英語資源頻道為大家整理的china daily 雙語新聞：不快樂是人類進(jìn)化的需要嗎，供大家閱讀參考。
Does Evolution Want Us To Be Unhappy?
Samuel Johnson called it the vanity of human wishes, and Buddhists talk about the endless cycle of desire. Social psychologists say we get trapped on a hedonic treadmill. What they all mean is that we wish, plan and work for things that we think will make us happy, but when we finally get them, we aren't nearly as happy as we thought we'd be.
塞繆爾·約翰遜(Samuel Johnson)稱之為人生希望的空幻，佛教徒在談?wù)撚妮喕?，社?huì)心理學(xué)家則說，我們被困在一架“快樂水車”上。他們的意思都是說，我們認(rèn)為自己會(huì)因獲得某些東西而快樂，于是我們憧憬這些東西，并為之籌劃和努力，但當(dāng)我們最終得到這些東西時(shí)，卻遠(yuǎn)不如當(dāng)初想象的那么快樂。
Summer makes this particularly vivid. All through the busy winter I longed and planned and saved for my current vacation. I daydreamed about peaceful summer days in this beautiful village by the Thames with nothing to do but write. Sure enough, the first walk down the towpath was sheer ecstasy -- but by the fifth, it was just another walk. The long English evenings hang heavy, and the damned book I'm writing comes along no more easily than it did in December.
對(duì)我來說，這一點(diǎn)在今年夏季得到十分生動(dòng)的印證。在整個(gè)繁忙的冬季，我一直期待這個(gè)假期，并且在做計(jì)劃和存錢。我幻想在寧靜的夏日待在泰晤士河(Thames)沿岸這座美麗的村莊里，除了寫作什么也不做。當(dāng)然了，第一次沿著河邊纖道漫步時(shí)絕對(duì)有種欣喜若狂的感覺──但到了第五次，就變成稀松平常的散步了。英國漫長的夜晚無聊透頂，而我手頭這本該死的書寫起來并不比去年12月的時(shí)候簡單。
This looks like yet another example of human irrationality. But the economist Arthur Robson has an interesting evolutionary explanation. Evolution faces what economists call a principal-agent problem. Evolution is the principal, trying to get organisms (its agents) to increase their fitness. But how can it get those dumb animals to act in accordance with this plan? (This anthropomorphic language is just a metaphor, of course -- a way of saying that the fitter organisms are more likely to survive and reproduce. Evolution doesn't have intentions.)
這看起來像是說明人類非理性的又一例證。但經(jīng)濟(jì)學(xué)家阿瑟?羅布森(Arthur Robson)給出了一種有趣的進(jìn)化論解釋：進(jìn)化面對(duì)的是一個(gè)被經(jīng)濟(jì)學(xué)家稱為“委托-代理問題”的困局，進(jìn)化是委托人，它試圖增強(qiáng)生物體（其代理人）的適應(yīng)性。但它怎樣才能讓那些愚蠢的動(dòng)物按照這一計(jì)劃行事呢？（當(dāng)然，這種擬人化的語言只是個(gè)隱喻──借此說明適應(yīng)性較強(qiáng)的生物體更易生存和繁衍。進(jìn)化本身是沒有意志的。）
For simple organisms like slugs, evolution can build in exactly the right motivations (move toward food and away from light). But it is harder with a complicated, cognitive organism like us. We act by imagining many alternative futures and deciding among them. Our motivational system has to be designed so that we do this in a way that tends to improve our fitness.
對(duì)蛞蝓這種簡單的生物體來說，進(jìn)化可以為他們置入精確的動(dòng)機(jī)（向食物移動(dòng)，并遠(yuǎn)離光線），但對(duì)于我們?nèi)祟愡@樣復(fù)雜的、有認(rèn)知能力的生物體來說則比較難。我們會(huì)設(shè)想許多種未來的選擇方案，從中做出選擇，繼而采取行動(dòng)。我們的動(dòng)機(jī)系統(tǒng)必須經(jīng)過設(shè)計(jì)，使我們能以傾向于增強(qiáng)適應(yīng)性的方式行動(dòng)。
Suppose I am facing a decision between two alternative futures. I can stay where I am or go on to the next valley where the river is a bit purer, the meadows a bit greener and the food a bit better. My motivational system ensures that when I imagine the objectively better future it looks really great, far better than all the other options -- I'll be so happy! So I pack up and move. From evolution's perspective that is all to the good: My fitness has increased.
