TEDSalon NY2014
Ruth Chang: How to make hard choices
张美露: 如何作出艰难抉择
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此番演讲或许真的能改变你的人生。我该追寻何种职业？我该与情人分手——还是结婚？我该住哪？如此一类的大型抉择十分困难，让我们极度痛苦。但哲学家张美露说：“这是因为我们看待艰难抉择的方式出错了。”她提供了一种全新的思维框架以帮助我们重塑真我。
Ruth Chang - Philosopher
Ruth Chang asks why some choices are so hard — and what that means for the human condition. Full bio
Ruth Chang asks why some choices are so hard — and what that means for the human condition. Full bio
Double-click the English transcript below to play the video.
设想在不久的未来，你将面对一个艰难的决定。
00:12
Think of a hard choice you'll face in the near future.
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00:16
It might be between two careers --
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这也许是在两份职业中做出一个选择，
00:18
artist and accountant --
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艺术家还是会计师；
00:20
or places to live -- the city or the country --
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也许是选择居住的地方，城市还是乡村；
00:23
or even between two people to marry --
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也许是在两个人中
00:25
you could marry Betty or you could marry Lolita.
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选择和谁结婚，Betty 或者是Lolita；
00:28
Or it might be a choice about
whether to have children,
whether to have children,
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抑或思考是否要孩子；
00:31
to have an ailing parent move in with you,
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是否让年老体衰的父母跟你一起住；
00:33
to raise your child in a religion
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是否让你的孩子信奉
你配偶信仰的宗教，
00:36
that your partner lives by
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即便你会因自身不信奉而被冷落；
00:37
but leaves you cold.
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00:39
Or whether to donate your life savings to charity.
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又或者说，是否将毕生积储捐赠给慈善机构。
00:42
Chances are, the hard choice you thought of
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有可能，你所思考的这些艰难抉择
00:44
was something big, something momentous,
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都十分庞大，十分重要
你也十分重视。
00:46
something that matters to you.
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00:48
Hard choices seem to be occasions
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每当困难的选择出现，
00:51
for agonizing, hand-wringing,
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他都会让你感到痛苦、绝望，
00:53
the gnashing of teeth.
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让你咬牙切齿。
00:55
But I think we've misunderstood hard choices
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但我认为我们误解了艰难抉择的定义，
00:58
and the role they play in our lives.
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更误解了其在我们生活中扮演的角色。
01:00
Understanding hard choices
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倘若能理解这些艰难决定，
01:02
uncovers a hidden power
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我们每个人便会发掘出
01:04
each of us possesses.
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一种隐藏的潜力。
01:06
What makes a choice hard is the way
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一个抉择之所以难
01:08
the alternatives relate.
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是由于选项之间相互关联。
01:10
In any easy choice,
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任何简单的抉择中，
01:12
one alternative is better than the other.
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总有一种选择比另一种要好。
01:15
In a hard choice,
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可在艰难抉择中，
01:16
one alternative is better in some ways,
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一种选择在某些方面较好，
01:18
the other alternative is better in other ways,
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另一种选择在其他方面较好，
01:21
and neither is better than the other overall.
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二者各有千秋让人无法定夺。
01:24
You agonize over whether to stay
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你痛苦地纠结于
01:27
in your current job in the city
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应该继续呆在这座城市里干这份工作，
01:28
or uproot your life for
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还是改变一下你的生活方式
01:31
more challenging work in the country
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到乡村去接受更具挑战性的工作，
01:33
because staying is better in some ways,
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因为留下有留下的好处，
01:35
moving is better in others,
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离开也有好处，
01:37
and neither is better than the other overall.
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两种选择各有千秋难以定夺。
01:41
We shouldn't think that all hard choices are big.
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我们不应该认为所有的艰难抉择都很庞大。
01:45
Let's say you're deciding what to have for breakfast.
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打个比方，你正决定吃什么早餐。
01:47
You could have high fiber bran cereal
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你可以吃高纤维全谷干麦片，
或者吃巧克力甜甜圈。
01:50
or a chocolate donut.
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01:52
Suppose what matters in the choice
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假设在此抉择中的决定性因素
01:53
is tastiness and healthfulness.
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是美味程度和健康程度。
01:56
The cereal is better for you,
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麦片对你身体好，
01:58
the donut tastes way better,
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甜甜圈却好吃很多，
02:00
but neither is better than the other overall,
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但两者都有自身优势，
02:03
a hard choice.
