耶鲁大学开放课程—哲学：死亡.17.Open.Yale.course—Philosophy：Death.DivX-YYeTs人人影视 [字幕转换助手

上次我们从形而上学转而讲述价值理论
Last time we made the turn from metaphysics to value theory.
我们开始讨论为什么死亡是件坏事
We started asking about what it is about death that makes it bad.
我们谈到死亡的第一个坏处是
The first aspect of the badness of death that we talked about was
当某人死去
the fact that when somebody dies,
活着的人会感到痛苦
that's hard on the rest of us.
我们活着 必须承受
We're left behind having to cope with
失去所爱之人的痛苦
the loss of this person that we love.
然而 如果我们想明确
Nonetheless, it seems likely that if we want to get clear
死亡的主要坏处
about the central badness of death,
那么 活人的损失并不是关键
it can't be a matter of the loss for those who remain behind,
关键是那些死去的人
but rather the loss,
死亡给他们带来的伤害
the badness of death, for the person who dies.
总之
That, at any rate,
这才是我今后要关注的问题
is what I want to focus on from here on out.
我的死亡
What exactly is it about my death,
或者我会死去的事实
or the fact that I'm going to die,
为什么对我来说是坏事
that makes that bad for me?
现在 我希望明确限定
Now, I want to get clear about precisely
我们这里讨论的问题
what it is we want to focus in on here.
很明显 死亡可能带来的一种伤害是
Now, one thing that could be bad, obviously,
死亡过程会造成痛苦
is the process of dying could be a painful one.
人人影视
https://www.360docs.net/doc/e215996354.html,
比方说 可能
It might be, for example,
我被一只孟加拉虎撕成碎片
that I get ripped to pieces by Bengali tigers.
如果是这样 那死亡过程会很可怕
And if so, then the actual process of dying would be horrible.
很痛苦
It would be painful.
如此 将死亡过程看作
And clearly it makes sense to talk about the process of dying as
可能对我造成伤害 符合情理
something that could potentially be bad for me.
但是同样 我也可能在睡眠中死去
Although similarly, I might die in my sleep,
这种死亡过程对我没有伤害
in which case the process of dying would not be bad for me.
无论如何 我认为我们大多数人
At any rate, I take it that most of us,
虽然可能有过这种顾虑
although we might have some passing concern about the possibility
认为我们的死亡过程会是痛苦的
that our process of dying might be a painful one,
但这也不是
that's not, again,
当我们面对死亡时
the central thing we're concerned about when
所担心的根本问题
we face the fact that we're going to die.
而且
It's also true, of course,
我们会发现 在这里
{\c here,
现在 虽然我们还没死
right now, while we're not actually dying--
但想到我会死去这件事仍让我感到不快
the prospect of dying to be unpleasant.
所以 死亡对我的另一个坏处就是

So, one of the things that's bad about my death for me is
现在 当我想到我可能会死去时
that right now I've got some unhappy thoughts as
我感到不快
I anticipate the fact that I'm going to die.
但是
But again,
这依然不是死亡的主要坏处
that can't be the central thing that's bad about death,
因为想到死亡
because the prospect of my death--
会产生难过或悲伤的情绪
it makes sense for that to be a painful one or an unpleasant one,
这只能更进一步说明死亡本身是件坏事
only given the further claim that death itself is bad for me.
我会害怕 焦虑 担心 遗憾
Having fear or anxiety or concern or regret
或苦闷 如此这般 当我想到
or anguish or whatever it is that maybe I have now
自己难逃一死时
about the fact that I'm going to die,
都基于这样一个逻辑前提
piggybacks on the logically prior thought
就是死亡本身对我是件坏事
that death itself is bad for me.
如果不是基于这样一个前提
If it didn't piggyback in that way,
那所有这些对死亡的恐惧
it wouldn't make any sense to have fear
焦虑 畏惧 苦闷 或无论什么
or anxiety or dread or anguish or whatever it is
就没有道理了
that I may have now.
比方说 我告诉你
I mean, suppose I said to you,
"明天你会碰到件事
"Tomorrow something's going to happen to you
这件事非常好
and that thing is going to be simply fantastic,
好得难以置信 不可思议"
absolutely incredible, absolutely wonderful."
然后你说
And you said,
"好吧 我相信你 但我要告诉你
"Well, I believe you and I have to tell you,
我一想到这件事就觉得担忧害怕"
I'm just filled with dread and foreboding in thinking about it."
这完全不合情理
That wouldn't make any sense at all.
你感到担忧害怕
It makes sense to be filled with dread or foreboding or what have you only
只有当你想到的事情
if the thing you're looking forward to,
本身是坏事时才合情理
anticipating, is itself bad.
例如
Maybe, for example,
你害怕去看牙
it makes sense to dread going to the dentist,
那是因为你相信看牙是件痛苦的事
if you believe that being at the dentist is a painful, unpleasant experience.
如果看牙本身并不可怕
But if being at the dentist isn't itself unpleasant,
那你想到看牙就害怕就不合情理了
it doesn't make sense to dread it in anticipation.
所以 如果我们想找到死亡的主要坏处
So again, if we're thinking about the central badness of death,
我们似乎应该关注死亡本身
it seems to me that we've got to focus on my being dead.
是什么使我的死亡如此可怕
What is it about my being dead that's bad for me?
现在 如果我们提出这个问题
Now, if we pose that question,
答案似乎
it seems as though the
简单明了
answer should be simple and straightforward.
当我死去 我不复存在
When I'm dea

