TEDxBratislava
Stephen Cave: The 4 stories we tell ourselves about death
史提芬．凱夫 (Stephen Cave): 關於死亡，我們告訴自己的四個故事
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哲學家史提芬．凱夫 (Stephen Cave) 以一個陰鬱但引人注目的問題為開頭：你何時第一次意識到自己會死亡？另外更有意思的問題：為何我們人類一直都抗拒死亡的必然性？在這個精采的演說中，凱夫探索了四種──橫跨在各種文明之間──我們告訴自己的故事「為的是幫助我們面對死亡的恐懼」。
Stephen Cave - Philosopher
Philosopher Stephen Cave wants to know: Why is humanity so obsessed with living forever? Full bio
Philosopher Stephen Cave wants to know: Why is humanity so obsessed with living forever? Full bio
Double-click the English transcript below to play the video.
00:12
I have a question:
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我有一個提問：
00:14
Who here remembers when they first realized
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這裡有誰記得是什麼時候
00:17
they were going to die?
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第一次意識到自己會死去？
00:21
I do. I was a young boy,
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我記得
那時我還是小男孩
那時我還是小男孩
00:23
and my grandfather had just died,
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我祖父剛剛過世
00:26
and I remember a few days later lying in bed at night
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我記得在那幾天後的晚上，我躺在床上
00:30
trying to make sense of what had happened.
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試著去理解發生了什麼事情
00:34
What did it mean that he was dead?
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他過世了是什麼意思？
00:36
Where had he gone?
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他去了哪裡？
00:38
It was like a hole in reality had opened up
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這有點像在現實中有一個洞
00:42
and swallowed him.
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打開後把他吞下去
00:44
But then the really shocking
question occurred to me:
question occurred to me:
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但對我來說，震驚的事情是：
00:46
If he could die, could it happen to me too?
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如果他會死去，那也會發生在我身上嗎？
00:50
Could that hole in reality open up and swallow me?
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那個洞也會打開把我吞下去嗎？
00:53
Would it open up beneath my bed
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它會不會在我的床底下打開
00:55
and swallow me as I slept?
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在我睡覺時把我吞了？
00:58
Well, at some point, all children
become aware of death.
become aware of death.
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某方面而言，所有的小孩都注意到死亡
01:02
It can happen in different ways, of course,
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當然，死亡會以不同的方式發生
01:04
and usually comes in stages.
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而且通常是很引人注目的
01:06
Our idea of death develops as we grow older.
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我們對死亡的認識隨著長大而加深
01:10
And if you reach back into the dark corners
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如果你能回到你記憶裡
01:12
of your memory,
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那個黑暗的角落
01:14
you might remember something like what I felt
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或許你會有跟我那時一樣的感受
01:17
when my grandfather died and when I realized
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當我祖父過世而我認知到
01:20
it could happen to me too,
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這也可能發生在我身上
01:22
that sense that behind all of this
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在這一切背後的感受
01:25
the void is waiting.
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只能空等待
01:28
And this development in childhood
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在孩童時期這樣的發展
01:31
reflects the development of our species.
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反應了我們人類的發展
01:33
Just as there was a point in your development
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就像是在你生命中的某一時刻
01:37
as a child when your sense of self and of time
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還是小孩的你對自我和時間的認知
01:40
became sophisticated enough
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開始變得複雜
01:42
for you to realize you were mortal,
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你理解自己終將一死
01:46
so at some point in the evolution of our species,
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所以在人類演化的某一時刻
01:50
some early human's sense of self and of time
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早期的某些人對自我和時間的認知
01:53
became sophisticated enough
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開始變得複雜
01:55
for them to become the first human to realize,
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然後成為第一批
01:58
"I'm going to die."
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知道「我將會死去」的人們
02:02
This is, if you like, our curse.
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如果你能接受，這是我們的咒詛
02:04
It's the price we pay for being so damn clever.
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這是我們過於聰明的代價
02:08
We have to live in the knowledge
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我們必須活在
02:10
that the worst thing that can possibly happen
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知道最壞的事將會發生的陰影下
02:13
one day surely will,
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這一天一定會來到
02:14
the end of all our projects,
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終結我們所有的計畫
02:16
our hopes, our dreams, of our individual world.
