TEDSalon NY2014
Ruth Chang: How to make hard choices
張美露: 如何作出艱難選擇
Filmed:
Readability: 3.1
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這篇演講或許能真正改變你的人生。我該追尋何種職業？我應該分手，還是結婚？我應該住在哪？這樣的重要決定如此難以抉擇，折磨人心。但哲學家張美露認為，這是因為我們的思考方式錯誤。她提供了一種有力的新模式來幫助塑造真正的自我。
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.
00:12
Think of a hard choice you'll face in the near future.
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想想你在不久的將來
要面臨的一個艱難抉擇。
要面臨的一個艱難抉擇。
00:16
It might be between two careers --
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可能是糾結於兩種職業：
00:18
artist and accountant --
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藝術家或會計；
00:20
or places to live -- the city or the country --
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或是住在哪：城市還是鄉村；
00:23
or even between two people to marry --
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甚至是兩個人中選擇一個結婚，
00:25
you could marry Betty or you could marry Lolita.
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你可以跟貝蒂或是洛麗塔結婚。
00:28
Or it might be a choice about
whether to have children,
whether to have children,
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抑或是決定是否要孩子，
00:31
to have an ailing parent move in with you,
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是否要年老體弱的父母搬過來住，
00:33
to raise your child in a religion
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是否讓你的孩子信奉你配偶的宗教，
00:36
that your partner lives by
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00:37
but leaves you cold.
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但其實你並不信奉。
00:39
Or whether to donate your life savings to charity.
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或者是否將畢生儲蓄捐於慈善機構。
00:42
Chances are, the hard choice you thought of
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這些艱難決定很可能是
00:44
was something big, something momentous,
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對你來說非常重大的，
00:46
something that matters to you.
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關乎一切的。
00:48
Hard choices seem to be occasions
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需要艱難抉擇的時刻
00:51
for agonizing, hand-wringing,
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通常非常痛苦，令人絕望，
00:53
the gnashing of teeth.
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糾結到咬牙切齒。
00:55
But I think we've misunderstood hard choices
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但我認為我們誤解了艱難決定，
00:58
and the role they play in our lives.
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誤解了它們在生活中的角色。
01:00
Understanding hard choices
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若能理解艱難決定，
01:02
uncovers a hidden power
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則我們每個人
01:04
each of us possesses.
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會釋放出一種潛力。
01:06
What makes a choice hard is the way
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這種決定之所以艱難，
01:08
the alternatives relate.
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是因為其他選擇的相關性。
01:10
In any easy choice,
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在簡單的決定中，
01:12
one alternative is better than the other.
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總是一種選擇比另一種好。
01:15
In a hard choice,
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而在艱難決定裡，
01:16
one alternative is better in some ways,
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一種選擇在某些方面是好的，
01:18
the other alternative is better in other ways,
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另一種選擇在另一些方面是好的，
01:21
and neither is better than the other overall.
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而且這兩種都不可能完勝對方。
01:24
You agonize over whether to stay
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你極其痛苦地徘徊於
繼續留在市區的這份工作，
01:27
in your current job in the city
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01:28
or uproot your life for
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還是去鄉村接受更有挑戰的工作，
01:31
more challenging work in the country
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從而徹底改變你的生活，
01:33
because staying is better in some ways,
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因為留下了有些好處，
01:35
moving is better in others,
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離開也有另一些好處，
01:37
and neither is better than the other overall.
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且兩個選擇都無法打敗對方。
01:41
We shouldn't think that all hard choices are big.
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我們不該認為所有的艱難決定都如此重要。
01:45
Let's say you're deciding what to have for breakfast.
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比方說，你正在決定早飯吃什麼。
01:47
You could have high fiber bran cereal
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你可以吃高纖穀物麥片
01:50
or a chocolate donut.
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或是巧克力甜甜圈。
01:52
Suppose what matters in the choice
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假設這個決定的重要因素
01:53
is tastiness and healthfulness.
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包括可口度和健康度。
01:56
The cereal is better for you,
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麥片對你身體好，
01:58
the donut tastes way better,
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甜甜圈則好吃多了，
02:00
but neither is better than the other overall,
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但沒有一種選擇是百分百更好。
02:03
a hard choice.