d, I won't exist.
在本课程的前一部份
Now previously, in the first part of the class,
我们讨论过这个问题
we spent some time saying that,
某些观点认为
look, on certain views,
在某段时间里 你可能已经死了
there'll be a period of time in which you might be dead,
但你的肉体却活着
but your body might still be alive.
或者你已经死了
Or you might be dead,
虽然你的肉体还存在
but even though your body still exists,
但它不是活着的 而是作为尸体存在
it's not alive, but you exist as a corpse.
咱先将这些束之高阁
Put all that aside.
不考虑这些模糊不清的
Go to the period beyond any of that murky stuff
短期的状态
in the short-term and just,
仅简单地
for simplicity,
从物理主义角度来看 我一旦死亡
let's suppose with the physicalists that once I die,
我将不复存在
I cease to exist.
好的
All right.
那我们不就找到了死亡的坏处了吗
So, don't we have the answer to what's bad about death right there?
当我死去 我将不复存在
When I'm dead, I won't exist.
这不是对死亡坏处的
Isn't that the straightforward
最直白的解释吗
explanation about why death is bad?
我想说的实际上是
Now, what I want to say, in effect, is this.
我真的相信"不复存在"这一说法解释了
I do think the fact that I won't exist does provide the key
死亡为何是坏事以及它的坏处究竟是什么
to getting clear about how and why death is bad.
但我并不认为这个答案很直白
But I don't think it's quite straightforward.
我认为 正如我们将要看到的
I think, as we'll see,
我们需要花些功夫才能证明
it actually takes some work to spell out exactly
为什么死亡 不存在
how death, how nonexistence,
对我来讲是件坏事
could be bad for me.
即使证明了这一点
And even having done that,
也仍然存在一些疑难
there'll be some puzzles that remain
这些将稍后讲解
that we'll be turning to in a little while.
所以 基本思路看起来很直白
So, the basic idea seems to be straightforward enough.
当我死去 我将不复存在
When I'm dead, I won't exist.
不存在是件坏事 难道不是吗
Isn't it clear that nonexistence is bad for me?
但是你很快会碰到质疑
Well, immediately you get an objection.
不存在有什么不好呢
You say, how could nonexistence be bad for me?
毕竟
After all,
不存在就意味着你不存在
the whole point of nonexistence is you don't exist.
当你不存在时
How could anything be bad for you
怎么可能有事情对你不好呢
when you don't exist?
难道没有一种逻辑前提指出
Isn't there a kind of logical requirement
当一件事对你是坏事
that for something to be bad for you,
你需要活着才能受到它的伤害
you've got to be around to receive that bad thing?
例如 头疼对你是件坏事
A headache, for example,can

be bad for you.
但是头疼时你肯定存在
But of course, you exist during the headache.
头疼不可能对不存在的人造成伤害
Headaches couldn't be bad for people who don't exist.
他们不可能经历或感受到头疼
They can't experience or have or receive headaches.
当你不存在时
How could anything be bad for you
有什么事可能伤害到你呢
when you don't exist?
特别是
And in particular,
当你不存在时
then, how could nonexistence be bad for you
所谓的不存在又怎么可能伤害到你呢
when you don't exist?
所以 正如我所说
So it's not, as I say,
答案看起来很直接明了
altogether straightforward to see how the answer
"死亡对我是件坏事
"Death is bad for me,
因为当我死去 我将不复存在"
because when I'm dead I don't exist," how that answers the problem,
但完全不直接明了的问题是
as opposed to simply focusing our attention on the problem
为什么不存在对我就是坏事呢
how can nonexistence be bad for me?
对这个质疑的回答
The answer to this objection,
我想可以通过区别
I think, is to be found in drawing a distinction
两种不同性质的
between two different ways
坏事来解释
in which something can be bad for me.
一种坏事是
On the one hand, something can be bad for me,
我们可以说是绝对的
we might say, in an absolute,
固有的 内在的坏事
robust, intrinsic sense.
再举头疼的例子
Take a headache, again,
或其它地方的疼痛
or some other kind of pain--
碰到脚趾 或者被刺伤 或无论什么
stubbing your toe or getting stabbed or whatever it is,
被折磨
being tortured.
疼痛本身对我有害
Pain is intrinsically bad.
它本身就是坏的
It's bad in its own right.
我们因其本身的原因想避免被其伤害
It's something we want to avoid for its own sake.
通常情况下
{\c Normally,
伤害你的事情是由于它们本身是坏事
things that are bad for you are bad intrinsically.
它们的害处源于其本身
They're bad by virtue of their very nature.
源于它们存在的方式
There's something about the way they are
是那种你因其本身原因而想避免的东西
that you don't want those that are bad in their own right.
但还有另一种坏事
But there's another way of something being bad for you
很容易被忽略
that it's easy to overlook.
它们是通过比较才能察觉的坏事
Something can be bad comparatively.
一件事是坏事可能是因为
Something could be bad because of
这件事使你丧失了其它东西
what you're not getting while you get this bad thing.
这就是经济学家们所说的
It could be what the economists call bad
"机会成本"上的损失
by virtue of "The opportunity costs."
它不是那种固有的坏事
{\c
它之所以不好是因为当你做这件事时
it's bad because while you're doing this,
你无法获得更好的东西
you're not getting s

omething better.
这怎么可能呢
How could that be?
我们来举一个简单的例子
Let's have a simple example.
假如我在家看电视
Suppose that I stay home and watch something on TV--
比方说《一掷千金》这个节目
Deal or No Deal.
我看着电视 度过了快乐时光
I watch this on TV and I have a good enough time.
这怎么可能对我是坏事呢
How could that be bad for me?
以第一种定义为标准
Well, in terms of the first notion of bad,
固有的坏事
something being intrinsically bad,
这当然不是坏事
it's not bad.
以这种方式打发半个小时挺安逸的啊
It's a pleasant enough way to spend a half an hour,
不管节目时间多长
or however long the show is on.
但另一方面
On the other hand,
假如我
suppose what I could be
不是看半小时电视
doing instead of watching a half an hour of television
而是参加了一个很棒的派对
is being at a really great party.
那我们可以说
Then we might say,
我窝在家里看电视
the fact that I'm stuck home watching television
相比之下 对我是坏事
is bad for me in this comparative sense.
并不是说看电视本身
It's not that it's, in itself,
是一种不愉快的消磨时间的方式
{\c
只是我还可能有更好的方式来消磨时间
it's just that there's a better way to spend time that I could be doing,
至少原则上是这样
in principle at least.
如果我去了
If only I'd gone.
如果我被邀请了
If only I'd been invited.
如果我还记得这件事 只要如此
If only I remembered, what have you.
而且我前面说过去派对更好
And because I'm foregoing that better good,
那么相对来说
there's something bad, comparatively speaking,
窝在家里看电视就是件坏事
about the fact that I'm stuck at home watching TV.
失去了更好的东西
There's a lack of the better good.
缺失本身不是坏事
A lack is not intrinsically bad,
但比较起来就是坏事
but it's still a kind of bad in this second sense.
失去美好事物本身对我造成了伤害
To be lacking a good is, itself, bad for me.
类似地 假设我拿两个信封对你说
Similarly, suppose I hold out two envelopes and I say,
"选一个" 于是你打开了第一个
"Pick one." And you open up the first one,
你选择了第一个
you pick the first one,
你打开它 你说
and you open it up and you say,
"看 十块钱 真不错"
"Hey look, ten bucks! Isn't that good for me?"
当然十块钱本身是很好的
Well, of course, ten bucks is intrinsically good.
或者说 本身不是好的
Anyway, well, it's not intrinsically good,
仅从可以买到东西的角度来说是好的
it's only good as a means to buy something.
但仍然是好的
But it's sort of good.
因为它本身的原因 它值得拥有
It's worth having for its own right,
因为它可以给你带来东西
because of what it can get you.
但你不知道
But if unbekn