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我們的希望、夢想和個人世界
02:19
We each live in the shadow of a personal
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我們每個人活在自個兒的
02:23
apocalypse.
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末日陰影下
02:25
And that's frightening. It's terrifying.
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這很恐怖嚇人
02:27
And so we look for a way out.
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所以我們試圖找個出路
02:29
And in my case, as I was about five years old,
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以我為例，當我大約五歲時
02:33
this meant asking my mum.
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我是去問我媽
02:36
Now when I first started asking
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當我開始詢問
02:38
what happens when we die,
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我們死後會怎樣
02:40
the grown-ups around me at the time
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在我周遭的成人回答我
02:42
answered with a typical English mix of awkwardness
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很典型、尷尬且
02:45
and half-hearted Christianity,
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無心的基督教語句
02:48
and the phrase I heard most often
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我最常聽到的是
02:50
was that granddad was now
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祖父現在
02:52
"up there looking down on us,"
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「在天上看著我們」
02:54
and if I should die too, which
wouldn't happen of course,
wouldn't happen of course,
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而且如果我也死去，當然不會是現在
02:57
then I too would go up there,
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我也會到天上去
03:00
which made death sound a lot like
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這讓死亡看起來很像是
03:02
an existential elevator.
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一座可能存在的電梯
03:05
Now this didn't sound very plausible.
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現在這聽起來不再是有可能的
03:08
I used to watch a children's
news program at the time,
news program at the time,
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那時候我通常會觀看兒童新聞節目
03:11
and this was the era of space exploration.
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那時是一個太空探索的時代
03:13
There were always rockets going up into the sky,
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節目總是關於火箭升空
03:15
up into space, going up there.
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飛上高高的太空中
03:18
But none of the astronauts when they came back
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但沒有任何回來的太空人提及
03:20
ever mentioned having met my granddad
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見到我去世的祖父
03:24
or any other dead people.
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或是其他死去的人
03:26
But I was scared,
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但當時我很害怕
03:27
and the idea of taking the existential elevator
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而搭乘那可能存在的電梯
03:30
to see my granddad
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去見我的祖父
03:31
sounded a lot better than being swallowed
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比起在睡夢中被虛空吞噬
03:33
by the void while I slept.
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是容易接受的多
03:36
And so I believed it anyway,
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所以我就相信了
03:38
even though it didn't make much sense.
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縱使這聽起來很不合理
03:41
And this thought process that I went through
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這樣的思考模式讓我渡過童年
03:43
as a child, and have been through many times since,
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從那之後發生過很多次
03:46
including as a grown-up,
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長大之後也是
03:48
is a product of what psychologists call
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這被心理學家稱作是
03:50
a bias.
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偏誤 (bias)
03:51
Now a bias is a way in which we systematically
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偏誤是我們有系統地
03:55
get things wrong,
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把事情搞錯
03:56
ways in which we miscalculate, misjudge,
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估算錯誤、判斷錯誤
03:59
distort reality, or see what we want to see,
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扭曲現實，或是只看到想看到的
04:03
and the bias I'm talking about
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而我要說的偏誤
04:05
works like this:
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是像這樣的：
04:06
Confront someone with the fact
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使他人去正視
04:09
that they are going to die
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他們即將會死去的事實
04:10
and they will believe just about any story
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他們會相信任何故事
04:13
that tells them it isn't true
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告訴他們這不是真的
04:15
and they can, instead, live forever,
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而且他們可以永遠活著
04:17
even if it means taking the existential elevator.
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就算是搭乘那個可能存在的電梯
04:22
Now we can see this as the biggest bias of all.
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我們可以將這個視為最大的偏誤
04:26
It has been demonstrated in over 400
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這經過四百個經驗研究
04:29
empirical studies.
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得到證實
04:31
Now these studies are ingenious, but they're simple.
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這些研究設計得很巧妙，但相當簡單
04:33
They work like this.