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這是個艱難決定。
02:05
Realizing that small choices
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如果意識到小的選擇
02:07
can also be hard
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也可能很難決定，
02:09
may make big hard choices seem less intractable.
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則會減小那些重大決定的不確定性。
02:13
After all, we manage to figure
out what to have for breakfast,
out what to have for breakfast,
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畢竟我們還是能決定早餐吃什麼的，
02:16
so maybe we can figure out
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所以或許我們會想明白
02:17
whether to stay in the city
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到底要留在市區
02:19
or uproot for the new job in the country.
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還是遷到鄉下新的工作。
02:23
We also shouldn't think that hard choices are hard
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我們也不應該覺得
艱難抉擇之所以難，是因為我們愚蠢。
02:28
because we are stupid.
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02:30
When I graduated from college,
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當我大學畢業時，
02:32
I couldn't decide between two careers,
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我無法在兩種事業中作出決定，
02:34
philosophy and law.
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哲學還是法律。
02:36
I really loved philosophy.
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我真的很愛哲學。
02:39
There are amazing things you can learn
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作為哲學家，你可以學到很多
02:41
as a philosopher,
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令人驚奇的東西，
02:42
and all from the comfort of an armchair.
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而且只需要坐在凳子上就好了。
02:45
But I came from a modest immigrant family
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但是我來自一個收入平平的移民家庭，
02:49
where my idea of luxury
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我對於奢侈的概念就是
02:50
was having a pork tongue and jelly sandwich
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能有一個豬舌三明治
02:53
in my school lunchbox,
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出現在我午餐盒裡。
02:55
so the thought of spending my whole life
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所以要一輩子
02:57
sitting around in armchairs just thinking,
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坐在冷板凳上思考的想法，
03:00
well, that struck me as the height
of extravagance and frivolity.
of extravagance and frivolity.
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其實，對我來說是極其奢侈和輕率的。
03:05
So I got out my yellow pad,
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所以我拿出我的筆記本，
03:07
I drew a line down the middle,
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在中間劃一條線，
03:09
and I tried my best to think of the reasons
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我竭盡全力想出
03:11
for and against each alternative.
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每個選擇的利與弊。
03:15
I remember thinking to myself,
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我當時想
03:17
if only I knew what my life
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要是我能知道選擇某種職業後
03:20
in each career would be like.
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我的生活會是怎樣，就好了。
03:22
If only God or Netflix would send me a DVD
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要是上帝或 Netflix 能送我一張 DVD
03:26
of my two possible future careers, I'd be set.
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講述兩種職業生活，我就能決定了。
03:29
I'd compare them side by side,
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我就能將兩者進行對比，
03:31
I'd see that one was better,
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就會看到一種比另一種好，
03:33
and the choice would be easy.
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那麼選擇就變簡單了。
03:35
But I got no DVD,
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但我不會有這種 DVD，
03:37
and because I couldn't figure out which was better,
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而且因為我想不通到底哪種更好，
03:40
I did what many of us do in hard choices:
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我就像大多數面對艱難抉擇的人一樣：
03:43
I took the safest option.
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我選擇了最安全的那個。
03:46
Fear of being an unemployed philosopher
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害怕成為哲學家找不到工作，
03:49
led me to become a lawyer,
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我就成了一名律師。
03:51
and as I discovered,
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後來逐漸發現，
03:53
lawyering didn't quite fit.
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當律師並不合適。
03:55
It wasn't who I was.
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這不是真正的我。
03:57
So now I'm a philosopher,
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所以現在我是個哲學家，
03:59
and I study hard choices,
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而且我研究艱難的決定。
04:01
and I can tell you that fear of the unknown,
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我可以告訴你，對未知的恐懼
04:04
while a common motivational default
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雖然是面對艱難抉擇時
04:07
in dealing with hard choices,
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會出現的自然反應，
04:10
rests on a misconception of them.