ownst to you,
另一个信封里有一千块钱
the other envelope had $1,000 in it,
那我们可以说
then we can say,
"真不幸 你选了第一个信封"
"Look, it's bad for you that you picked the first envelope."
从哪个角度来说你是不幸的呢
Bad in what sense?
因为如果你选择了第二个信封
Because you would have been better off,
你可能会更好
had you picked the second envelope.
你可能拥有更多的好处
You would have been having more good,
更多的好东西
or a greater amount of good.
不存在本身没什么不好
Well, nonexistence can't be bad for me in our first sense.
不存在本身并无坏处
It can't be that nonexistence is intrinsically bad,
我们并不因其本身而回避
worth avoiding for its own sake.
除非不存在本身是
That would only make sense if nonexistence was somehow,
比如说 痛苦的
for example, painful.
但当你不存在时
But when you don't exist,
你也不会感到痛苦
you have no painful experiences.
不存在本身和它内在特性
There's nothing about nonexistence in and of itself
不是我们想避免它的原因
that makes us want to avoid it.
不存在只是相比之下才对我是坏事
Nonexistence is only bad for me in this comparative sense,
因为它造成了损失
because of the lack.
当我不存在时 我失去了某些东西
When I don't exist, I'm lacking stuff.
我失去了什么呢
What am I lacking?
当然
Well, of course,
我失去了生命 更确切地说
what I'm lacking is life and more particularly still,
是生命带来的美好事物
the good things that life can give me.
所以
So,
不存在是件坏事
nonexistence is bad
因为它损失了机会成本
by virtue of the opportunity costs that are involved.
W.C.菲尔兹 20世纪初美国著名喜剧演员
著名的W.C.菲尔兹在墓志铭上说
Famously, W.C. Fields on his tombstone says,
"就我个人来说 我更愿意待在费城"
"Personally, I'd rather be in Philadelphia."
死亡的坏处在于 你将无法
What's bad about being dead is you don't get to
经历和享受生活提供给我们的
experience and enjoy any longer the various good things
各种美好事物了
that life would offer us.
所以不存在确实指出了死亡问题的关键
So nonexistence does point to the key aspect about death.
为什么死亡是坏事
Why is death bad?
因为当我死去我将不复存在
Because when I'm dead I don't exist.
但如果我们问
But if we ask,
为什么 并且在什么情况下
why is and how can it be
不存在是坏事
the case that nonexistence is bad?
答案是
The answer is,
当我不存在时
because of the lack of the good things in life.
我失去了生命中美好的事物
Because when I don't exist,
我将无法得到它们
I am not getting the things
那些只要我活着就可以得到的东西
that I could have otherwise gotten, if only I were still alive.
死亡之

所以是坏事
Death is bad
是因为它剥夺了我活着时
because it deprives me of
可以得到的美好事物
the good things in life.
这种解释如今
This account is nowadays
被称为死亡坏处的剥夺说
known as the deprivation account of the evil or badness of death,
原因很明显 不是吗
for obvious reasons, right?
其中的关键思想是
The key thought is,
死亡的主要坏处
the central bad about death,
不存在的坏处
about nonexistence,
在于它剥夺了你活着时
is that it deprives you of the goods of life you
可以获得的生活乐趣
might otherwise be getting.
这就是剥夺说
That's the deprivation account.
并且我认为
And it seems to me
剥夺说基本上是正确的
that the deprivation account basically has it right.
后面
Eventually,
我还会继续论证
I'll go on to argue that there are
死亡的其它因素同样导致了它的破坏性
other aspects of death that may also contribute to its badness,
但它们不同于剥夺说
aspects above and beyond the one that gets focused on
所揭示的这些因素
by the deprivation account.
但是不管怎么说
But still,
我认为剥夺说正确地指出了
it seems to me the deprivation account points us correctly
死亡的主要坏处
to the central thing about death that's bad.
死亡最主要的坏处是
What's most importantly bad about the fact
当我死去
that I'll be dead is the fact that when I'm dead,
我将无法获得生活中那些美好的东西
I won't be getting the good things in life.
我将失去它们
I'll be deprived of them.
这是剥夺说所指出的死亡坏处
That's the badness of death according to the deprivation account.
现在 如果我们接受剥夺说
Now, if we accept the deprivation account,
如果我们准备接受剥夺说的话
if we try to accept the deprivation account,
那我们将面临进一步的哲学挑战
we face some further philosophical puzzles.
很多人认为这些挑战
Puzzles that many people have thought are
足以迫使我们最终不得不放弃它
sufficiently overwhelming that we,
尽管剥夺说
despite the initial plausibility of the deprivation account,
乍看起来合情合理
have to give it up.
第一个质疑是
First objection is this.
如果某件事是真实的
Look, if something is true,
一个很普遍的观点
a quite general point,
在形而上学的观点中
it seems, about metaphysics--
如果某件事是真实的
if something is true,
那总有某个时候它是真实的
there's got to be a time when it's true.
假如我声称一件事是真实的
If I make some claim about a fact,
那总有一些时候它是真实的
there's got to be a time when that fact is true.
比方说这件事
Here's a fact.
雪莱正在向你们讲解死亡的坏处
Shelly's lecturing to you now about the badness of death.
何时这件事是真实的
When is that fact true?
何时这件事曾发生过