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像這樣
04:35
You take two groups of people
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你找了兩組人
04:36
who are similar in all relevant respects,
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在各個面向上都很相似
04:39
and you remind one group that they're going to die
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你提醒其中一組人他們即將死去
04:42
but not the other, then you compare their behavior.
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但另一組沒有，然後你比較他們的行為
04:45
So you're observing how it biases behavior
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你觀察到，當人們意識到他們終究會死去時
04:48
when people become aware of their mortality.
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這個認知如何使他們的行為產生偏誤
04:52
And every time, you get the same result:
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而且每次試驗你都得到相同的結果
04:55
People who are made aware of their mortality
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被提醒終將會死去的那組人
04:58
are more willing to believe stories
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比較願意去相信
05:00
that tell them they can escape death
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他們有辦法逃脫死亡
05:02
and live forever.
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並且得到永生的故事
05:04
So here's an example: One recent study
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這裡有一個例子
05:06
took two groups of agnostics,
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一項研究找來兩組不可知論者
05:09
that is people who are undecided
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這些人都沒有
05:10
in their religious beliefs.
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特定的宗教傾向
05:13
Now, one group was asked to think about being dead.
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其中一組被要求思考死亡這件事
05:17
The other group was asked to think about
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另一組被要求思考
05:18
being lonely.
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孤獨
05:20
They were then asked again
about their religious beliefs.
about their religious beliefs.
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他們再度被問及他們的宗教信仰
05:23
Those who had been asked
to think about being dead
to think about being dead
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被要求思考死亡的那組人
05:26
were afterwards twice as likely to express faith
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之後有兩倍的可能性
05:29
in God and Jesus.
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用上帝和耶穌來描敘他們的信仰
05:31
Twice as likely.
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兩倍的可能性
05:33
Even though the before they
were all equally agnostic.
were all equally agnostic.
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即使在這之前他們同樣是不可知論者
05:35
But put the fear of death in them,
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但把對死亡的恐懼放在眼前
05:37
and they run to Jesus.
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他們會向耶穌靠攏
05:41
Now, this shows that reminding people of death
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這顯示向人們提醒死亡
05:45
biases them to believe, regardless of the evidence,
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會讓他們忽視證據，而在所相信的事物上偏誤
05:48
and it works not just for religion,
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而這不僅僅影響到宗教
05:50
but for any kind of belief system
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而是任何跟信仰有關
05:52
that promises immortality in some form,
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任何能提供永生形式的機制
05:56
whether it's becoming famous
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無論是變有名
05:57
or having children
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或是生小孩
05:59
or even nationalism,
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或甚至是民族主義
06:00
which promises you can live
on as part of a greater whole.
on as part of a greater whole.
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保證你能成為全體的一部分活下去
06:03
This is a bias that has shaped
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這樣的偏誤
06:05
the course of human history.
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塑造了人類的歷史
06:09
Now, the theory behind this bias
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在這偏誤背後
06:11
in the over 400 studies
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超過四百個研究
06:13
is called terror management theory,
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稱之為「恐懼管理理論」
06:15
and the idea is simple. It's just this.
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這個理論很簡單
06:17
We develop our worldviews,
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我們發展出我們的世界觀
06:20
that is, the stories we tell ourselves
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告訴自己一個
06:22
about the world and our place in it,
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關於世界和我們所在地方的故事
06:25
in order to help us manage
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為的是要讓我們可以
06:27
the terror of death.
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處理對死亡的恐懼
06:30
And these immortality stories
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這些永生的故事
06:32
have thousands of different manifestations,
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有著上千種的形式
06:35
but I believe that behind the apparent diversity
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但我相信在這些多樣化的面貌下
06:38
there are actually just four basic forms
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這些永生故事
06:41
that these immortality stories can take.
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其實只有四種基本樣式
06:44
And we can see them repeating themselves
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在歷史中不斷地循環
06:46
throughout history, just with slight variations
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只有小小的差異
06:49
to reflect the vocabulary of the day.
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反應當時的語言
06:52
Now I'm going to briefly introduce these four
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我來簡單介紹永生故事中的
06:55
basic forms of immortality story,
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這四個基本樣式
06:57
and I want to try to give you some sense
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我也希望讓各位知道
06:58
of the way in which they're retold by each culture
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它們是如何在各個文化和世代中
07:01
or generation
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使用當時的語言
07:03
using the vocabulary of their day.