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卻也是種對艱難決定的誤解。
04:12
It's a mistake to think that in hard choices,
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在艱難決定中，認為一種選擇
04:15
one alternative really is better than the other,
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比另一種好，是錯誤的。
04:18
but we're too stupid to know which,
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但我們的智商不足以判斷哪個更好，
04:20
and since we don't know which, we might as well
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既然不知道哪個更好，
則最好選擇風險最小的那個。
04:21
take the least risky option.
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04:24
Even taking two alternatives side by side
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就算對於兩種選擇你有全面的資訊，
04:27
with full information, a choice can still be hard.
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對比著看，仍然難做決定。
04:32
Hard choices are hard
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這些選擇之所以難，
04:34
not because of us or our ignorance;
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並非因為我們無知，
04:36
they're hard because there is no best option.
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而因為根本沒有最好的選擇。
04:40
Now, if there's no best option,
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那麼，若沒有最好選擇，
04:42
if the scales don't tip in favor of one alternative
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如果天枰不會傾斜於
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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那麼任何替代選項都是一樣好的。
04:51
So maybe the right thing to say in hard choices
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所以應該說，在艱難的決定裡
04:53
is that they're between equally good options.
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所有選項都是一樣的好。
04:56
But that can't be right.
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這肯定不對。
04:58
If alternatives are equally good,
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如果選項都差不多好，
04:59
you should just flip a coin between them,
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你就該直接拋硬幣了，
05:02
and it seems a mistake to think,
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連思考都成了錯誤。
05:03
here's how you should decide between careers,
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你於是可以這樣決定事業、
05:06
places to live, people to marry: Flip a coin.
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住處、婚姻：拋硬幣。
05:10
There's another reason for thinking
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說艱難的決定
05:12
that hard choices aren't choices
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並非是在兩個同樣好的選項中選擇
05:14
between equally good options.
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還有另一個原因。
05:18
Suppose you have a choice between two jobs:
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設想你要在兩份工作中做選擇：
05:21
you could be an investment banker
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你可以是投資銀行家，
05:24
or a graphic artist.
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或平面藝術家。
05:27
There are a variety of things
that matter in such a choice,
that matter in such a choice,
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這一決定中有眾多重要因素，
05:30
like the excitement of the work,
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像工作的興奮度、
05:32
achieving financial security,
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帶來經濟保障、
05:34
having time to raise a family, and so on.
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有時間顧家等等。
05:36
Maybe the artist's career puts you
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也許當一名藝術家
05:39
on the cutting edge of new forms
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能讓你接觸最前沿的
05:42
of pictorial expression.
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圖像表達形式。
05:43
Maybe the banking career
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也許當銀行家
05:45
puts you on the cutting edge
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能讓你接觸最先進的
05:47
of new forms of financial manipulation.
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金融操縱形式。
05:51
Imagine the two jobs however you like
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無論怎麼想像這兩種職業
05:54
so that neither is better than the other.
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都無法判斷哪個最好。
05:57
Now suppose we improve one of them a bit.
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現在，我們試著改善一下其中一個。
06:00
Suppose the bank, wooing you,
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假設某家銀行向你示好，
06:03
adds 500 dollars a month to your salary.
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每月提薪500美元。
06:06
Does the extra money now make the banking job
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有了每月更多的錢，
銀行家的工作是否看起來比藝術家好了？
06:10
better than the artist one?
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06:12
Not necessarily.
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不一定。
06:15
A higher salary makes the banking job
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更高的薪水是讓銀行家的工作
06:17
better than it was before,
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變得比原來好了，
06:19
but it might not be enough to make
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但不足以讓成為銀行家
06:21
being a banker better than being an artist.
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變得比成為藝術家更好。
06:25
But if an improvement in one of the jobs
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但是如果對其中一個的改善
06:27
doesn't make it better than the other,
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並沒有讓它比另一個好，
06:29
then the two original jobs
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那麼兩個工作原本不可能是同樣好。
06:30
could not have been equally good.
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如果有兩件事一開始同樣好，
06:33
If you start with two things that are equally good,
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06:35
and you improve one of them,
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你改善了其中之一，
06:37
it now must be better than the other.
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則它必然變得比另一個好。
06:40
That's not the case with options in hard choices.
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但在艱難抉擇中並非如此。
06:45
So now we've got a puzzle.
