社會學 - 狄奧多·阿多諾：英語精讀講義

Theodor Wiesengrund Adorno was born in Frankfurt in 1903

特奧多爾·維森格倫德·阿多諾於1903年出生在法蘭克福

into a wealthy and cultured family.

一個富裕且有教養的家庭。

His father, a wine merchant,

他的父親是一位酒商，

was of Jewish origin

有著猶太血統，

but had converted to Protestantism at university. 片語搭配

但在大學期間改信了新教。

Until his 20s,

在20多歲之前，

Adorno planned for a career as a composer 片語搭配

阿多諾原本打算以作曲家為業，

but eventually focused on philosophy.

但最終轉向了哲學。

In 1934,

1934年，

he was barred on racial grounds 講解

因種族原因，他被禁止

from teaching in Germany.

在德國任教。

So he moved to Oxford

於是他搬到了牛津，

and later to New York and then Los Angeles.

後來又去了紐約，接著是洛杉磯。

He was both fascinated and repelled by Californian consumer culture 文法

他對加州的消費文化既著迷又反感，

and thought with unusual depth about suntans and drive-ins. 文化背景

並對日光浴和免下車影院等現象進行了異常深刻的思考。

Adorno was closely connected with a pioneering Institute of Social Research,

阿多諾與當時具有開拓性的社會研究所關係密切，

also known as the Frankfurt School, 講解

該所也被稱為法蘭克福學派，

which had been founded and funded by his friend Felix Weil.

由他的朋友菲利克斯·韋伊創立並資助。

The Institute aimed to develop a psychological understanding

研究所旨在建立一種心理學上的理解，

of the problems thrown up by modern capitalism, 片語動詞

以研究現代資本主義所帶來的問題，

especially the culture and mindset it generates.

特別是它所產生的文化和思維方式。

Adorno drew attention to three significant ways 講解

阿多諾引起了人們對三個重要方面的關注，

in which capitalism corrupts and degrades us.

即資本主義是如何腐蝕和貶低我們的。

Adorno believed that the primary focus for progressive philosophers 文法

阿多諾認為，進步哲學家的首要任務

should be the study of how the working and middle classes of developed nations

應該是研究發達國家的工人和中產階級

think and feel,

是如何思考和感受的，

and in particular, 表達脈絡

尤其是，

the manner in which they spend their evenings and weekends. 文法

他們度過夜晚和週末的方式。

Adorno had a highly ambitious view

阿多諾對閒暇時間的意義

of what leisure time should be for. 文法

有著極高的期望。

It was not to relax and take one's mind off things. 慣用語

他認為閒暇時間不是用來放鬆和拋開煩惱的。

Free time should be our prime opportunity

空閒時間應該是我們的首要機會，

to expand and develop ourselves,

去拓展和發展自我，

to reach after our better nature, 慣用語

去追求我們更好的天性，

and to acquire the tools with which to change society. 文法

以及獲取改變社會的工具。

It's a time when we might see films

在這些時間裡，我們可以去看電影，

that can help us to understand our relationships with new clarity,

從而以嶄新的視角清晰地認識我們的人際關係，

or read books that give us fresh insights into politics, 片語搭配

或者閱讀能為我們提供政治新見解的書籍，

or listen to music

又或是去聽音樂，

that gives us courage to reform ourselves and collective life. 片語搭配

從中獲得改造自我和集體生活的勇氣。

But in the modern world,

但在現代世界，

Adorno bemoaned that leisure

阿多諾哀嘆休閒時光

has fallen into the hands 慣用語

已經落入了

of an omnipresent and deeply malevolent entertainment machine,

一台無處不在且極度惡毒的娛樂機器手中，

which he called the culture industry. 文化背景

他稱之為「文化工業」。

Modern films, TV, radio, magazines, and now social media

現代電影、電視、廣播、雜誌以及如今的社群媒體，

seemed for Adorno to be almost designed to keep us distracted, 文法

在阿多諾看來，其設計初衷簡直就是為了讓我們分心，

unable to understand ourselves,

讓我們無法認清自己，

and without the will to alter political reality. 片語搭配

並喪失改變政治現實的意願。

So for example, 表達脈絡

比如，

the news will feed us a mixture of salacious nonsense 慣用語

新聞會向我們灌輸各種低俗無聊的八卦

and political stories that scramble any possibility

和混淆視聽的政治故事，抹殺一切可能，

of understanding the open prison within which we exist. 慣用語

讓我們無法看清自己其實生活在一座開放式的監獄中。

The cinema shows us the adventures of an alien invasion,

電影院向我們展示外星人入侵的冒險故事，

while the real calamities of our world go unattended. 表達脈絡

而我們現實世界中真正的災難卻無人問津。

Pop music focuses relentlessly on the emotions around romantic love, 片語搭配

流行音樂始終專注於圍繞浪漫愛情的情感，

suggesting that happiness can only come from meeting one very special person,

暗示幸福只能來自於遇到那唯一特別的人，

rather than awakening us to the pleasures of community 文法

而不是喚醒我們去體會社區的樂趣，

and of a more broadly distributed human sympathy.