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被流傳著
07:05
Now, the first story is the simplest.
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第一個故事是最簡單的
07:07
We want to avoid death,
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我們想要避免死亡
07:09
and the dream of doing that in this body
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夢想著這身軀
07:12
in this world forever
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可以永久留存在這世上
07:13
is the first and simplest kind of immortality story,
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這是第一個也是最簡單的永生故事
07:17
and it might at first sound implausible,
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這聽起來有點難以置信
07:19
but actually, almost every culture in human history
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但事實上，人類史上幾乎所有的文化
07:23
has had some myth or legend
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都有神話或傳說是關於
07:25
of an elixir of life or a fountain of youth
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不老藥或是青春泉水
07:28
or something that promises to keep us going
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或是某種可以讓我們
07:31
forever.
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一直活下去的東西
07:34
Ancient Egypt had such myths,
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古埃及有這樣的神話
07:36
ancient Babylon, ancient India.
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古巴比倫、古印度
07:38
Throughout European history, we find them
in the work of the alchemists,
in the work of the alchemists,
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綜觀歐洲史，可以在鍊金術中發現它
07:41
and of course we still believe this today,
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現在我們依舊相信它
07:44
only we tell this story using the vocabulary
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只是我們用科學的語言
07:46
of science.
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訴說它
07:48
So 100 years ago,
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約一百年前
07:49
hormones had just been discovered,
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荷爾蒙被發現了
07:51
and people hoped that hormone treatments
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人們冀望荷爾蒙
07:53
were going to cure aging and disease,
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可以治療老化和疾病
07:56
and now instead we set our hopes on stem cells,
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現在我們則是寄望於幹細胞
07:58
genetic engineering, and nanotechnology.
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遺傳工程和奈米科技
08:01
But the idea that science can cure death
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但能對抗死亡的科學
08:05
is just one more chapter in the story
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也僅只是跟文明一樣古老的
08:07
of the magical elixir,
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另一則
08:09
a story that is as old as civilization.
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不老藥故事
08:14
But betting everything on the idea of finding the elixir
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但把一切都賭在發現不老藥
08:16
and staying alive forever
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和保持永生上面
08:18
is a risky strategy.
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風險太大
08:20
When we look back through history
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當我們回頭看歷史
08:22
at all those who have sought an elixir in the past,
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那些尋找不老藥的人
08:25
the one thing they now have in common
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都有個共通點
08:27
is that they're all dead.
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就是他們都過世了
08:29
So we need a backup plan,
and exactly this kind of plan B
and exactly this kind of plan B
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所以我們需要一個備案
08:33
is what the second kind of immortality story offers,
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也就是第二類的永生故事
08:36
and that's resurrection.
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那就是復活
08:38
And it stays with the idea that I am this body,
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復活的概念是我是一個肉身
08:41
I am this physical organism.
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是一個有機體
08:43
It accepts that I'm going to have to die
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接受我是會死去的事實
08:45
but says, despite that,
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但不論這些
08:46
I can rise up and I can live again.
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我會再次活過來
08:49
In other words, I can do what Jesus did.
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換句話說，我可以跟耶穌一樣
08:51
Jesus died, he was three days in the [tomb],
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耶穌死後，有三天在墓穴中
08:53
and then he rose up and lived again.
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然後他就復活了
08:56
And the idea that we can all be
resurrected to live again
resurrected to live again
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能夠復活的這個概念
08:59
is orthodox believe, not just for Christians
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是很傳統的教義，不單是基督教
09:02
but also Jews and Muslims.
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也是猶太教和回教的
09:04
But our desire to believe this story
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我們相信這個故事的渴望
09:07
is so deeply embedded
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如此深植在我們的內心
09:09
that we are reinventing it again
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以致於在科學時代
09:11
for the scientific age,
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我們再次創造它
09:12
for example, with the idea of cryonics.