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那麼我們就有個難題了。
06:47
We've got two jobs.
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這有兩份工作，
06:49
Neither is better than the other,
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沒有哪個是最好的，
06:51
nor are they equally good.
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也不是同樣好。
06:53
So how are we supposed to choose?
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那該怎樣選擇呢？
06:55
Something seems to have gone wrong here.
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這裡好像出現了些問題。
07:00
Maybe the choice itself is problematic
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可能是選擇自身的問題
07:02
and comparison is impossible.
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使我們無法比較。
07:06
But that can't be right.
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但肯定不是這樣。
07:07
It's not like we're trying to choose between
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因為我們並不是
07:09
two things that can't be compared.
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在兩個不可能比較的選項中選擇。
07:11
We're weighing the merits of two jobs, after all,
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畢竟我們是衡量兩個工作的利弊
07:15
not the merits of the number nine
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而不是比較數字 9 和
07:16
and a plate of fried eggs.
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一盤煎蛋的好處。
07:19
A comparison of the overall merits of two jobs
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對兩份工作所有優點的比較
07:23
is something we can make,
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是我們能做的，
07:25
and one we often do make.
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也是我們通常所做的。
07:29
I think the puzzle arises
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我認為問題根源於
07:31
because of an unreflective assumption
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一種對價值的
07:33
we make about value.
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草率的設想。
07:36
We unwittingly assume that values
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我們不知不覺地認為，
像正義、美麗和善良等價值
07:39
like justice, beauty, kindness,
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07:41
are akin to scientific quantities,
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類似於一些科學數量，
07:44
like length, mass and weight.
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如長度、品質和重量。
07:49
Take any comparative question not involving value,
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試想任何一個無關價值的比較，
07:52
such as which of two suitcases is heavier.
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如，兩個箱子誰重？
07:55
There are only three possibilities.
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只有三種可能。
07:58
The weight of one is greater, lesser
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其中一個重量大於、小於
08:01
or equal to the weight of the other.
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或等於另一個。
08:04
Properties like weight can be represented
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像重量之類的性質可由
08:06
by real numbers -- one, two, three and so on --
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數字表示：1, 2 ,3 ...
08:09
and there are only three possible comparisons
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而且在任何兩個數字間的比較
08:12
between any two real numbers.
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只有三種可能。
08:15
One number is greater, lesser,
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一個數字大於、小於或
08:17
or equal to the other.
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等於另一個。
08:20
Not so with values.
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但價值不是這樣。
08:23
As post-Enlightenment creatures,
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作為後啟蒙運動的生物，
08:25
we tend to assume
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我們容易去設想
08:27
that scientific thinking holds the key
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科學的思考可以解決
08:29
to everything of importance in our world,
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世間一切重要之事。
08:33
but the world of value
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但是價值的世界
08:34
is different from the world of science.
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不同於科學世界。
08:36
The stuff of the one world
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後者的世界
08:38
can be quantified by real numbers.
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可以被數字量化，
08:40
The stuff of the other world can't.
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而前者不能。
08:43
We shouldn't assume
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我們不該以為
08:45
that the world of is, of lengths and weights,
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「是與否」、長度和重量的世界
08:47
has the same structure as the world of ought,
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與「該或不該」、「該做什麼」的世界
08:50
of what we should do.
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有著同種結構。
08:52
So if what matters to us --
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所以，如果重要的因素
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、對配偶的愛，
08:58
can't be represented by real numbers,
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都不能被數字量化，
09:01
then there's no reason to believe
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那麼沒理由相信在
09:03
that in choice, there are only three possibilities --
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選擇中只有三種可能
09:06
that one alternative is better, worse or equal
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一種選項比另一種好、差
或同樣好。
09:10
to the other.
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09:12
We need to introduce a new, fourth relation
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我們需要引入第四種關係，
09:16
beyond being better, worse or equal,
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除了更好、更差或同樣好以外，
09:20
that describes what's going on in hard choices.
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它可以描述艱難抉擇的機制。
09:23
I like to say that the alternatives are
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我喜歡說，所有選項都
09:25
"on a par."