呢
When was that fact true?
答案是现在
Well, right now.
再看另一件事
Here's another fact.
雪莱曾向你们
Shelly once lectured to you
讲解过人格同一性的本质
about the nature of personal identity.
何时这件事是真的呢
When was that fact true?
我们可以指出一个时间段
Well, we can point to a period of perhaps
可能是上个月的某一两周
a week or two last month
我曾向你们讲解过人格同一性
when I was lecturing to you about personal identity.
真实事件有其发生的时间
Things that are facts can be dated.
好了 似乎如此
All right. That seems right.
但如果这个结论正确
But if it is right,
那我们马上会碰到问题
then immediately we've got a puzzle.
死亡如何对我造成伤害
How could death be bad for me?
如果死亡对我造成伤害
If death was bad for me,
如果这是一个事实
that would be a fact.
如果死亡对我造成伤害
If my death is bad for me,
如果这是个事实
that would be a fact
我们会问 这个事实何时发生
and we'd ask, well, when is that fact true?
我们会说 现在没发生
We might say, well, it's not true now.
因为死亡现在没有伤害我
Death isn't bad for me now.
我还没有死呢
I'm not dead now.
也许当我死了 死亡才对我造成伤害
Maybe death is bad for me when I'm dead?
但这也说不通
But that seems very hard to believe.
我是说 当我死去 我就不复存在了
I mean, when I'm dead, I don't exist, right?
那时又有什么事可能伤害到我呢
How could anything be bad for me then?
你当然得存在了
Surely you've got to exist.
所以 确定死亡造成伤害的时间
So, there's a puzzle about dating
成了一个难题
the badness of death.
这个关于死亡造成伤害
Now, it may be that this puzzle about time
的时间难题
and the date of the badness of death
伊壁鸠鲁可能思考过
is what Epicurus had in mind.
伊壁鸠鲁 古希腊著名唯物主义和无神论者 被称为花园哲学家
我会给你们读一段
There's a passage that I'm going to read
伊壁鸠鲁的文字
to you in a moment from Epicurus.
这段文字令人费解
This passage has puzzled people,
一直让哲学家们感到疑惑
it has puzzled philosophers ever since.
伊壁鸠鲁似乎明确指出了
Epicurus seems to be putting his finger
有关死亡的一些疑问
on something puzzling about death,
不过难以确定
though it's difficult to pin down exactly
让他纠结的究竟是什么
what it is that's bugging him.
所以我们将尝试一两种解释
So we're going to try an interpretation or two.
但首先 来看看伊壁鸠鲁的这段话
But first, here's the passage from Epicurus.
"所以死亡 这最令人恐惧的邪恶
"So death, the most terrifying of ills,
对我们来说不算什么 因为我们存在时
is nothing to us, since so long as we exist,
死亡还未降临 当死亡降

临时
{\c but when death comes,
我们已不复存在
then we do not exist.
死亡不涉及生者 也不涉及死者
It does not then concern either the living or the dead,
因为对于前者它还未来
since for the former it is not,
而对于后者一切已不再"
and the latter are no more."
你看 到这里还不完全清楚
You see, it's not altogether clear
伊壁鸠鲁想指出的是什么
what Epicurus is bothered by there,
但有种可能的解释是他指出了
but one possible interpretation is this puzzle about
死亡造成伤害的时间难题
the timing of the badness of death.
现在 死亡没有伤害我
Death can't be bad for me now,
因为我还活着
because I'm alive.
当我死了 死亡也不会伤害我
Death can't be bad for me when I'm dead.
我都不存在了 怎会有事情伤害得到我
{\c then how can things be bad for me then?
但如果没有任何时间
But if death has no time
死亡对我造成伤害
at which it's bad for me,
而且如果一件事是真的
and if anything that's true,
这件事必须发生在某个时候
any fact has to have a time when it's true,
那么死亡会伤害我
then the purported fact that death is bad for me
就不是真的
can't really be a fact.
现在 我们如何来回应这一质疑
All right. How could we respond to this objection?
当然一个方法就是接受这一质疑
Well, one way of course is to accept the objection and say,
"你是对的
"You're right.
死亡对我来说不会造成伤害"
Death isn't really bad for me."
一些哲学家也确实接受这一观点
And some philosophers have indeed accepted that very conclusion,
伊壁鸠鲁或许也接受
maybe Epicurus.
但大多数人会说
Most of us want to say,
"不不 死亡伤害了我"
"No, no. Death is bad for me."
为此我们需要一个更好的解释来回答
So we need a better answer to the,
"是吗 那它什么时候伤害了你"
"Oh yeah? When is it bad for you?" objection.
有两种可能的回答
Two possible responses.
一种是
One possible response would
直面问题 承认
be to grab the bull by the horns and say,
"死亡伤害了我
"Death is bad for me.
事情都有其存在的时间
Facts do have to be dated.
让我告诉你它什么时候伤害了我"
Let me tell you when it's bad for me."
第二种回答则是
The other possible response is to grab,
从另一个角度说
as it were, the other horn and say,
"你知道
"You know,
死亡伤害了我
death is bad for me
并且我承认我无法确定时间
and I agree that I can't date it,
但你假设所有的事情都有其发生的时间
but you're wrong to assume that
这种假设是错的
all facts have to be datable.
有些事的确存在但我们无法确定时间"
There are some things that are true that we can't put a date on."
我们先来讨论第二种回答
Let's start with the second.
是否存在这种
Could there be some things
真

实的但我们无法确定时间的事情呢
that are true that we can't put a date on?
我想这可能是一个例子
Well, here's one I think, maybe.
假设我周一向约翰开枪
Suppose that on Monday I shoot John.
从我枪里射出的子弹伤了他
I wound him with the bullet that comes out of my gun.
但并没有射中心脏
But it's not a wound directly into his heart.
他只是开始流血
He simply starts bleeding.
缓慢地流血
And he bleeds slowly.
所以他周一没有死
So he doesn't die on Monday.
他受了伤 奄奄一息
He's wounded and he's dying,
但他周一的时候并没死
but he doesn't die on Monday.
在周二
On Tuesday,
假设我心脏病发作死去
let's suppose that I have a heart attack and I die.
约翰还活着 还在流血
John's still around--bleeding,
但还活着
but still around.
周三时
On Wednesday,
约翰流血过多终于死去
the loss of blood finally overtakes him and John dies. All right?
所以周一我向他开枪 周二我死去
So, I shoot him on Monday, I die on Tuesday,
周三约翰死去
John dies on Wednesday.
现在 我杀了约翰
Now, I killed John.
我假定我们都同意这一点
I take it we're all in agreement about that.
如果我没向他开枪
If I hadn't shot him,
他就不会死
he wouldn't be dead.
是我杀了他
I killed him.
我什么时候杀了他
When did I kill him?
我周一杀了他吗
Did I kill him on Monday,
我向他开枪的那天
the day I shot him?
似乎不对
That doesn't seem right.
他在周一没死
He's not dead on Monday.
我怎么会在周一杀了他
How could I kill him on Monday?
对了 他是周三死的
Oh, he died on Wednesday.
那我周三杀了他吗
Did I kill him on Wednesday?
这更不可能
Well, how could that be?
我在周三的时候甚至不存在
I don't even exist on Wednesday.
我在周二已经死了
I died myself on Tuesday.
我怎么可能在死后杀了他
How can I kill him after I'm dead?
所以我没有在周一杀他
So I didn't kill him on Monday,
也没有在周三杀他
didn't kill him--rather on Wednesday.
我没有在周一杀他
I didn't kill him on Monday,
也没有在周三他死的那天杀他
didn't kill him on Wednesday when he dies.
那我何时杀了他呢
When did I kill him?
答案也许是 根本没有确定的时间
Well, maybe the answer is there's no particular time at all
发生了"我杀死他"这件事
when I killed him.
但即使这样
But for all that,
我杀了他是个事实
it's true that I killed him.
是什么使得我杀了他成为事实的呢
What makes it true that I killed him?
使我杀了他成为事实的是
What makes it true that I killed him is
我周一向他开枪 周三时
that on Monday I shot him and on Wednesday,
他因伤死去
he died from the wound.
所以这一事实成立
That's what makes it true.
但我何时杀了他呢
But when did I kill him?
也许我们无法