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这就是一个艰难抉择。
02:05
Realizing that small choices
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如果意识到小的选择
02:07
can also be hard
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也可能会变得困难，
02:09
may make big hard choices seem less intractable.
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那面对大的艰难抉择时我们可能就不会觉得那么棘手了。
02:13
After all, we manage to figure
out what to have for breakfast,
out what to have for breakfast,
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毕竟，我们总能决定早餐吃什么，
02:16
so maybe we can figure out
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所以我们也许能够想明白，
02:17
whether to stay in the city
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究竟要留在市区，
02:19
or uproot for the new job in the country.
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还是到乡下接手新的工作。
02:23
We also shouldn't think that hard choices are hard
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同时，我们也不应该觉得，选择之所以难
02:28
because we are stupid.
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是因为自己很愚蠢。
在我刚大学毕业的时候，
02:30
When I graduated from college,
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我无法从两种职业中抉择，
02:32
I couldn't decide between two careers,
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02:34
philosophy and law.
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哲学还是法律。
02:36
I really loved philosophy.
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我真心喜欢哲学，
02:39
There are amazing things you can learn
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若能成为哲学家，
02:41
as a philosopher,
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便能学到很多惊奇的东西，
02:42
and all from the comfort of an armchair.
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而且舒舒服服地坐在椅子上就好。
02:45
But I came from a modest immigrant family
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可我出生自一个朴实简素的移民家庭，
02:49
where my idea of luxury
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我对奢侈的概念，
02:50
was having a pork tongue and jelly sandwich
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就是能在上学的午餐盒里
02:53
in my school lunchbox,
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找到一块猪舌和一份果冻三明治。
02:55
so the thought of spending my whole life
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所以这种一辈子
02:57
sitting around in armchairs just thinking,
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仅坐在椅子上思考的想法，
03:00
well, that struck me as the height
of extravagance and frivolity.
of extravagance and frivolity.
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其实，对我来说只是一种奢侈和轻浮的假象罢了。
03:05
So I got out my yellow pad,
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所以我拿出自己黄色笔记本，
03:07
I drew a line down the middle,
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在中间划了一条线，
03:09
and I tried my best to think of the reasons
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然后竭尽所能地写出
03:11
for and against each alternative.
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每种选择的利与弊。
03:15
I remember thinking to myself,
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当时我就想：
03:17
if only I knew what my life
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如果能知道选择某种职业后
03:20
in each career would be like.
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我的人生会变成怎样就好了。
03:22
If only God or Netflix would send me a DVD
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如果上帝或者网飞公司能送我一张DVD
03:26
of my two possible future careers, I'd be set.
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来向我描述这两种充满可能性的职业生涯，那我就能做出选择了。
03:29
I'd compare them side by side,
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我就能一一对比，
03:31
I'd see that one was better,
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看看哪种更好，
03:33
and the choice would be easy.
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这样一来抉择就简单多了。
03:35
But I got no DVD,
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但我没有收到这种DVD，
03:37
and because I couldn't figure out which was better,
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而且由于我实在想不出哪一种更优，
03:40
I did what many of us do in hard choices:
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我就和大多数人一样：
03:43
I took the safest option.
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选择了最安全的一项。
03:46
Fear of being an unemployed philosopher
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成为失业哲学家的恐惧，
03:49
led me to become a lawyer,
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驱使我成了一名律师。
03:51
and as I discovered,
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可后来我发现，
03:53
lawyering didn't quite fit.
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当律师不大适合我，
03:55
It wasn't who I was.
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这不是真正的我。
03:57
So now I'm a philosopher,
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所以我现在是名哲学家，
03:59
and I study hard choices,
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我钻研艰难抉择，
04:01
and I can tell you that fear of the unknown,
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我可以告诉大家，对未知产生恐惧
04:04
while a common motivational default
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是在进行困难抉择时的自然反应，
04:07
in dealing with hard choices,
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而这种恐惧
04:10
rests on a misconception of them.
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来源于对艰难抉择的误解。
04:12
It's a mistake to think that in hard choices,
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我们不应该认为，在艰难抉择中
04:15
one alternative really is better than the other,
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某种选择总会会比另一种好，
04:18
but we're too stupid to know which,
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可我们自身太愚蠢，所以无法辨别，
04:20
and since we don't know which, we might as well
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那既然我们无法定夺，
04:21
take the least risky option.