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「打成平手」。
09:27
When alternatives are on a par,
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當選項都打成平手時，
09:28
it may matter very much which you choose,
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選擇哪個就變得很重要，
09:32
but one alternative isn't better than the other.
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但是並沒有哪個比任何一個好。
09:35
Rather, the alternatives are in
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事實上，
這些選項價值都差不多，
09:37
the same neighborhood of value,
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09:39
in the same league of value,
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都在同一價值範疇。
09:41
while at the same time being very different
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但同時它們又具
09:44
in kind of value.
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非常不同的價值。
09:46
That's why the choice is hard.
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這就是選擇為何艱難。
09:49
Understanding hard choices in this way
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這樣理解了艱難選擇的話，
09:52
uncovers something about ourselves we didn't know.
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我們會對自己有意外的發現。
09:56
Each of us has the power
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我們每個人都能
09:58
to create reasons.
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創造理由。
10:01
Imagine a world in which every choice you face
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想像一下在某個世界上，
你所面臨的都是簡單的選擇，
10:05
is an easy choice,
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10:06
that is, there's always a best alternative.
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即，你總會有最好的選項。
10:09
If there's a best alternative,
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如果有最佳選項，
10:10
then that's the one you should choose,
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當然你應該選那個，
10:12
because part of being rational
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因為理智就意味著
10:14
is doing the better thing rather than the worse thing,
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做更好的決定而不是更差的，
10:17
choosing what you have most reason to choose.
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選擇那個最合理的選項。
10:20
In such a world,
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這樣一個世界裡，
10:22
we'd have most reason
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我們會有足夠理由
10:24
to wear black socks instead of pink socks,
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穿黑襪子而不是粉紅襪、
10:27
to eat cereal instead of donuts,
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吃麥片而不吃甜甜圈、
10:29
to live in the city rather than the country,
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住在城裡而非搬到鄉下、
10:30
to marry Betty instead of Lolita.
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跟貝蒂結婚而不是洛麗塔。
10:32
A world full of only easy choices
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一個滿是簡單選擇的世界
10:35
would enslave us to reasons.
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會讓我們成為理由的奴隸。
10:39
When you think about it,
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當你這麼一想的話，
10:42
it's nuts to believe
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一切都太瘋狂了：
10:45
that the reasons given to you
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那些現成的理由
10:48
dictated that you had most reason to pursue
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決定了你有最合理的理由
10:53
the exact hobbies you do,
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去追求你目前追求的愛好、
10:55
to live in the exact house you do,
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去住你現在的房子、
10:58
to work at the exact job you do.
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去做你現在的工作。
11:01
Instead, you faced alternatives
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而現實是，你有很多選項，
11:03
that were on a par — hard choices —
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它們打成平手，很難決定
11:07
and you made reasons for yourself
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你為自己創造理由
11:10
to choose that hobby, that house and that job.
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去選擇那個愛好、那個房子、那個工作。
11:14
When alternatives are on a par,
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當選項都打成平手時，
11:17
the reasons given to us, the ones
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我們手上的理由，
11:19
that determine whether we're making a mistake,
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這些決定我們的選擇錯誤與否的理由，
11:21
are silent as to what to do.
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都無法告訴我們該如何做。
11:24
It's here, in the space of hard choices,
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而就在這個有艱難抉擇的世界，
11:28
that we get to exercise
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我們能夠鍛煉我們的
11:30
our normative power,
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規範性力量，
11:33
the power to create reasons for yourself,
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為我們創造理由、
11:35
to make yourself
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讓自己成為
11:37
into the kind of person
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另一種人，
11:40
for whom country living
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那麼相比於城市生活
11:42
is preferable to the urban life.
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你會更喜歡鄉村生活。
11:45
When we choose between
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當我們在打成平手的
11:46
options that are on a par,
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選項中進行選擇時，
11:48
we can do something really rather remarkable.
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我們可以做出了不起的事。
11:52
We can put our very selves behind an option.
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我們能夠將自我放在一個選項背後。
11:56
Here's where I stand.
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說這就是我的選擇。
11:58
Here's who I am. I am for banking.