确定时间
Maybe we can't date that.
假设我们不能
Suppose we can't.
如果我们不能确定
If we can't,
那么就有不能确定时间的事实
then there are facts that you can't date,
人人影视
https://www.360docs.net/doc/e215996354.html,
如同我杀了约翰这件事
like the fact that I killed John.
如果有无法确定时间的事实存在
If there are facts that you can't date,
或许同样
maybe here's another one.
死亡对我造成伤害也是这样的事实
My death is bad for me.
这一事实何时存在
When is that true?
时间无法确定 但尽管如此
Can't date it, but for all that,
这都可能是事实
maybe it's true.
所以也许我们不应该接受所有事实
So maybe we shouldn't accept the assumption of the argument
都有确定的发生时间这一假设
that all facts can be dated.
当然 所有事实
Of course, the thought that
都有其发生时间这一想法根深蒂固
all facts can be dated is a very powerful one,
而且毫无疑问
and no doubt,
你们许多人回家后都会
many of you are going to go home
试着想出这个问题的满意答案
and start trying to come up with an adequate answer to the question,
雪莱到底是什么时候杀了约翰
when exactly did Shelly kill John?
想出一个你或许能够接受的答案
And come up with an answer, maybe, that you can even accept.
不管怎样
At any rate,
也许我们应该认同
maybe we should accept the thought
所有事实都有其发生的时间
that all facts can be dated.
这样
In which case,
如果我们坚持认为死亡对我造成伤害
if we're going to want to insist that my death is bad for me,
我们最好能指出时间点
we'd better be able to come up with a date.
也许我们能做到这点
Well, maybe we can.
死亡何时对我造成了伤害
When would it be plausible to claim my death is bad for me?
当然 不是现在
Well, not now.
死亡现在不可能伤害我
My death can't be bad for me now.
我还没死
I'm not dead.
但我们不能百分百地肯定
But it's not 100% clear
不能接受另一种说法
that the other alternative isn't acceptable.
为什么不说
Why not say,
"当我死去时死亡对我造成了伤害"
"My death is bad for me when I'm dead"?
总之
After all,
头痛何时对我来说是坏事
when is a headache bad for me?
当头痛发作时
When the headache is occurring.
那么依据剥夺说
Now, according to the deprivation account,
死亡的坏处就在 当你死去的时候
the badness of death consists in the fact that when you're dead,
你失去了生活中美好的事物
you are deprived of the goods of life.
那么死亡何时对你造成了伤害呢
So when is death bad for you?
也许是
During the time perhaps
你失去了生活中美好事物的时刻
you're being deprived of the goods of life.
你何时失去了生活中美好的事物呢
Well, when are you deprived of the goods of life?
当你死去之时
When

you're dead.
这种失去到底发生在何时呢
When does the deprivation actually occur?
在你死去之时
When you're dead.
所以我们也许应该说
So perhaps we should just say,
"你说得对 伊壁鸠鲁"
"Well, you were right, Epicurus,"
如果这就是伊壁鸠鲁要指出的问题
if this was Epicurus' argument.
"你是对的 伊壁鸠鲁
"You were right, Epicurus.
所有事实都有其发生的时间
All facts have to be dated,
但我们可以确定死亡造成伤害的时间
but we can date the badness of death.
当我死去时死亡对我造成了伤害
My death is bad for me during the time I'm dead.
因为那时
Because during that time,
我被剥夺了
I'm deprived of,
我失去了
I'm not getting,
生活中美好的事物
the good things in life
而只要我活着 我就能拥有它们"
that I would be getting if only I were still alive."
这是对这一质疑的一种可能回答
Well, that's a possible response to the objection.
但是当然
But of course,
它只是立刻引出了一个更深层次的质疑
it just immediately raises a further objection.
死亡如何在那时对我造成伤害呢
How could it be that death is bad for me then?
在我不存在时死亡如何伤害我
How could it be that death is bad for me when I don't exist?
显然 我需要存在 才可能受到伤害
Surely, I have to exist in order for something to be bad for me.
或者 就此而言 才可能得到好处
Or, for that matter, for something to be good for me.
你难道不需要活着来感受
Don't you need to exist in order for something
事物对你是好是坏吗
to be good or bad for you?
这指出了我们对
Well, this points our way
伊壁鸠鲁观点的另一种不同解释
to a different possible interpretation of Epicurus' argument.
这个观点是 A 事物只有在你存在时
The argument would be A something could be bad,
才对你有好坏之分
{\c
B 当你死去时你不存在
{\c
所以C 死亡对你不是坏事
so C death can't be bad for you.
我来写在黑板上
Put that up on the board.
A 事物只有在你存在时
A Something can be bad for you
才可能对你是坏事
only if you exist.
B 当你死去时你不存在
B When you're dead you don't exist.
所以结论C就是
So, conclusion C,
死亡不可能对你是坏事
death can't be bad for you.
也许这就是伊壁鸠鲁脑中的观点
Maybe that's the argument that Epicurus had in mind.
让我们来听听伊壁鸠鲁是怎么说的
Let's hear Epicurus'--
我再引用这段伊壁鸠鲁的话
the quote from Epicurus again.
"所以死亡 这最令人恐惧的邪恶
"So death, the most terrifying of ills,
对我们来说不算什么
is nothing to us,
因为我们存在时
since so long as we exist,
死亡还没降临 当死亡降临时
{\c but when death comes,
我们已不复存在
then we do not exist.
死亡不涉及生者 也不涉及死者
It does not the