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倒不如选风险最小的那项。
04:24
Even taking two alternatives side by side
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就算你完全了解了两种选项
04:27
with full information, a choice can still be hard.
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并将其一一对照，你仍然很难决定。
04:32
Hard choices are hard
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选择之所以难，
04:34
not because of us or our ignorance;
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不是因为我们无知；
04:36
they're hard because there is no best option.
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难的原因在于没有最优选项。
04:40
Now, if there's no best option,
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那么，如果没有最佳项，
04:42
if the scales don't tip in favor of one alternative
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如果衡量的天秤不会倾向于
04:46
over another,
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任何一方，
04:48
then surely the alternatives must be equally good.
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那么任何选项都一定是好的。
04:51
So maybe the right thing to say in hard choices
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所以面对艰难抉择，可能正确的思维方式，
04:53
is that they're between equally good options.
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就是认为选项双方一样好。
04:56
But that can't be right.
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这种想法肯定不对。
04:58
If alternatives are equally good,
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如果选项都一样好，
04:59
you should just flip a coin between them,
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那还不如直接抛硬币算了，
05:02
and it seems a mistake to think,
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这样就会产生思想误区，
05:03
here's how you should decide between careers,
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让你认为自己选择事业、
05:06
places to live, people to marry: Flip a coin.
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住处、婚嫁时都抛硬币选择就好了。
05:10
There's another reason for thinking
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还有另外一个原因，
05:12
that hard choices aren't choices
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使艰难选择
05:14
between equally good options.
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并非是在同等好的选项中抉择。
05:18
Suppose you have a choice between two jobs:
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假设你要在两份工作中挑选：
05:21
you could be an investment banker
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你可以做投资银行家，
05:24
or a graphic artist.
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或做平面设计师。
05:27
There are a variety of things
that matter in such a choice,
that matter in such a choice,
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在这个选择当中有颇多决定性因素，
05:30
like the excitement of the work,
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譬如工作带来的兴奋程度、
05:32
achieving financial security,
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能获得的经济保障、
05:34
having time to raise a family, and so on.
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顾家时间等等。
05:36
Maybe the artist's career puts you
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也许艺术家这个职业
05:39
on the cutting edge of new forms
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能让你接触最前沿的
05:42
of pictorial expression.
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图像表达技术。
05:43
Maybe the banking career
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或许当银行家
05:45
puts you on the cutting edge
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你就能接触最前端的
05:47
of new forms of financial manipulation.
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金融操纵手段。
05:51
Imagine the two jobs however you like
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你可以想象任何两种你喜欢的职业，
05:54
so that neither is better than the other.
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但两者都不会比另一方好的。
05:57
Now suppose we improve one of them a bit.
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现在，假设我们能稍微改进其中的一方。
06:00
Suppose the bank, wooing you,
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假设一间银行尝试讨好你，
06:03
adds 500 dollars a month to your salary.
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在你的月薪里增加500美元。
06:06
Does the extra money now make the banking job
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这一笔额外的金钱会不会让这份银行家的工作
06:10
better than the artist one?
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优于当艺术家呢？
06:12
Not necessarily.
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说不准。
06:15
A higher salary makes the banking job
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更高的薪酬让银行家的工作
06:17
better than it was before,
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优于以前，
06:19
but it might not be enough to make
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但额外薪水不一定足够让
06:21
being a banker better than being an artist.
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成为银行家变得比成为艺术家好。
06:25
But if an improvement in one of the jobs
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可如果对其中一种职业进行改进后
06:27
doesn't make it better than the other,
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结果并没有让一方优于另一方，
06:29
then the two original jobs
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那么两种选择本身
06:30
could not have been equally good.
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就不可能是一样好。
06:33
If you start with two things that are equally good,
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如果两件事一开始都同等的好 ，
06:35
and you improve one of them,
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当你改进了其中一件，
06:37
it now must be better than the other.
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那它就一定会优于另一个。
06:40
That's not the case with options in hard choices.
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在艰难抉择中并非如此。
06:45
So now we've got a puzzle.
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那么现在我们就有一个疑惑了。
06:47
We've got two jobs.
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这两份工作，
06:49
Neither is better than the other,
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没有一方能完胜另一方，
06:51
nor are they equally good.
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但又不是同等的好。
06:53
So how are we supposed to choose?
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究竟该怎么选择呢？
06:55
Something seems to have gone wrong here.