以及更廣泛的人類同理心。

We wander through museum galleries, 表達脈絡

我們在博物館的畫廊中漫步，

privately unsure what they really mean and why we should care.

私下裡其實並不確定它們真正的含義，以及我們為何要關注它們。

The culture industry likes to keep us like that,

文化工業喜歡讓我們保持那種狀態：

distracted, pliant, confused, and a bit intimidated.

注意力分散、順從、困惑，甚至帶點怯懦。

Adorno perceptively described Walt Disney as the most dangerous man in America. 表達脈絡

阿多諾敏銳地將華特·迪士尼描述為美國最危險的人。

Because of the huge range of consumer goods available in modern capitalism,

由於現代資本主義提供了琳琅滿目的消費品，

we naturally suppose that everything we could possibly want is available. 文法

我們自然會以為所有我們可能想要的東西都應有盡有。

The only problem, if there is one, 語氣意圖

唯一的問題在於（如果有的話），

is that we can't afford it.

是我們買不起。

But Adorno pointed out 片語動詞

但阿多諾指出，

that our real wants are carefully shielded from us 慣用語

我們真正的需求被資本主義工業

by capitalist industry,

小心翼翼地屏蔽了，

so that we end up forgetting what it is we truly need 片語動詞

以至於我們最終忘記了自己真正需要什麼，

and settle instead for desires manufactured for us 片語動詞

轉而滿足於企業為我們製造的慾望，

by corporations without any interest in our true welfare.

而這些企業對我們的真實福祉毫無興趣。

Though we think we live in a world of plenty, 文法

雖然我們認為自己生活在一個物質充裕的世界，

what we really require to thrive,

但我們茁壯成長真正需要的東西，

namely tenderness, understanding, calm, insight, community, 表達脈絡

即溫柔、理解、平靜、洞察力和社區感，

all these things are in painfully short supply 片語搭配

所有這些東西都極度匱乏，

and are utterly disconnected from the present economy.

並且與當前的經濟完全脫節。

When they're trying to sell us something, 文法

當他們試圖向我們推銷東西時，

advertisers show us the thing that we really want

廣告商會向我們展示我們真正渴望的事物，

and then connect it to something we don't actually need. 片語搭配

然後把它與我們其實並不需要的東西聯繫起來。

So we can see an advert

因此，我們會看到一則廣告，

showing a group of friends walking along a beach chatting amiably, 文法

展示一群朋友走在海灘上親切交談，

or a family having a picnic and laughing warmly together.

或者一家人在野餐，溫馨地歡笑。

These adverts show us these things

這些廣告之所以向我們展示這些場景，

because they know we crave community and connection. 用詞

是因為他們知道我們渴望社區和人際連結。

But the industrial economy

但工業經濟

prefers to keep us lonely and consuming.

更希望我們保持孤獨，並繼續消費。

So at the end of the adverts,

因此，在廣告的最後，

we'll be urged to buy some 25-year-old whisky 文法

我們會受到慫恿去買一瓶25年陳釀的威士忌，

or a car so powerful 文法

或者買一輛馬力強勁的汽車，

that no road would ever let us legally drive it at top speed.

儘管沒有任何道路會允許我們合法地全速駕駛它。

Adorno was writing at the dawn of the age of the psychological questionnaire. 慣用語

阿多諾寫作的年代正是心理學問卷時代的黎明。

These were widely in use in the United States,

這些問卷在美國被廣泛使用，

where they were measuring consumer attitudes and commercial behavior.