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例如人體冷凍
09:15
That's the idea that when you die,
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當你死亡時
09:17
you can have yourself frozen,
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你可以把自己冷凍起來
09:19
and then, at some point when technology
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等到某天
09:21
has advanced enough,
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科技足夠先進
09:22
you can be thawed out and repaired and revived
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你可以讓自己解凍、修復、甦醒
09:24
and so resurrected.
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然後復活
09:26
And so some people believe an omnipotent god
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有些人相信有一位全能的神
09:29
will resurrect them to live again,
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將會使他們再次活過來
09:30
and other people believe an
omnipotent scientist will do it.
omnipotent scientist will do it.
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而有些人則是相信
全能的科學能讓他們復活
全能的科學能讓他們復活
09:35
But for others, the whole idea of resurrection,
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但對某些人來說，復活這件事
09:37
of climbing out of the grave,
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從墳墓中爬出來
09:39
it's just too much like a bad zombie movie.
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太像是可怕的僵屍電影
09:42
They find the body too messy, too unreliable
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他們覺得身軀太髒亂且不可靠
09:45
to guarantee eternal life,
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無法承受永恆的生命
09:47
and so they set their hopes on the third,
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所以他們有第三種類型的故事
09:50
more spiritual immortality story,
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更加靈性不死的故事
09:52
the idea that we can leave our body behind
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就是我們會離開我們的身體
09:54
and live on as a soul.
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而靈魂會永遠常存
09:57
Now, the majority of people on Earth
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地球上絕大部分的人
09:59
believe they have a soul,
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都相信人有靈魂
10:01
and the idea is central to many religions.
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這個概念是許多宗教的核心
10:03
But even though, in its current form,
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但不管是現在的型態
10:05
in its traditional form,
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或是傳統的型態
10:07
the idea of the soul is still hugely popular,
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靈魂的概念仍然非常受歡迎
10:09
nonetheless we are again
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我們在當今數位時代
10:11
reinventing it for the digital age,
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依舊再次創造它
10:13
for example with the idea
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例如
10:14
that you can leave your body behind
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你可以離開你的身體
10:16
by uploading your mind, your essence,
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透過將你的心智、本質、真正的你
10:19
the real you, onto a computer,
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上傳到電腦中
10:21
and so live on as an avatar in the ether.
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以化身存活在太空裡
10:25
But of course there are skeptics who say
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當然，有人會懷疑說
10:27
if we look at the evidence of science,
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如果我們檢視科學的證據
10:29
particularly neuroscience,
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特別是神經學
10:31
it suggests that your mind,
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提及你的心智
10:33
your essence, the real you,
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你的本質，真正的你
10:34
is very much dependent on a particular part
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是非常仰賴你身體的某個部分
10:37
of your body, that is, your brain.
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那就是你的腦
10:39
And such skeptics can find comfort
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這樣的懷疑者
10:41
in the fourth kind of immortality story,
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能從第四種類的的永生故事中
得到安慰
得到安慰
10:44
and that is legacy,
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那就是遺留下的事物
10:46
the idea that you can live on
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你可以常存在世
10:47
through the echo you leave in the world,
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透過你留在世界上的事物
10:50
like the great Greek warrior Achilles,
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像是希臘戰士阿基里斯
10:52
who sacrificed his life fighting at Troy
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他犧牲生命對抗特洛依
10:55
so that he might win immortal fame.
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使他贏得永遠的名聲
10:58
And the pursuit of fame is as widespread
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追求這樣的名聲
11:00
and popular now as it ever was,
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從古至今都一樣流行普遍
11:02
and in our digital age,
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在當今的數位時代
11:04
it's even easier to achieve.
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這是更容易辦到的
11:05
You don't need to be a great warrior like Achilles
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你不需要像阿基里斯一樣是個戰士
11:08
or a great king or hero.
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或是一位國王，或英雄
11:09
All you need is an Internet connection
and a funny cat. (Laughter)
and a funny cat. (Laughter)
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你只需要一條網路線和一隻有趣的貓
（笑聲）
（笑聲）
11:14
But some people prefer to leave a more tangible,
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但有些人還是會想要留下
11:17
biological legacy -- children, for example.