假設(shè)我要在未來兩種選擇中做出一項(xiàng)選擇。我可以停留在原地，也可以繼續(xù)前往下一個(gè)河水更清一點(diǎn)兒、草坪更綠一點(diǎn)兒、食物更美味一點(diǎn)兒的山谷。我的動(dòng)機(jī)系統(tǒng)確保當(dāng)我想象客觀上更好的未來時(shí)，會(huì)感覺這種選擇很棒，比其他所有選擇都要棒得多──我會(huì)非?？鞓?！于是我收拾起行囊向前走。從進(jìn)化的角度來看，這一切都是向好的：我的適應(yīng)性增強(qiáng)了。
But now suppose that I have actually already made the decision. I am in the next valley. It does me no additional good to continue admiring the river, savoring the green of the meadow and the taste of the fruit. I acted, I have gotten the benefit, and feeling happy now is, from evolution's perspective, just a superfluous luxury.
但現(xiàn)在假設(shè)我實(shí)際上已經(jīng)做出了決定。我已經(jīng)到了下一個(gè)山谷。繼續(xù)觀賞河水、欣賞綠草、品嘗水果并不能讓我獲得更多益處。我已經(jīng)采取了行動(dòng)并從中獲益，現(xiàn)在從進(jìn)化角度來說，感覺快樂只是多余的奢侈。
Wanting to be happy and imagining the happy future made me act in a way that really did make me better off; feeling happy now doesn't help. To keep increasing my fitness, I should now imagine the next potential source of happiness that will help me to make the next decision. (Doesn't that tree just over the next hill have even better fruit?)
希望獲得快樂以及想象快樂的未來讓我采取了確實(shí)能讓我境遇改善的行動(dòng)；而現(xiàn)在感覺快樂則無助于改善境遇。要繼續(xù)增強(qiáng)適應(yīng)性，我現(xiàn)在應(yīng)該想象能幫助我做出下一個(gè)決定的新的潛在快樂源泉。（下一座山的樹上是不是有更好吃的水果？）
It is as if every time we make a decision that actually makes us better off, evolution resets our happiness meter to zero. That prods us to decide to take the next action, which will make us even better off -- but no happier.
似乎我們每次做出一個(gè)真正能改善處境的決定時(shí)，進(jìn)化就會(huì)把我們的快樂計(jì)量儀歸零。這會(huì)促使我們決定采取下一次行動(dòng)，會(huì)進(jìn)一步改善我們的境遇──但不會(huì)讓我們更快樂。
Of course, I care about what I want, not what evolution wants. But what do I want? Should I try to be better off objectively even if I don't feel any happier? After all, the Thames really is beautiful, the meadows are green, the food -- well, it's better in England than it used to be. And the book really is getting done.
當(dāng)然，我在乎的是我要什么，而不是進(jìn)化要什么。但我想要什么呢？我是否應(yīng)該努力改善自己的客觀處境，即便我并不會(huì)感到更快樂？畢竟，泰晤士河真的很美，草坪很綠，吃的嘛──英國菜比以前好吃了。我的書也寫得差不多了。
Or would it be better to defy evolution, step off the treadmill of desire and ambition and just rest serenely at home in Buddhist contentment? At least we humans can derive a bit of happiness, however fleeting, from asking these questions, perhaps because the answers always seem to be just over the next hill.
或者，如果我們反抗進(jìn)化，跳下欲望和雄心的水車，只是帶著佛家知足的心境，在家中靜靜地休息會(huì)不會(huì)更好呢？至少，我們?nèi)祟惸軌驈奶岢鲞@些問題中獲得一點(diǎn)快樂（不管這快樂是多么短暫），也許是因?yàn)榇鸢杆坪跤肋h(yuǎn)在下一座山上。
Does Evolution Want Us To Be Unhappy?