用於測量消費者的態度和商業行為。

Adorno was intrigued by the underlying concept of the questionnaire,

阿多諾對問卷背後的基本概念產生了濃厚的興趣，

and so together with colleagues,

於是他與同事們一起，

devoted himself to designing a rather different kind of questionnaire, 片語搭配

致力於設計一種相當不同的問卷，

one designed to spot fascists. 用詞

一種旨在揪出法西斯分子的問卷。

The questionnaire that he designed asked contributors

他設計的問卷要求受訪者

to assess their level of agreement with statements like 片語搭配

評估他們對以下陳述的認同程度，例如：

"Obedience and respect for authority

「服從和尊重權威

are the most important virtues children should learn"

是孩子們最應該學習的美德」

and "If people would talk less and work more,

以及「如果人們少說話多做事，

everybody would be better off." 片語搭配

每個人的生活都會更好。」

And "When a person has a problem or worry,

還有「當一個人有煩惱或擔憂時，

it's best for him not to think about it, 文法

對他來說最好的辦法是不去想它，

but to keep busy with more cheerful things." 片語搭配

而是讓自己忙於更愉快的事情。」

Given the traumas Germany had just been through, 表達脈絡

考慮到德國當時剛經歷的創傷，

it's no surprise that Adorno gave his questionnaire, 片語搭配

阿多諾對他的問卷，

and what he called the F-scale, 文化背景

也就是他所說的『F量表』（法西斯量表）

fascist scale, such attention.

給予如此高度的關注也就不足為奇了。

His team even sent the F-scale to every school in West Germany.

他的團隊甚至將F量表發送到了西德的每一所學校。

But a more widely applicable lesson to be drawn from this experiment 片語搭配

但從這個實驗中可以得出的一個具有更廣泛適用性的教訓，

is that psychology comes ahead of politics. 慣用語

是心理學先於政治學。

Long before someone is racist, 文法

早在一個人的思想變得具有種族歧視、

homophobic, or authoritarian,

恐同或傾向專制之前，

they are, Adorno skillfully suggested,

阿多諾精闢地指出，他們

likely to be suffering from psychological frailties and immaturities, 文法

很可能正在遭受心理脆弱和不成熟的折磨，

which is the task of a good society

而一個良好社會的任務，

to get better at spotting and responding to. 文法

就是在這方面更善於發現並做出回應。

Rather than leaving problems to fester so long 慣用語

與其放任問題惡化，

that there's eventually no way to deal with them 文法

最終導致除了使用武力之外

other than through force,

別無他法來解決，

we should learn to understand the psychology

我們倒不如學會從最初始的階段起，

of everyday insanity from the earliest moments.

就去理解日常瘋狂行為背後的心理。

Adorno was a left-wing thinker

阿多諾是一位左翼思想家，

who recognized that the primary obstacles to social progress

他認識到社會進步的主要障礙

are cultural and psychological, 文法

是文化和心理層面的，

rather than narrowly political or economic.

而不僅僅是狹隘的政治或經濟層面的。

We already have the money, the resources,

我們已經擁有了金錢、資源、

the time, and the skills

時間和技術，

to make sure that everyone can sleep in a house, 片語搭配

足以確保每個人都有棲身之所、

stop destroying the planet,

停止破壞地球、

is given a fulfilling job,

獲得一份有成就感的工作，

and feel supported by the community.

並感到被社區所支持。

So the reason why we continue to suffer and hurt one another 文法

因此，我們之所以繼續受苦並互相傷害，

is first and foremost because our minds are sick. 片語搭配

首要原因在於我們的思想生病了。

This is the continuing provocation

這是特奧多爾·阿多諾那迷人而冷酷憤怒的著作

offered by the beguiling and calmly furious work of Theodor Adorno. 慣用語

所持續發出的挑釁。

Thank you so much for watching.

非常感謝您的觀看。

If you like the videos we produce at The School of Life,

如果你喜歡我們在The School of Life製作的影片，

then may we suggest you visit our friends over at a channel called Wisecrack. 語氣意圖

那麼我們建議您去看看我們的朋友Wisecrack頻道的作品。

They too create wonderful videos

他們也製作非常棒的影片，

about philosophy, literature, cinema, psychology, and more,

內容涵蓋哲學、文學、電影、心理學等更多領域，

all with a cheeky twist. 用詞

且都帶有一種幽默俏皮的風格。

So click here to visit their channel

因此，點擊這裡訪問他們的頻道，

and we highly suggest that you subscribe.

我們強烈建議您訂閱。

You might be especially interested in their show called 8-Bit Philosophy.

您可能會對他們名為《8-Bit Philosophy》的節目特別感興趣。

Click here to watch their classic episode

點擊這裡觀看他們的經典節目：

on Plato's Allegory of the Cave 文化背景

透過電玩遊戲《薩爾達傳說》來解釋

as explained through the video game Zelda.

柏拉圖的洞穴之喻。