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更有形、有生命的事物，像是小孩
11:19
Or they like, they hope, to live on
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或是他們想要、希望可以
11:22
as part of some greater whole,
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成為全體的一部分活下去
11:23
a nation or a family or a tribe,
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國家、家庭或聚落
11:26
their gene pool.
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它們的基因庫
11:28
But again, there are skeptics
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但還是有人會懷疑
11:30
who doubt whether legacy
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這樣遺留下的事物
11:31
really is immortality.
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是否真的能永流傳
11:33
Woody Allen, for example, who said,
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2077
像是伍迪艾倫說過
（譯註：美國導演、演員、劇作家）：
（譯註：美國導演、演員、劇作家）：
11:36
"I don't want to live on in
the hearts of my countrymen.
the hearts of my countrymen.
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「我不想活在我同胞的心裡
11:38
I want to live on in my apartment."
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我想活在我的公寓裡。」
11:40
So those are the four
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這些是四種基本的
11:42
basic kinds of immortality stories,
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永生故事
11:44
and I've tried to give just some sense
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我試著說明這些故事
11:46
of how they're retold by each generation
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如何一代一代的流傳著
11:48
with just slight variations
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而僅有些許的變化
11:50
to fit the fashions of the day.
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以迎合各時代的思潮
11:52
And the fact that they recur in this way,
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這些故事不停地重覆傳頌
11:56
in such a similar form but
in such different belief systems,
in such different belief systems,
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在不同的信仰中有著如此相似的形式
11:58
suggests, I think,
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我覺得
12:00
that we should be skeptical of the truth
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我們應該要對這些故事
12:02
of any particular version of these stories.
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有所質疑
12:06
The fact that some people believe
289
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有些人相信
12:08
an omnipotent god will resurrect them to live again
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一位全能的神會使他們復活
12:11
and others believe an omnipotent scientist will do it
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3701
而其他人相信萬能的科學會使他們復活
12:15
suggests that neither are really believing this
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這些都說明人們不是因著證據
12:18
on the strength of the evidence.
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相信這些故事
12:20
Rather, we believe these stories
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我們相信這些故事
12:23
because we are biased to believe them,
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只因為我們的偏誤而相信故事
12:25
and we are biased to believe them
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我們會偏誤而相信故事
12:27
because we are so afraid of death.
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是因為我們對死亡的恐懼
12:31
So the question is,
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問題是
12:33
are we doomed to lead the one life we have
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我們是否讓我們的人生注定
12:36
in a way that is shaped by fear and denial,
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被恐懼和抗拒支配
12:40
or can we overcome this bias?
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還是我們可以克服這個偏誤？
12:43
Well the Greek philosopher Epicurus
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希臘哲學家伊比鳩魯
12:46
thought we could.
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認為我們可以
12:47
He argued that the fear of death is natural,
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他主張對死亡的恐懼是天生的
12:51
but it is not rational.
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但並非理性的
12:53
"Death," he said, "is nothing to us,
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他說：「死亡對我們來說不算什麼，
12:56
because when we are here, death is not,
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2850
因為當我們在這裡，死亡就不在；
12:59
and when death is here, we are gone."
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而當死亡在這裡，我們就不在了。」
13:03
Now this is often quoted, but it's difficult
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這句話常被引用
13:04
to really grasp, to really internalize,
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2322
但很難領會、真正內化它
13:07
because exactly this idea of being gone
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因為所謂的「不在這裡」
13:09
is so difficult to imagine.
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2139
是很難想像的
13:11
So 2,000 years later, another philosopher,
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2231
所以兩千年之後，另一個哲學家
13:13
Ludwig Wittgenstein, put it like this:
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路德維希．維根斯坦這樣說：
13:17
"Death is not an event in life:
315
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2944
「死亡不是生命中的一件事，
13:20
We do not live to experience death.
316
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3642
我們並非活著來體驗死亡。
13:23
And so," he added,
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1194
所以，
13:25
"in this sense, life has no end."
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從這個觀點來看，生命是沒有終點的。」
13:27
So it was natural for me as a child
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當我還小的時候
13:31
to fear being swallowed by the void,
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很自然地對於被虛無吞沒產生恐懼
13:33
but it wasn't rational,
321
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1879
但這並非理性的
13:35
because being swallowed by the void
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1985
因為被虛無吞沒
13:37
is not something that any of us
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並不是一件任何人
13:39
will ever live to experience.