Samuel Johnson called it the vanity of human wishes, and Buddhists talk about the endless cycle of desire. Social psychologists say we get trapped on a hedonic treadmill. What they all mean is that we wish, plan and work for things that we think will make us happy, but when we finally get them, we aren't nearly as happy as we thought we'd be.
塞繆爾·約翰遜(Samuel Johnson)稱之為人生希望的空幻，佛教徒在談?wù)撚妮喕?，社?huì)心理學(xué)家則說，我們被困在一架“快樂水車”上。他們的意思都是說，我們認(rèn)為自己會(huì)因獲得某些東西而快樂，于是我們憧憬這些東西，并為之籌劃和努力，但當(dāng)我們最終得到這些東西時(shí)，卻遠(yuǎn)不如當(dāng)初想象的那么快樂。
Summer makes this particularly vivid. All through the busy winter I longed and planned and saved for my current vacation. I daydreamed about peaceful summer days in this beautiful village by the Thames with nothing to do but write. Sure enough, the first walk down the towpath was sheer ecstasy -- but by the fifth, it was just another walk. The long English evenings hang heavy, and the damned book I'm writing comes along no more easily than it did in December.
對(duì)我來說，這一點(diǎn)在今年夏季得到十分生動(dòng)的印證。在整個(gè)繁忙的冬季，我一直期待這個(gè)假期，并且在做計(jì)劃和存錢。我幻想在寧靜的夏日待在泰晤士河(Thames)沿岸這座美麗的村莊里，除了寫作什么也不做。當(dāng)然了，第一次沿著河邊纖道漫步時(shí)絕對(duì)有種欣喜若狂的感覺──但到了第五次，就變成稀松平常的散步了。英國漫長的夜晚無聊透頂，而我手頭這本該死的書寫起來并不比去年12月的時(shí)候簡單。
This looks like yet another example of human irrationality. But the economist Arthur Robson has an interesting evolutionary explanation. Evolution faces what economists call a principal-agent problem. Evolution is the principal, trying to get organisms (its agents) to increase their fitness. But how can it get those dumb animals to act in accordance with this plan? (This anthropomorphic language is just a metaphor, of course -- a way of saying that the fitter organisms are more likely to survive and reproduce. Evolution doesn't have intentions.)
這看起來像是說明人類非理性的又一例證。但經(jīng)濟(jì)學(xué)家阿瑟?羅布森(Arthur Robson)給出了一種有趣的進(jìn)化論解釋：進(jìn)化面對(duì)的是一個(gè)被經(jīng)濟(jì)學(xué)家稱為“委托-代理問題”的困局，進(jìn)化是委托人，它試圖增強(qiáng)生物體（其代理人）的適應(yīng)性。但它怎樣才能讓那些愚蠢的動(dòng)物按照這一計(jì)劃行事呢？（當(dāng)然，這種擬人化的語言只是個(gè)隱喻──借此說明適應(yīng)性較強(qiáng)的生物體更易生存和繁衍。進(jìn)化本身是沒有意志的。）
For simple organisms like slugs, evolution can build in exactly the right motivations (move toward food and away from light). But it is harder with a complicated, cognitive organism like us. We act by imagining many alternative futures and deciding among them. Our motivational system has to be designed so that we do this in a way that tends to improve our fitness.
對(duì)蛞蝓這種簡單的生物體來說，進(jìn)化可以為他們置入精確的動(dòng)機(jī)（向食物移動(dòng)，并遠(yuǎn)離光線），但對(duì)于我們?nèi)祟愡@樣復(fù)雜的、有認(rèn)知能力的生物體來說則比較難。我們會(huì)設(shè)想許多種未來的選擇方案，從中做出選擇，繼而采取行動(dòng)。我們的動(dòng)機(jī)系統(tǒng)必須經(jīng)過設(shè)計(jì)，使我們能以傾向于增強(qiáng)適應(yīng)性的方式行動(dòng)。
Suppose I am facing a decision between two alternative futures. I can stay where I am or go on to the next valley where the river is a bit purer, the meadows a bit greener and the food a bit better. My motivational system ensures that when I imagine the objectively better future it looks really great, far better than all the other options -- I'll be so happy! So I pack up and move. From evolution's perspective that is all to the good: My fitness has increased.