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貌似有些事情出错了。
07:00
Maybe the choice itself is problematic
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可能选项的本身就存在问题，
07:02
and comparison is impossible.
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导致我们无法比较。
07:06
But that can't be right.
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但这也不对啊。
07:07
It's not like we're trying to choose between
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我们并不是要在
07:09
two things that can't be compared.
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两种不能被对比的事物间选择。
07:11
We're weighing the merits of two jobs, after all,
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我们说到底是在衡量两份工作的利弊，
07:15
not the merits of the number nine
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不是对比数字9和
07:16
and a plate of fried eggs.
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一盘煎鸡蛋的好处。
07:19
A comparison of the overall merits of two jobs
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对比两份工作的总体优势
07:23
is something we can make,
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是我们能做到的，
07:25
and one we often do make.
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也是我们经常做的事。
07:29
I think the puzzle arises
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我认为疑惑产生的原因
07:31
because of an unreflective assumption
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源于一种我们对价值的
07:33
we make about value.
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草率设想。
07:36
We unwittingly assume that values
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我们不知不觉地认为，
07:39
like justice, beauty, kindness,
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诸如正义、美丽、善良的价值观
07:41
are akin to scientific quantities,
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都与一些科学度量类似，都能被量度，
07:44
like length, mass and weight.
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譬如长度、质量、重量。
07:49
Take any comparative question not involving value,
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试想一个与价值观毫不相关的比较，
07:52
such as which of two suitcases is heavier.
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例如两个行李箱中哪个更重。
07:55
There are only three possibilities.
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仅有三种可能性。
07:58
The weight of one is greater, lesser
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其中一个的重量大于、小于
08:01
or equal to the weight of the other.
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或等于另一个。
08:04
Properties like weight can be represented
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像重量这样的性质能够
08:06
by real numbers -- one, two, three and so on --
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用真实的数字来表达——1,2,3……
08:09
and there are only three possible comparisons
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而且在两个数字间的比较中
08:12
between any two real numbers.
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只有三种可能。
08:15
One number is greater, lesser,
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一个数字大于、小于
08:17
or equal to the other.
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或等于另一个数字。
08:20
Not so with values.
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价值观却不是如此。
08:23
As post-Enlightenment creatures,
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作为后启蒙时期的生物，
08:25
we tend to assume
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我们总是设想
08:27
that scientific thinking holds the key
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科学思维可以解决
08:29
to everything of importance in our world,
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世界上一切重要的问题，
08:33
but the world of value
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但价值观的世界
08:34
is different from the world of science.
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不同于科学的世界。
08:36
The stuff of the one world
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科学界中，
08:38
can be quantified by real numbers.
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一切事物可被数字度量。
08:40
The stuff of the other world can't.
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可价值观的世界中却不能。
08:43
We shouldn't assume
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我们不能认为
08:45
that the world of is, of lengths and weights,
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充斥着“是否”、“长度”和“重量”的数字世界
08:47
has the same structure as the world of ought,
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与“该不该”和“该做什么”的价值世界
有着同样的架构。
08:50
of what we should do.
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08:52
So if what matters to us --
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所以，如果我们觉得重要的东西，
08:55
a child's delight, the love
you have for your partner —
you have for your partner —
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如：孩子的幸福、对另一半的爱，
08:58
can't be represented by real numbers,
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不能用数字来表示，
09:01
then there's no reason to believe
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那么我们就没有理由相信，
09:03
that in choice, there are only three possibilities --
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在抉择过程中只有三种可能性：
09:06
that one alternative is better, worse or equal
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其中一选项总会优于、劣于或等于
09:10
to the other.
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另一项。
09:12
We need to introduce a new, fourth relation
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我们需要一种全新的思考维度，第四种关系
09:16
beyond being better, worse or equal,
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除了优于、劣于和等于之外，
09:20
that describes what's going on in hard choices.
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第四种关系能描述艰难抉择的运行模式。
09:23
I like to say that the alternatives are
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我偏好把各选项看做
09:25
"on a par."
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“等价”。
09:27
When alternatives are on a par,
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当所有选项等价时，
09:28
it may matter very much which you choose,
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你的选择就变得极为重要，
09:32
but one alternative isn't better than the other.