n concern either the living or the dead,
因为对于前者它还未来
since for the former it is not,
而对于后者一切已不再"
and the latter are no more."
伊壁鸠鲁的这段话总的来看有点费解
Again, the passage from Epicurus isn't altogether clear,
但也许他脑中已有了这样的观点
but maybe he's got in mind something like this argument.
也许伊壁鸠鲁想说
Maybe Epicurus thinks look,
A 事物只有在你存在时
A something can be bad for you
才可能对你是坏事
{\c
B 当你死去时你不存在
{\c
所以C 死亡不可能对你是坏事
so C death can't be bad for you.
对此我们如何回应
Well, what should we say?
B显然没错
It's pretty clear that B is true.
当你死去时你不存在
When you're dead you don't exist.
所以结论就是C
And so the conclusion C,
死亡对你不是坏事
death can't be bad for you,
这看起来如果我们承认A就承认了结论
looks like it's going to follow, once we accept A.
我们称A为存在前提
Call A the existence requirement.
事物只有在你存在时
Something can be bad or,
才对你有好坏之分
for that matter, good for you, only if you exist.
这就是影响事物好坏的存在前提
That's the existence requirement for bads and goods.
如果我们接受存在前提
If we accept the existence requirement,
看来我们就得接受
it looks as though we have to accept the conclusion,
死亡对你不是坏事这一结论
death can't be bad for you.
我们该怎么说呢
What should we say?
也许我们会说
Maybe what we should say is,
应该摒弃存在前提
reject the existence requirement.
通常情况下 疼痛 失明
In the ordinary case, pains, being blind,
跛脚 诸如此类
being crippled, what have you,
失业 通常情况下
losing your job--in the ordinary case,
当你存在时它们对你是坏事
things are bad for you when you exist.
通常情况下
In the ordinary case,
为了受到伤害
in order to receive bads,
你需要存在
you've got to exist.
但也许这只是通常情况 并非所有情况
{\c it's not all cases.
我们可能会说
Perhaps we should say,
有些事即使你不存在
look, for certain kinds of bads you don't need to even exist
也会对你造成伤害
in order for those things to be bad for you.
这会是什么样的事呢
What kind of bads could be like that?
被剥夺的伤害正是如此
Well, of course, deprivation bads would be exactly like that.
你不是必须存在才能失去某些东西
To lack something, you don't need to exist.
实际上 你不存在
Indeed, the very fact that you don't exist might
恰恰解释了
provide the very explanation
你为什么被剥夺了
as to why you've got the deprivation,
你为什么没得到
why you've got the lack.
并非所有的损失都这样 对吧
Not all lacks might be like that, right?
回忆一下看电视的例子
Remember the television case.

当你存在时
You existed while
你失去了参加盛大派对的机会
you were being deprived of the great party.
当你存在时
You existed while
你仅拿到十美元而不是一千美元
you were getting the mere $10 instead of the $1,000.
所以 损失一般发生在你存在的时候
So, sometimes deprivations coincide with existence.
但它的关键之处在于
But the crucial point about deprivations is
你不必非要存在
you don't even need to so much as exist
才会被剥夺某物
in order to be deprived of something.
不存在本身已经决定了你被剥夺
Nonexistence guarantees that you're deprived of something.
所以也许我们应该摒弃存在前提
So perhaps we should just reject the existence requirement.
也许我们应该说
Perhaps we should say,
当我们谈论损失时
when we're talking about lacks,
当我们谈论被剥夺某物
when we're talking about deprivations,
A是错的
A is wrong.
我们应该摒弃存在前提
We should reject the existence requirement.
事物在你不存在时一样可以对你造成伤害
Something can be bad for you even if you don't exist.
存在前提是假命题
The existence requirement is false.
这也许可以回应
Well, that would be a possible way to respond
对伊壁鸠鲁文字的第二种解释
to this second possible interpretation of Epicurus' argument.
它使我们保留了
It would be a way to retain the thought
我认为
that I take it we want to have,
至少是大多数人认同的
that most of us share, at least,
死亡是坏事的观点
that death is bad.
我们可以通过
We'd be able to retain
摒弃存在前提来保持这一观点
that thought by rejecting the existence requirement.
说起来容易
Well, easy to say that,
但摒弃存在前提引发的一些结果
but there are some implications of rejecting the existence requirement
让人难以接受
that may be rather hard to swallow.
想想这种说法的引申含义
Think about exactly what it's saying.
它指出会有一些事情
It's saying something,
例如死亡 不存在
for example death, nonexistence,
会对那些甚至不存在的人造成伤害
can be bad for somebody even though they don't exist.
这就是为什么即使我不存在
That's why my death can be bad for me
死亡也会对我造成伤害
even though I won't exist.
但如果死亡能对
But if death can be bad
不存在的人造成伤害
for somebody even though they don't exist,
那么死亡也会对
then death could be bad for somebody,
就是说
that is to say,
不存在也会对那些
nonexistence could be bad for somebody,
从未存在过的人造成伤害
who never exists.
想象有个人可能存在
Take somebody who is a possible person,
但从未出生
but never actually gets born.
这有点难以想象
It's sort of hard to think about somebody like that.
所以让我们来说的更具体一点
So let's try to get at least a lit

tle bit more concrete.
我需要两位志愿者
I need two volunteers.
我需要找个男生
I need a male volunteer from the audience.
好的 你就是男志愿者
Good. Okay, you'll be the male volunteer.
我还需要找个女生
And I need a female volunteer from the audience.
积极点嘛 没关系的
Come on, it won't hurt.
我需要个女志愿者
I need a female volunteer.
好的
Okay.
我想让你们
What I'd like you to do
下课后做爱生个孩子
after class is go have sex and have a baby.
好了 现在让我们假设
Okay. Now, let me just suppose
这并不会真的发生
that this isn't actually going to happen.
抱歉 抱歉
Sorry. Or sorry,
我不知道
I don't know.
让我们想想
Let's consider,
尽管他们做爱生个孩子的可能性
though, the possibility never to be actualized,
永远不会实现
the possibility that they would have sex and have a baby.
他的精子进入到她的卵子
His sperm joined with her egg,
形成一个受精卵
form a fertilized egg.
受精卵发育成一个胎儿
The fertilized egg develops into a fetus.
胎儿最终出生
The fetus is eventually born.
这个胎儿是
It's the fetus that we got by
37个卵子和4,000,309个精子的一种组合
mixing egg 37 with sperm 4,000,309.
这个人曾有可能出生
There's a person that could have been born.
但我们假设
But let's suppose,
他从未出生
never does get born.
这个可能出生的人
That particular person who could have been born,
我们叫他拉里
let's call Larry.
拉里是一个可能存在的人
Okay. Larry is a possible person.
这也许会发生 但最终没有发生
It could happen, but won't happen.
他可能会存在 但没有存在
It could exist, but won't exist.
现在 有多少人会为拉里感到难过
Now, how many of us feel sorry for Larry?
可能没人
Probably nobody.
毕竟拉里从未存在过
After all, Larry never even exists.
我们怎会为拉里难过呢
How can we feel sorry for Larry?
这就很好地说明
Now, that made perfect sense
当我们接受存在前提时
when we accepted the existence requirement,
只有你存在 事情才能伤害你
something can be bad for you only if you exist.
鉴于拉里从未存在
Since Larry never exists,
所以他不会受到伤害
nothing can be bad for Larry.
可一旦我们放弃了存在前提
But once we give up on the existence requirement,
一旦我们说即使你从没存在过
once we say something can be bad for you
你也会受到伤害
even if you never exist,
那么我们就没有理由
then we no longer have any grounds
不同情拉里
for withholding our sympathy from Larry.
我们会说 "哦 天呐
We can say, "Oh my gosh!
想想拉里本可拥有多美好的生活
Think of all the goods in life that Larry would have had,
只要他能出生的话
if only he'd been born.
但他从未出生
But he never is born,
所以他被剥夺了所有

