什么是意识？：英语精读讲义

Hey, Vsauce. Michael here.

嗨，Vsauce，我是 Michael。

And a hemispherectomy is a surgical procedure in which half of a person's brain is removed. 文化背景

大脑半球切除术，是一种切除患者一半大脑的外科手术。

It's usually only ever done on very, very young patients 語法

这种手术通常只会对年龄非常、非常小的患者实施，

because their brains are still plastic enough 語法

因为他们的大脑仍具有足够强的可塑性，

that the remaining half will take on the functions of the half that was removed. 短語動詞

剩下的那一半能接管被切除部分的功能。

And it's usually done because a young child or a baby is having seizures

通常，做这种手术是因为幼儿或婴儿癫痫发作，

and removing the part where the seizures occur is the only solution.

而切除引发癫痫的脑区是唯一的解决办法。

But here's my question. 表達脈絡

但我的问题是：

If you can live with half a brain,

如果人只剩半个大脑也能活，

what if I were to take two empty skulls 語法

那假如我拿来两个空脑壳，

and take one half of your brain and plop it into one body 用詞

把你的一半大脑啪地放进一具身体，

and the other half and put it in another body?

再把另一半放进另一具身体呢？

Which person would be you?

哪个人会是你？

I mean, you are you.

我的意思是，你就是你。

You are conscious.

你有意识。

You are aware of what is happening to you

你知道自己身上正在发生什么，

from the perspective of yourself. 短語搭配

而且是从你自身的视角感知这一切。

Like think of it this way. 表達脈絡

可以这样想。

If you just stare at something

如果你只是盯着某样东西，

and kind of feel what it feels like to be you. 語法

体会一下“身为你自己”是什么感觉，

It feels a little bit like you're a thing

你会觉得自己有点像一个东西，

inside a body looking out through the eyeballs.

待在身体里，透过眼球向外看。

And nobody else on Earth

而地球上不会有其他任何人

will ever see the world from that position.

能从这个位置看世界。

This awareness of your own experiences,

这种对自身经历的觉察，

the awareness that you are having them,

对“这些经历正发生在你身上”的觉察，

the awareness that you are having your own thoughts,

对“你正拥有自己的想法”的觉察，

makes up what we call consciousness. 講解

共同构成了我们所说的“意识”。

But if I were to take your brain and split it into two

但如果我把你的大脑分成两半，

and put it into two different people,

分别放进两个不同的人体内，

would both of them be new people who were conscious?

他们会不会都成为有意识的新个体？

Well, one of the best places to start 短語搭配

那么，最好的起点之一，

when defining consciousness and understanding it

是在定义和理解意识时，

is to begin with things that we agree are not conscious.

先从大家公认没有意识的东西入手。

For instance, Cleverbot.

比如 Cleverbot。

cleverbot.com is an amazing website where a computer program

cleverbot.com 是一个很神奇的网站，里面的电脑程序

will respond to your questions really cleverly,

会非常机智地回答你的问题，

but only because it is programmed to do so. 語法

但那只是因为程序被设定成了这样。

We wouldn't consider it conscious

我们不会认为它有意识，

because it doesn't have a sense of itself. 短語搭配

因为它没有自我感。

It doesn't feel anything.

它没有任何感受。

It doesn't have its own inner life. 用詞

它没有自己的内心世界。

It's just a program that responds automatically to my inputs.

它只是个程序，会自动回应我的输入。

Now, I know that I am not like Cleverbot.

我知道，我和 Cleverbot 不一样。

I know that I feel things

我知道自己会有感受，

and that I have a sense of myself.

也有自我感。

I have intentions.

我有意图。

But how do I know that you do?

可我怎么知道你也有呢？

For that matter, how do I know 表達脈絡

说到底，我怎么知道

that everybody else that I meet is like me?

我遇到的其他每个人都和我一样？

How do I know that they're not just little smart versions

我怎么知道他们不只是一个个小巧聪明版的

of Cleverbot who know exactly what to automatically say?

Cleverbot，精准地知道该自动说些什么？

Now, what I'm asking is incredibly philosophical,

我现在问的这个问题极具哲学意味，

but it is a very famous and important question.