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但选项本身却没有哪个比其他的好。
09:35
Rather, the alternatives are in
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反之，所有的选择项
09:37
the same neighborhood of value,
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都有类似的价值，
09:39
in the same league of value,
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都处于同一种价值范畴当中，
09:41
while at the same time being very different
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但同时他们又具有
09:44
in kind of value.
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不同的价值。
09:46
That's why the choice is hard.
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这正是让选择变得困难的原因。
09:49
Understanding hard choices in this way
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如此理解艰难抉择，
09:52
uncovers something about ourselves we didn't know.
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我们就会在自己身上发现一些意料之外的东西。
09:56
Each of us has the power
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我们每个人都有能力
09:58
to create reasons.
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去创造理由。
10:01
Imagine a world in which every choice you face
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想象一下若在某个世界中
10:05
is an easy choice,
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你只需面对简单抉择，
10:06
that is, there's always a best alternative.
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那么，永远都有最佳项。
10:09
If there's a best alternative,
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若有最佳项，
10:10
then that's the one you should choose,
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你就应该选它，
10:12
because part of being rational
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因为保持理智
10:14
is doing the better thing rather than the worse thing,
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2590
就意味着选好的不选坏的，
10:17
choosing what you have most reason to choose.
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选最合理的。
10:20
In such a world,
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在这样的世界里，
10:22
we'd have most reason
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我们有充足的理由
10:24
to wear black socks instead of pink socks,
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去穿黑袜子而不穿粉色袜子，
10:27
to eat cereal instead of donuts,
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去吃干麦片不吃甜甜圈，
10:29
to live in the city rather than the country,
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去留在城市里不转向乡区，
10:30
to marry Betty instead of Lolita.
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去娶Betty而不娶Lolita。
10:32
A world full of only easy choices
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充满简单抉择的世界，
10:35
would enslave us to reasons.
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会让我们成为“原由”的奴隶。
10:39
When you think about it,
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当你这样想，
10:42
it's nuts to believe
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你会发现自己一定是疯了才会相信
10:45
that the reasons given to you
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摆在你面前的选择
10:48
dictated that you had most reason to pursue
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会决定你追寻各种事物的理由，
10:53
the exact hobbies you do,
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会决定你的爱好，
10:55
to live in the exact house you do,
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让你住现在的房子，
10:58
to work at the exact job you do.
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让你选现在的工作。
11:01
Instead, you faced alternatives
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事实上，当你面对的是多个选择，
11:03
that were on a par — hard choices —
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多个等价的选择，困难的选择，
11:07
and you made reasons for yourself
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你会为自己制造理由
11:10
to choose that hobby, that house and that job.
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来选择这项爱好、这所房子和这份工作。
11:14
When alternatives are on a par,
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2541
当各选项等价时，
11:17
the reasons given to us, the ones
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我们面前的各种理性原由，
11:19
that determine whether we're making a mistake,
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这些让我们分清对错的原由，
11:21
are silent as to what to do.
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都无法给予我们一个答案。
11:24
It's here, in the space of hard choices,
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唯有在这个有艰难抉择的世界里，
11:28
that we get to exercise
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我们才能锻炼自己的
11:30
our normative power,
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规范性力量，
11:33
the power to create reasons for yourself,
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以创造自我的原由，
11:35
to make yourself
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让自己变成
11:37
into the kind of person
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心中想成为的人，
11:40
for whom country living
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一种更喜爱乡村生活
11:42
is preferable to the urban life.
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而不是城市生活的人。
11:45
When we choose between
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当我们需要
11:46
options that are on a par,
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在等价选项间抉择时，
11:48
we can do something really rather remarkable.
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我们能做出一些十分了不起的事。
11:52
We can put our very selves behind an option.
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我们能把自身放在一个选项之后。
11:56
Here's where I stand.
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（说道）这就是我的选择，
11:58
Here's who I am. I am for banking.
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这就是我。我选银行业。
12:02
I am for chocolate donuts.
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我选巧克力甜甜圈。
12:05
This response in hard choices
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2543
在艰难抉择中，这种反应
12:08
is a rational response,
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是一种理性反应，
12:10
but it's not dictated by reasons given to us.
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但却不是由我们面前的各种原由所决定的。
12:13
Rather, it's supported by reasons created by us.
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6448
反而，这是由我们自己创造的理由所支撑起来的。
12:19
When we create reasons for ourselves
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2405
当我们为自我创造原由
12:22
to become this kind of person rather than that,
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3314
去成为这种人而非那种人时，
12:25
we wholeheartedly become the people that we are.