假設(shè)我要在未來兩種選擇中做出一項(xiàng)選擇。我可以停留在原地，也可以繼續(xù)前往下一個(gè)河水更清一點(diǎn)兒、草坪更綠一點(diǎn)兒、食物更美味一點(diǎn)兒的山谷。我的動(dòng)機(jī)系統(tǒng)確保當(dāng)我想象客觀上更好的未來時(shí)，會(huì)感覺這種選擇很棒，比其他所有選擇都要棒得多──我會(huì)非?？鞓?！于是我收拾起行囊向前走。從進(jìn)化的角度來看，這一切都是向好的：我的適應(yīng)性增強(qiáng)了。
But now suppose that I have actually already made the decision. I am in the next valley. It does me no additional good to continue admiring the river, savoring the green of the meadow and the taste of the fruit. I acted, I have gotten the benefit, and feeling happy now is, from evolution's perspective, just a superfluous luxury.
但現(xiàn)在假設(shè)我實(shí)際上已經(jīng)做出了決定。我已經(jīng)到了下一個(gè)山谷。繼續(xù)觀賞河水、欣賞綠草、品嘗水果并不能讓我獲得更多益處。我已經(jīng)采取了行動(dòng)并從中獲益，現(xiàn)在從進(jìn)化角度來說，感覺快樂只是多余的奢侈。
Wanting to be happy and imagining the happy future made me act in a way that really did make me better off; feeling happy now doesn't help. To keep increasing my fitness, I should now imagine the next potential source of happiness that will help me to make the next decision. (Doesn't that tree just over the next hill have even better fruit?)
希望獲得快樂以及想象快樂的未來讓我采取了確實(shí)能讓我境遇改善的行動(dòng)；而現(xiàn)在感覺快樂則無助于改善境遇。要繼續(xù)增強(qiáng)適應(yīng)性，我現(xiàn)在應(yīng)該想象能幫助我做出下一個(gè)決定的新的潛在快樂源泉。（下一座山的樹上是不是有更好吃的水果？）
It is as if every time we make a decision that actually makes us better off, evolution resets our happiness meter to zero. That prods us to decide to take the next action, which will make us even better off -- but no happier.
似乎我們每次做出一個(gè)真正能改善處境的決定時(shí)，進(jìn)化就會(huì)把我們的快樂計(jì)量儀歸零。這會(huì)促使我們決定采取下一次行動(dòng)，會(huì)進(jìn)一步改善我們的境遇──但不會(huì)讓我們更快樂。
Of course, I care about what I want, not what evolution wants. But what do I want? Should I try to be better off objectively even if I don't feel any happier? After all, the Thames really is beautiful, the meadows are green, the food -- well, it's better in England than it used to be. And the book really is getting done.
當(dāng)然，我在乎的是我要什么，而不是進(jìn)化要什么。但我想要什么呢？我是否應(yīng)該努力改善自己的客觀處境，即便我并不會(huì)感到更快樂？畢竟，泰晤士河真的很美，草坪很綠，吃的嘛──英國菜比以前好吃了。我的書也寫得差不多了。
Or would it be better to defy evolution, step off the treadmill of desire and ambition and just rest serenely at home in Buddhist contentment? At least we humans can derive a bit of happiness, however fleeting, from asking these questions, perhaps because the answers always seem to be just over the next hill.
或者，如果我們反抗進(jìn)化，跳下欲望和雄心的水車，只是帶著佛家知足的心境，在家中靜靜地休息會(huì)不會(huì)更好呢？至少，我們?nèi)祟惸軌驈奶岢鲞@些問題中獲得一點(diǎn)快樂（不管這快樂是多么短暫），也許是因?yàn)榇鸢杆坪跤肋h(yuǎn)在下一座山上。