但它也是一个非常著名而重要的问题。

I'm basically asking if it's possible for something to exist

我其实是在问：某种东西是否可能

as a philosophical zombie. 文化背景

以“哲学僵尸”的形式存在。

That's right.

没错。

A thing that reacts and responds and acts just like a normal human,

有一种东西，它的反应、回应和行为都和正常人一模一样，

but yet doesn't actually feel anything.

却完全没有任何真实感受。

It doesn't know that it's having its own thoughts.

它并不知道自己正在产生想法。

It just automatically responds like a robot in the appropriate way.

它只会像机器人一样，以恰当的方式自动回应。

Now, what's amazing and heavy about this question 講解

这个问题既惊人又沉重的地方

is that science doesn't have an answer.

在于，科学没有答案。

And it's not even clear that science will ever have an answer, 語法

我们甚至不确定科学将来是否会找到答案，

let alone an approach to finding that answer. 短語搭配

更不用说找到答案的途径了。

About all we have is the psychology of disorders of consciousness. 語法

我们拥有的几乎只有对意识障碍的心理学研究。

Let's begin with anosognosia. 表達脈絡

先从疾病失认症说起。

A common example of anosognosia in psychology classes 文化背景

心理学课上常举的疾病失认症案例

is a patient who has, say, lost the ability to move their left hand.

是这样一位患者：比如说，他失去了活动左手的能力。

When asked to raise their right hand, 語法

当别人让他举起右手时，

they'll say, "Uh, yeah, no problem.

他会说：“呃，好啊，没问题。

Here you go." 語氣意圖

你看。”

But then when asked to raise their left hand,

可当别人让他举起左手时，

they'll say, "Okay, yeah, sure, no problem."

他会说：“好啊，当然，没问题。”

But not move it.

却一动也不动。

And when asked why they didn't move their left hand,

当别人问他为什么没有动左手时，

instead of reporting that they can't, 語法

他不会说自己动不了，

they'll confabulate some excuse. 用詞

而是会编造一个借口。

For instance,

比如：

"Oh, I didn't feel like it." 短語搭配

“哦，我只是不想动。”

Anton Babinski syndrome is even more dramatic. 文化背景

安东-巴宾斯基综合征的表现更加夸张。

Patients with this syndrome are cortically blind. 用詞

这种综合征患者患有皮质盲。

They cannot see anything,

他们什么都看不见，

but they deny being blind. 語法

却否认自己失明。

If you ask them a question, for instance,

比如，如果你问他们：

"How many fingers am I holding up?" 短語動詞

“我举起了几根手指？”

they will make a guess,

他们会猜一个答案，

but if they're wrong,

可如果猜错了，

they'll explain their inaccuracy with an excuse.

他们会找个借口解释为什么没说准。

For instance,

比如：

"Oh, well, I don't have my glasses."

“哦，是因为我没戴眼镜。”

People who exhibit anosognosia tend to be the victims of stroke.

出现疾病失认症的人往往是脑卒中患者。

And there's some disconnect between what they're really experiencing 短語搭配

他们的实际体验

and their conscious awareness of it.

与他们在意识层面对这种体验的认知之间存在某种脱节。

They don't know that they can't see

他们不知道自己看不见，

because the part of their brain that monitors visual input

因为大脑中负责监测视觉输入的部分

isn't telling the brain anything.

没有向大脑传达任何信息。

It's not even telling the brain that there is no visual input,

它甚至都没有告诉大脑“没有视觉输入”，

which means that the parts of their brain responsible for answering questions or creating speech

这意味着，大脑中负责回答问题或组织语言的部分

has to completely create a confabulated response.

只得凭空编造出一个完整的回答。

Despite the fact that we've been able to study patients with anosognosia, 語法

尽管我们已经能够研究疾病失认症患者，

we still have no idea how to solve our original problem. 短語搭配

却仍完全不知道该如何解决最初的问题。

In fact,

事实上，

all we've managed to come up with are more impossible questions about identity. 講解

我们得到的只有更多关于身份认同的无解难题。

Questions that are so befuddling,

这些问题令人困惑至极，

the best you can do with them is to answer them yourself according to what you believe.