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我们就打心底里完完全全地成就了真正的自己。
12:29
You might say that we become the authors
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你可以说，
12:31
of our own lives.
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我们成了谱写自我人生篇章的作者。
12:34
So when we face hard choices,
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所以当面对艰难抉择，
12:37
we shouldn't beat our head against a wall
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不应该拿脑袋撞墙
12:39
trying to figure out which alternative is better.
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2497
绞尽脑汁地去想哪个选项更优。
12:42
There is no best alternative.
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最佳项并不存在。
12:44
Instead of looking for reasons out there,
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2519
与其在外界苦命寻找理由，
12:47
we should be looking for reasons in here:
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我们该往心里找：
12:49
Who am I to be?
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我想成为什么样的人？
12:52
You might decide to be a pink sock-wearing,
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3156
你可能会决定成为一个穿粉色袜子、
12:55
cereal-loving, country-living banker,
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3688
爱好干麦片，还住在乡村的银行家。
12:59
and I might decide to be a black sock-wearing,
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3576
而我可能会决定成为一个穿黑袜子，
13:02
urban, donut-loving artist.
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3457
住在城市里，喜欢吃甜甜圈的艺术家。
13:06
What we do in hard choices is very much
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2807
面临艰难抉择时的反应很大程度上
13:09
up to each of us.
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取决于我们自己每个人。
13:13
Now, people who don't exercise their
normative powers in hard choices
normative powers in hard choices
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那些不锻炼自己规范性力量的人
13:17
are drifters.
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会成为“漂流者”。
13:19
We all know people like that.
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我们都认识那样的人。
13:21
I drifted into being a lawyer.
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2150
我（被理性原由限定）“漂流”成了律师。
13:23
I didn't put my agency behind lawyering.
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我并没有全身心投入到律师业务当中。
13:25
I wasn't for lawyering.
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2680
我不适合当律师。
13:28
Drifters allow the world
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2931
漂流者允许这个世界
13:31
to write the story of their lives.
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2224
谱写他们的生命篇章（被拖着走）。
13:33
They let mechanisms of reward and punishment --
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3903
他们让奖罚机制——
13:37
pats on the head, fear, the easiness of an option —
307
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3840
鼓励、畏惧、选择的简单性——
13:41
to determine what they do.
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来决定自己的道路。
13:43
So the lesson of hard choices:
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所以艰难抉择教会我们
13:46
reflect on what you can put your agency behind,
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要审视自己能把身心与精力放到何处，
13:50
on what you can be for,
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自己究竟追求什么，
13:53
and through hard choices,
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并通过困难抉择
13:55
become that person.
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2777
来成为那种人。
13:58
Far from being sources of agony and dread,
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艰难抉择不是痛苦和恐惧的来源，
14:01
hard choices are precious opportunities
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3570
而是难得的机遇
14:05
for us to celebrate what is special
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让我们庆幸人类有如此
14:07
about the human condition,
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1833
特殊的选择权利，
14:09
that the reasons that govern our choices
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庆幸有时候区分选择
14:11
as correct or incorrect
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1983
正误的理性原由
14:13
sometimes run out,
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会用尽，
14:15
and it is here, in the space of hard choices,
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3223
而且，庆幸有在这个具有艰难抉择的世界里，
14:18
that we have the power
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1689
我们有能力
14:20
to create reasons for ourselves
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去为自己创造理由，
14:22
to become the distinctive people that we are.
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去成为与众不同的自己。
14:26
And that's why hard choices are not a curse
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这就是为什么，艰难抉择不是一种诅咒，
14:29
but a godsend.
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而是天赐之物。
14:30
Thank you.
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谢谢
14:33
(Applause)
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3295
（掌声）
ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Ruth Chang - PhilosopherRuth Chang asks why some choices are so hard — and what that means for the human condition.
Why you should listen
When Ruth Chang graduated from college, she was presented with a choice: Should she pursue a career in philosophy, or a career in law? Soon after finishing Harvard Law School and dipping her toe in the legal world, she regretted her decision and switched paths. She went off to Oxford University to study philosophy and has been a philosopher studying choice, freedom, value and action ever since.
Chang's research focuses on decision-making and the human condition: How do we exercise our freedom through the choices we make? She studies the relationship between reason and value, and how we navigate the sea of pros and cons as we make decisions that shape our lives.
Ruth Chang | Speaker | TED.com