美好的事物"
so he's deprived of all those goods."
如果死亡对我是坏事
And if death is bad for me,
因为它剥夺了我生活中美好的事物
by virtue of being deprived of the goods of life,
那么对拉里而言没有出生也是坏事
then nonexistence is bad for Larry,
因为他无法得到生命中美好的事物
by virtue of his being deprived of all the goods of life.
我碰到的事情很糟
I've got it bad.
因为我会死掉
I'm going to die.
但拉里碰到的事更糟
Larry's got it worse.
我们更应为他难过
We should really feel much sorrier for Larry.
但我打赌你们没人会为拉里难过
But I bet none of you feels sorry for Larry,
这个根本没出生的人
this never-to-be-born-at-all person.
探讨这个问题需要注意的是
Now, it's important in thinking about this,
我们不求助于灵魂理论
that we not slip back into some version of the soul view,
尤其是一些灵魂理论中
especially some version of the soul view
认为灵魂先行存在
where the souls are prior existents.
你也许会想象 好像荷马也这么写过
You might imagine--there's a scene in Homer, I think,
荷马 古希腊盲诗人
祭祀过后
where some sort of sacrifice is being made
死者的灵魂仍在翱翔
and all the dead souls go hover around,
期待再次托生
longing to be alive again,
再次体会生命的气息 对吧
to savor the food and taste and smells of life, right?
如果你这样想象那些不存在的人
If you've got this picture of the nonexistent,
只有潜在可能性的
merely potentially possible
却从没出生的人
but never-to-be born individuals as
以类似鬼魂的状态存在着
somehow really already existing in a kind of ghost-like state,
希望能够托生
wishing they were born,
你也许会为他们感到难过
maybe you should feel sorry for them.
但在我所构建的
But that's not what the story is
物理主义者的世界中 这根本不可能
at all on the physicalist picture that I'm assuming.
那些不存在的人 不是幽灵一般
Nonexistent people don't have a kind of spooky,
渴望托生 以鬼魂的状态存在着
wish-I-were-alive ghost-like existence.
他们并不存在 就是这样
They just don't exist, full stop.
所以我们一想到拉里其实并不存在
So once we keep that in mind about Larry,
就不会为他难过了
it's very hard to feel sorry for him.
当然
Of course, look,
既然我讲到
since I've been going on about how
他被剥夺了生命中所有美好的事物
he's deprived of all the good things in life,
也许有些人会为拉里感到难过
maybe some of you are feeling sorry for Larry.
所以有必要进一步认清
So it's worth getting clear about just what it would mean
认真思考
to take seriously the thought
从未出生对潜在人类造成的伤害
that it's bad for merely potential people never to be born.
潜在人类的数目有多少

How many merely potential people are there?
我希望你们对数量级有个概念
I want you to get a sense of just how many there are.
不仅仅是拉里
Not just Larry,
我们随意组合精子卵子
the unborn person that would exist if we mixed whatever it was,
37个卵子和4,000,029个精子
you know, egg 37 and sperm 4,000,029,
大概就这么多
whatever the number was.
不仅仅是拉里
Not just Larry,
这个潜在的却没有出生的人类
who's a potential person who never gets born,
会成为我们同情的对象
that would have to be an object of our sympathy,
我们还要同情太多太多可能出生
there's a lot of merely potential,
却没有出生的人
never-to-be-born people.
有多少
How many?
非常多
A lot.
具体多少
How many?
我曾经计算过这个数量
Well, I once tried to calculate.
大家知道
Well, as you'll see,
这种估算不是一页纸就能做完的
the calculation is utterly off the back of the envelope,
得到的结果只是粗略的
sort of rough and completely inadequate in ways that I'll point out.
但起码可以让你们有个概念
But at least it'll give you a sense of
知道会有多少潜在的人类
just how many potential people there are.
先做一个保守估计
Let's start modestly and ask:
我们这一代人
How many possible people could we,
可以制造多少人类
the current generation, produce?
我说过 几年前我做过这项计算
Now as I say, I made this calculation some years ago.
结果是否精确并不重要
It doesn't really matter how inaccurate it's going to be.
我们会看到
As we'll see,
这项估算很粗略
it's very rough,
但却能指出大致情况
but it makes the point.
会有多少人类
How many people are there?
或者说 可能产生多少潜在的人类
How many possible people, rather, could there be?
假设现在有五十亿人口
Well, suppose there were 5 billion people.
大概一半是男人
Roughly half of them are men,
一半是女人
half of them are women.
那我们想要知道的是
What we want to know then is,
这二十五亿男人和二十五亿女人
how many possible people could the 2.5 billion men
可能创造出多少潜在人类呢
make altogether with the 2.5 billion women?
计算时至关重要的一点在于
The crucial point in thinking about this is
每一颗不同的卵子
to realize that every time you combine a different egg
和每一颗不同的精子结合
with a different sperm,
就会形成一个不同的人
you end up with a different person, right?
如果你把同一颗卵子和不同的精子结合
If you combine an egg with a different sperm,
你就得到了不同的遗传密码
you get a different genetic code
形成了不同的人
that develops into a different person.
你用这颗精子与另一颗卵子结合
You combine that sperm with a different egg,
会形成另一个人
you get a different person.
如果我父母提

