousness.

也是迈向更为我们熟悉的意识的一大步。

An optical apparatus like an eye enables us to visualize our goal and lock onto it. 短語動詞

像眼睛这样的光学器官使我们能够具象化我们的目标并锁定它。

But even at this stage,

但即使在这一阶段，

a self is only able to pursue its food as long as it sees it. 語法

一个自我只有在能看见食物时才能去追寻食物。

So the next logical step needs to happen on the inside.

所以下一个合乎逻辑的步骤需要发生在内在。

To visualize food in its absence,

为了在食物不在场时想象食物，

for example,

比如说，

a self needs to create some sort of inner representation of the world.

一个自我需要在内心中建立起对世界某种形式的表征。

Now,

现在，

an animal can continue looking for food even when it escapes its sensory range.

即使食物超出了感觉范围，动物也可以继续寻找食物。

Because of this inner representation of what is relevant in the world,

因为对世界中相关事物的这种内在表征，

it can remain focused on its food and its desire to get it. 短語搭配

它能保持对食物及其获取欲望的专注。

Our self now exists in a world it can get familiar with.

我们的自我现在存在于一个它可以熟悉的世界里。

The ability to remember things has emerged.

记忆事物的能力已经出现。

Thanks to memory,

多亏了记忆，

animals can be distracted from a pursuit for a few seconds,

动物在追逐时可以被分散几秒钟的注意力，

but quickly continue their path afterwards.

但随后很快就能继续它们的路径。

A related phenomenon is called object permanence. 用詞

一个相关的现象叫做客体永久性。

This describes our awareness that things continue to exist even when we can't see them.

这描述了我们的这样一种意识，即事物即使在我们看不见时也继续存在。

This cognitive skill is enjoyed by some mammals and birds,

某些哺乳动物和鸟类享有这种认知技能，

and perhaps other animals too.

也许还有其他动物也是。

Human babies tend to develop this ability around the time they turn eight months,

人类婴儿往往在八个月大的时候发展出这种能力，

while baby chickens show this ability within a day or two of being born.

而小鸡在出生后的一两天内就能展现这种能力。

The capacity to remember a thing in its absence suggests at least a basic sense of time.

在事物不在场时记住事物的能力，至少暗示了一种基本的时间感。

A sense of time is a big step on the ladder of consciousness.

时间感是意识阶梯上的一大步。

It may also enable a self to look forward from the present moment 習語

它还可能使一个自我能够从当下向前看，

and anticipate the future.

并预见未来。

Adult chickens,

成年鸡，

for example,

例如，

are able to resist a meal put in front of them if they expect to receive a bigger meal as a prize for holding back for a while. 短語動詞

能够拒绝面前的一顿饭，如果它们预期忍耐一会就能得到一顿大餐作为奖励的话。

This sort of delayed gratification means there is an ability to visualize a reward that only exists in the future, 用詞

这种延迟满足意味着存在一种想象仅存在于未来的奖励的能力，

which can be quite a challenge even for adult humans.

这对成年人类来说有时都可能是一个相当大的挑战。

Western scrub jays are experts in delayed gratification.

西丛鸦是延迟满足的专家。

They show an even more elaborate sense of the future when they hide food in a cache to retrieve it at a later date.

当它们把食物藏在一个贮藏处以便日后找回时，它们表现出了更为复杂的未来感。

The scrub jays will even re-hide their food if they become aware that a potential thief has been watching them.

如果西丛鸦意识到有潜在的偷窃者在注视它们，它们甚至会重新藏匿食物。

This means that they know that there are other hungry selves out there

这意味着它们知道外面还有其他饥饿的自我，

who are aware and see the world from their own different perspective. 短語搭配

它们也有意识，并从它们自己不同的角度观察世界。

Crafty scrub jays can sort of read the mind of their fellow birds. 習語

狡猾的西丛鸦有点能读懂它们同伴的想法。

This ability to mind-read is crucial for complex levels of consciousness.

这种读心能力对于复杂水平的意识至关重要。

By putting yourself in the position of others, 習語

通过将自己置于他人的位置，

you can outsmart a rich competitor or empathize with a hungry friend.

你可以智胜富有的竞争对手，或与饥饿的朋友产生共鸣。

Language takes the ability to read minds and represent what is absent to a whole new level. 習語

语言将读心和表征不在场事物的能力提升到了一个全新的高度。

Words enable us to construct hypotheses about the world, 短語搭配

语言使我们能够构建关于世界的假设，

make detailed plans,

制定详细的计划，

and to communicate them with others.

并与他人交流。

Words enable us to think about ourselves and our place in the universe,

语言使我们能够思考我们自己以及我们在宇宙中的位置，

and even about our own consciousness,

甚至思考我们自己的意识，

which is something we'll be doing more in future videos.

我们将在未来的视频中做更多这方面的探讨。

So,

那么，

what is the origin of our consciousness?

我们意识的起源是什么？

It probably began as the directed motion of a hungry self towards a source of food

它很可能开始于一个饥饿的自我向食物来源的有向运动，

with the survival benefits this gave it over competitors

这使它比某些竞争对手更有生存优势，

that moved at random or not at all. 短語搭配

那些随机移动或根本不移动的竞争对手。

It probably all started with the urge for more food. 表達脈絡

这一切很可能始于对更多食物的渴望。

So,

所以，

even with the sophisticated consciousness that allows us to dream about space, 語法

即使有了能让我们梦想太空的复杂意识，

build skyscrapers,

建造摩天大楼，

or obsess about novels,

或者沉迷于小说，

it's not surprising that we can't stop thinking about where we'll get our next meal. 語法

我们无法停止思考下一顿吃什么，这也就不奇怪了。

Collectively,

总的来说，

we've put so much thought and ingenuity into getting food 短語搭配

我们在获取食物上投入了如此多的思考和智慧，

that we can now just get our food to come to us, 語法

以至于我们现在只需让食物自己找上门来，

with little conscious effort.

而几乎不需要付出什么有意识的努力。

This video is part one of a three-part video series relating to big questions of life and the universe,

本视频是与生命和宇宙大问题相关的三集系列视频的第一部分，

made possible by a grant from the Templeton World Charity Foundation.

由坦普尔顿世界慈善基金会的资助使其成为可能。

You can find our sources and further reading in the video description

您可以在视频描述中找到我们的资料来源和延伸阅读，

or get the Consciousness Book by Rupert Glasgow for free,

或免费获取鲁珀特·格拉斯哥的《意识之书》，

link down below.

链接在下方。

If you want to help us make more videos,

如果你想帮助我们制作更多视频，

you can do so on patreon.com

可以在 patreon.com 上支持我们，

or get one of our posters from our shop.

或者在我们的商店购买海报。