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這就是我，我喜歡銀行業，
12:02
I am for chocolate donuts.
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我喜歡巧克力甜甜圈。
12:05
This response in hard choices
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在艱難抉擇中，
12:08
is a rational response,
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這是一種理性反應，
12:10
but it's not dictated by reasons given to us.
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但並非由我們所被給的理由來決定，
12:13
Rather, it's supported by reasons created by us.
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而是由我們創造的理由來支持。
12:19
When we create reasons for ourselves
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當我們為自己創造理由
12:22
to become this kind of person rather than that,
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去成為一種人而非另一種人時，
12:25
we wholeheartedly become the people that we are.
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我們徹底成為了真正的自己。
12:29
You might say that we become the authors
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你可以說
我們成為了自己生命的作者。
12:31
of our own lives.
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12:34
So when we face hard choices,
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所以，當面臨艱難抉擇時，
12:37
we shouldn't beat our head against a wall
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不應該拿腦袋撞牆
12:39
trying to figure out which alternative is better.
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試圖想出哪種選擇更好。
12:42
There is no best alternative.
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根本沒有最好的選擇。
12:44
Instead of looking for reasons out there,
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不要從外界尋找理由
12:47
we should be looking for reasons in here:
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而是應該從內心尋找理由：
12:49
Who am I to be?
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我要成為怎樣的我？
12:52
You might decide to be a pink sock-wearing,
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3156
你或許會決定做個穿粉紅襪子的、
12:55
cereal-loving, country-living banker,
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3688
愛吃麥片的、熱愛鄉村的銀行家，
12:59
and I might decide to be a black sock-wearing,
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3576
或是一個穿黑襪子的、
13:02
urban, donut-loving artist.
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住在城市的、熱愛甜甜圈的藝術家。
13:06
What we do in hard choices is very much
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我們在艱難決定時的做法
13:09
up to each of us.
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很大程度取決於自己。
13:13
Now, people who don't exercise their
normative powers in hard choices
normative powers in hard choices
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4651
那些在艱難抉擇時不去鍛煉規範力量的人
13:17
are drifters.
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都成了漂流族。
13:19
We all know people like that.
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我們都認識這樣的人。
13:21
I drifted into being a lawyer.
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比如我就漂進了法律行業。
13:23
I didn't put my agency behind lawyering.
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我並沒有全心投入法律。
13:25
I wasn't for lawyering.
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我不喜歡當律師。
13:28
Drifters allow the world
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漂流者讓世界上的人
13:31
to write the story of their lives.
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書寫他們的故事。
13:33
They let mechanisms of reward and punishment --
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他們讓獎懲機制——
13:37
pats on the head, fear, the easiness of an option —
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鼓勵、恐懼、某種選擇的簡單性——
13:41
to determine what they do.
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來決定他們做什麼。
13:43
So the lesson of hard choices:
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所以艱難抉擇中的收穫
13:46
reflect on what you can put your agency behind,
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是反映在你所致力的事物上、
13:50
on what you can be for,
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你的追求上，
13:53
and through hard choices,
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而且通過艱難決定，
13:55
become that person.
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讓自己成為那個人。
13:58
Far from being sources of agony and dread,
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艱難抉擇不是痛苦和害怕的來源，
14:01
hard choices are precious opportunities
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而是難得的機遇
14:05
for us to celebrate what is special
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讓我們慶幸人類的狀況
14:07
about the human condition,
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是怎樣的特殊，
14:09
that the reasons that govern our choices
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慶幸那些決定我們選擇
14:11
as correct or incorrect
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對錯與否的理由
14:13
sometimes run out,
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有時會不夠用。
14:15
and it is here, in the space of hard choices,
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也就是在這樣一個有著艱難決定的世界
14:18
that we have the power
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我們有力量
14:20
to create reasons for ourselves
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去為自己創造理由
14:22
to become the distinctive people that we are.
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去成為與眾不同的自己。
14:26
And that's why hard choices are not a curse
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這就是為何艱難決定並非詛咒，
14:29
but a godsend.
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而是福祉。
14:30
Thank you.
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謝謝。
14:33
(Applause)
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3295
（掌聲）
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