前五分钟做爱
You know, if my parents had had sex five minutes earlier
或是推迟五分钟
or five minutes later,
那么就是另一颗精子与卵子结合了
presumably some other sperm would have joined with the egg.
那么出生的就不是我
That would have been not me being born,
而是我的某个兄弟姐妹
but some sibling being born instead of me.
改变卵子
Change the egg,
改变精子
change the sperm,
就形成不同的人
you get a different person.
那我们要考虑的就是
So what we really want to know is,
在大概有五十亿人口的世界上
how many sperm-egg combinations are
究竟有多少种精子和卵子的组合
there with roughly 5 billion people in the world?
让我们算算
Well, let's see.
有二十五亿女人
There's 2.5 billion women,
二十五亿女人
2.5 billion women.
一个女人能排出多少卵子
How many eggs can a woman have?
女性排卵期大概是
Well, fertile periods, round numbers,
不需要太精确 大约30年
it's not really going to matter, precision, roughly 30 years,
每年排出大约12颗卵子
roughly 12 eggs a year.
总共就是这么多
So that's how many eggs.
实际上 做了这个计算后我就发现
Actually, I discovered some time after having done this calculation that
潜在卵子的数量要多得多
the number of possible eggs is far greater.
一个女人在排卵期内
A woman actually ovulates and gives off this many eggs roughly
大约排出这么多卵子
during her fertile period.
但是我发现
But there's many,
还有很多其它细胞
many other cells, I gather,
可以发育成卵子
that could have developed into eggs.
所以潜在的卵子数量要大得多
So that's a much, much larger number of potential eggs.
但这样算就够了
But this will do.
30年 每年12颗卵子
30 years, 12 eggs a year.
有多少男人呢
How many men?
大约二十五亿男人
Roughly 2.5 billion men.
每个男人能
Each man has a much longer
产生精子的时间要长得多
period in which he's able to produce sperm.
取个整数 大约50年
Let's just be round numbers here, 50 years.
一个男人一天可以做几次爱
How many times a day can the man have sex?
肯定不止一次
Well, certainly more than once,
但是我们保守估计 就算每天一次
but let's be modest here and just say once a day.
那么就是每年365次
So that's 365 times a day--a year.
一年365天
365 days a year.
365天 我想该这么写
365 days, I guess that should be.
我字写得太大了
I wrote it too big.
没给最后一个数留下空间
I don't have space left for the last number.
男人每次射精的时候
Each time the man ejaculates,
都射出大量精子
he gives off a lot of sperm.
有多少呢
How much sperm?
非常多
A lot.
在射精的时候
As it happens,
我有次专门查过
I looked this up once.
每次射出的精子大约是四千万
Round numbers, 40 million

sperm each time the man ejaculates.
所以最后一个数字应该是乘以四千万精子
So this last number has got to be times 40 million sperm.
好的 我们根据现有的男性的数目
Okay, so we took all the men that exist now
和现有的女性数目来询问
and all the women that exist now and ask:
会有多少潜在的人类
How many merely possible people?
当然 他们中的
You know, most of these
大部分人是不会出生的
people are never going to be born, of course.
但我们探讨的是潜在的人类
But we're talking about possible people.
究竟有多少潜在的人类
How many possible people are there?
25亿乘以30乘以12
There's 2.5 billion times 30 times 12 times
乘以25亿乘以50乘以365乘以4千万
2.5 billion times 50 times 365 times 40 million.
结果等于 大概算一下
That equals--I'm going to round here.
结果接近于十五亿亿亿亿人
That equals approximately 1.5 million billion billion billion people.
也就是1.5乘以10的33次方
That's 1.5 x 1033.
这就是潜在人类的数量
That's how many possible people we could have,
大致说来
roughly speaking,
下一代的潜在数量
in the next generation,
而其中显然只有很少部分会真正出生
of which obviously a miniscule fraction are going to be born.
也就是说 如果你为拉里难过
There's--if you're going to feel sorry for Larry,
你就要为每一个潜在的人类难过
you've got to feel sorry for every merely possible person.
每一个可能出生却没有出生的人
Every person who could have been born that never gets born.
一共有十五亿亿亿亿这么多
And there's 1.5 million billion billion billion such people,
潜在的人类
such possible people.
当然 实际上
And of course, the truth of the matter is,
我们计算的只是冰山一角
we barely scratched the surface here.
因为想想这些人
Because now think of all those people and think about
想想他们可能创造的人类
all the possible children they could have.
我们仅从五十亿人算起得到这个数字
We got this number starting with a mere 5 billion people.
想想我们会得到多大的数字
Imagine the number we would get if we then
如果我们计算孙辈的数量
calculated how many possible grandchildren we could have.
我不是说这些人会同时存在
I don't mean that we could actually have all of those people at the same time,
我是说每个人背后都有
but for each one there is a possible person
可能存在的人
that could have existed.
你很快会发现 潜在人类的数量
You quickly end up with more possible people than
比我们所知的宇宙中的微粒还要多
there are particles in the known universe.
这才仅仅是两代人 不是吗
And that was just two generations, right?
如果是三代人
Three generations,
就会更多
you're going to have more.
四代人
Four generations,
会更多更多
you're going to h

ave more.
如果我们想象潜在人类的数量
If we think about the number of possible people,
这些可能存在却永远不会存在的人
people who could have existed but will never exist,
这个数字简直大得不可思议
the number just boggles the mind.
所以 如果我们认为必须放弃存在前提
And then, if we say we've gotten rid of the existence requirement
那么即使你从未存在 也会受到伤害
and so things can be bad for you even if you never actually exist,
那我们就不得不说
then we have to say of
对这数以亿亿亿亿亿计的
each and every single one of those billions upon billions upon billions
潜在人类中的每一个人来说
upon billions upon billions of possible people
没有出生是一件灾难
that it's a tragedy that they never get born,
因为他们无法得到生命中美好的事物
because they're deprived of the goods of life.
如果我们真的放弃存在前提
If we do away with the existence requirement,
那么潜在人类无法出生的悲剧
then the tragedy of the unborn possible people is
就是震惊世人的伦理灾难
a moral tragedy that mere--that just staggers the mind.
人类历史上最惨绝人寰的灾难
The worst possible moral horrors of human history
他们甚至没有出生就被这个灾难
don't begin to even be in the same ballpark as the moral horror of the loss,
剥夺了美好的生命
the deprivation for all of these unborn possible people.
我不知道你怎么想 但就我而言
Now, I don't know about you, when I think about it,
我能说的仅仅是
all I can say is
我没被这个灾难震惊
it doesn't strike me as being a moral catastrophe.
我没有痛不欲生 悲伤气馁
I don't feel anguish and sorrow and dismay at the loss,
为了这无数亿亿亿亿亿人的损失
at the lack, at the deprivation for the untold billion, billion, billion, billions.
但如果我们不引入存在前提
But if we give up the existence requirement
用剥夺说来解释我的死亡所造成的伤害
and explain the badness of my death via the deprivation account,
我们确实得承认这是一个伦理灾难
we do have to say this is a moral tragedy,
这数以亿亿亿亿计的没有出生的人的灾难
the fact that the billions upon billions are never born.
不过 如果我们不承认这是个伦理灾难
Well, if we're not prepared to say that's a moral tragedy,
当然我们也有办法避免
well, we could avoid that
接受存在前提
by going back to the existence requirement.
但是 如果我们接受存在前提
But of course, if we do go back to the existence requirement,
我们就会回到伊壁鸠鲁的论断
then we're back with Epicurus' argument.
你只有存在 才会受到伤害
Something can be bad for you only if you exist.
当你死去 你不复存在
When you're dead, you don't exist.
所以死亡不会对你造成伤害
So, death can't be bad for you.
现在我