你最多只能依照自己的信念给出答案。

Here's another one.

再来看一个。

It's called the Swampman. 文化背景

它叫“沼泽人”。

Imagine that I'm walking around in a swamp and then all of a sudden I get struck by a bolt of lightning 短語搭配

想象一下，我正在沼泽里走着，突然被一道闪电击中，

and my entire body is burned to a crisp, 習語

整个身体被烧得焦透，

dissolved into smithereens.

彻底化为齑粉。

But at the very same moment, 短語搭配

可就在同一时刻，

a second bolt of lightning strikes nearby

附近又落下第二道闪电，

and it causes a bunch of atoms and molecules to all arrange themselves 語法

让一大群原子和分子自行排列，

into the exact same configuration that my body used to have, 語法

组成与我原来身体完全相同的构造，

making a second Michael.

从而造出第二个 Michael。

Is that me?

那是我吗？

Would that be me?

那会是我吗？

And here's an even better one. 表達脈絡

还有一个更绝的问题。

Imagine that a surgeon came in

想象一位外科医生走了进来，

and he started removing cells from me and from you,

开始从我和你身上取出细胞，

replacing them exactly one at a time, 短語搭配

每次取一个，再一一准确替换，

replacing my cells into your body and your cells into my body.

把我的细胞放进你的身体，把你的细胞放进我的身体。

At what point would I officially have become you? 語法

到哪一步，我才算正式变成了你？

No one on Earth has the definitive answers to these questions, 短語搭配

地球上没人能对这些问题给出定论，

but You know what we do have? 語法

但你知道我们有什么吗？

A lean back.

那就是：往后一靠。

That's right.

没错。

I've made a playlist of some of my favorite clips from all over YouTube

我从 YouTube 各处挑出一些最喜欢的片段，做成了播放列表，

of psychology experiments and illusions and all sorts of fun stuff

里面有心理学实验、错觉和各种好玩的内容，

that deal with consciousness. 短語動詞

都与意识有关。

All you have to do is click the link at the top of this video's description 語法

你只要点击本视频简介顶部的链接，

and then lean back and let the automatic playlist do the work for you. 語法

然后往后一靠，让播放列表自动替你完成一切。

I'll see you over there.

我们那边见。

And as always,

和往常一样，

thanks for watching.

感谢观看。

Hey, Kevin.

嘿，Kevin。

Any new YouTube messages?

YouTube 有新消息吗？

Actually, yes.

还真有。

I just got this message over at Vsauce 2 用詞

我刚在 Vsauce 2 收到这条消息，

from a user who doesn't create videos,

是一位不制作视频的用户发来的，

but he organizes them in his own playlists.

但他会把视频整理进自己的播放列表。

Yeah.

对。

Yeah, that's excellent cuz there's so many videos on YouTube. 用詞

是啊，这太棒了，因为 YouTube 上的视频实在太多了。

We need people to help organize them,

我们需要有人帮忙整理，

especially by type.

尤其是按类型分类。

Imagine a channel of playlists

想象一下，一个全是播放列表的频道，

ranging from cool songs to listen to when it rains

内容从适合下雨天听的酷歌，

or best explosions ever.

到史上最精彩的爆炸场面。

Exactly.

没错。

If you make a playlist that you think is really cool and full of stuff that we should know about,

如果你做了一个自己觉得特别棒、里面全是我们该了解的内容的播放列表，

send it to [email protected] and we'll feature the ones we really like 用詞

就把它发到 [email protected]；我们会推荐其中最喜欢的那些，

because you have made YouTube a better, more organized place. 語法

因为你让 YouTube 变得更好、更有条理了。

And after all, 表達脈絡

毕竟，

Vsauce is kind of like a carpool lane. 習語

Vsauce 有点像拼车专用道。

We're all going to get to the cool stuff faster

我们所有人都能更快抵达那些精彩内容，

because we're traveling together.

因为我们正结伴同行。

Where did you get that?

你从哪儿弄来这东西的？