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會活著經歷的事情
13:42
Now, overcoming this bias is not easy because
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克服偏誤不是一件容易的事
13:45
the fear of death is so deeply embedded in us,
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因為對死亡的恐懼深植在我們之中
13:48
yet when we see that the fear itself is not rational,
327
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4482
但當我們了解這恐懼是不理性的
13:52
and when we bring out into the open
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2130
當我們可以在檯面上提出來
13:54
the ways in which it can unconsciously bias us,
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這恐懼會無意識地讓我們偏誤
13:57
then we can at least start
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那至少我們可以開始
13:59
to try to minimize the influence it has
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嘗試去減小它在我們生命中的
14:02
on our lives.
332
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影響
14:03
Now, I find it helps to see life
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我發覺把生命
14:06
as being like a book:
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1844
當作是一本書會有幫助：
14:08
Just as a book is bounded by its covers,
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2468
就像書受限於有開頭和結尾
14:11
by beginning and end,
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1277
被書皮包覆著
14:12
so our lives are bounded by birth and death,
337
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就像我們的生命被出生和死亡包覆著
14:16
and even though a book is
limited by beginning and end,
limited by beginning and end,
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3515
即使書本受限於要有開頭和結尾
14:19
it can encompass distant landscapes,
339
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2136
但它可以包含遠處的風光
14:21
exotic figures, fantastic adventures.
340
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3230
異國風情的人物與奇幻的冒險
14:24
And even though a book is
limited by beginning and end,
limited by beginning and end,
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3349
即使書本必須有開頭和結尾
14:28
the characters within it
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其中的人物
14:30
know no horizons.
343
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2842
不知道有邊界
14:32
They only know the moments
that make up their story,
that make up their story,
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只知道當下要活出他們的故事
14:36
even when the book is closed.
345
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2940
即使書本被闔起來之後也一樣
14:39
And so the characters of a book
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2136
所以書本中的人物
14:41
are not afraid of reaching the last page.
347
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3482
不會害怕走到最後一頁
14:44
Long John Silver is not afraid of you
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2278
史約翰不會害怕
14:46
finishing your copy of "Treasure Island."
349
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2835
你讀完《金銀島》
14:49
And so it should be with us.
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所以我們也當如此
14:51
Imagine the book of your life,
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2144
想像一本關於你生命的書
14:53
its covers, its beginning and end,
and your birth and your death.
and your birth and your death.
352
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2784
它的封面、開頭和結尾
以及你的出生和死亡
以及你的出生和死亡
14:56
You can only know the moments in between,
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2177
而你只知道這之間
14:58
the moments that make up your life.
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1935
能活出你生命的時刻
15:00
It makes no sense for you to fear
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1947
這不該讓你
15:02
what is outside of those covers,
356
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2090
對書皮之外的事恐懼
15:04
whether before your birth
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1470
不管是你出生之前
15:06
or after your death.
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1976
或是死亡之後
15:07
And you needn't worry how long the book is,
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2529
你不必擔心書本有多厚
15:10
or whether it's a comic strip or an epic.
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3473
它是連環漫畫或是長篇史詩
15:13
The only thing that matters
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唯一重要的事情是
15:15
is that you make it a good story.
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3498
你有一個好的故事
15:19
Thank you.
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謝謝
15:21
(Applause)
364
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（掌聲）
ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Stephen Cave - PhilosopherPhilosopher Stephen Cave wants to know: Why is humanity so obsessed with living forever?
Why you should listen
Stephen Cave is a writer and philosopher who is obsessed with our obsession with immortality. In 2012 he published Immortality: The Quest to Live Forever and How It Drives Civilization, an inquiry into humanity's rather irrational resistance to the inevitability of death. Cave moves across time and history's major civilizations and religions to explore just what drives this instinct -- and what that means for the future. Cave writes for The Financial Times and contributes to The New York Times, The Guardian and Wired.
Stephen Cave | Speaker | TED.com