Is kicking your enemy into a large well after screaming, "This is Sparta!" the Hellenistic embodiment of courage?

大聲嘶吼「這就是斯巴達！」後將敵人踢進一口大井裡是體現希臘式勇猛的方式嗎？

Well, it could be, looking at the Greek mythological heroes like Achilles and Hector, and their bravery on the battlefield.

是可以算，看看阿基里斯和赫克托耳等希臘神話英雄，以及他們在戰場上的英勇表現。

But the definition of courage doesn't stop there as far as the Stoics are concerned.

但就斯多葛學派而言，勇氣的定義並不止於此。

As a matter of fact, there are many different philosophical ideas about what courage really is.

事實上，關於勇氣到底是什麼，有許多不同的哲學觀點。

This video is a short essay about how different philosophies define the virtue of courage.

這支影片會講述不同哲學家是如何定義勇氣的。

Now, if we want to be courageous according to Stoic ethics,

現在，根據斯多葛學派，想變得勇敢，

does that mean that we have to become these fearless warlords as we see in movies about the ancient Greeks,

是否就得成為古希臘電影中，無畏無懼的軍閥？

or do we have to become the hero that saves the princess?

還是得成為拯救公主的英雄？

Not necessarily.

不全然如此。

Courage is a Stoic virtue.

勇氣在斯多葛學派中算是種美德。

This means that courage is part of what Stoics call "eudaimonia," which means flourishing,

這意味著它是斯多葛學派所說「終極幸福」的一部分，這個詞有蓬勃綻放的意思，

and is regarded as the end goal.

被視為人生最終目標。

It's important to notice that, according to the Stoics, "eudaimonia" equals life in accordance with nature,

重點是，根據斯多葛學派的說法，「eudaimonia」代表順應自然的生活，

which is regarded as an optimal way for human beings to live.

這被認為是人類的最佳生活方式。

When we look at the Stoic definition of courage,

審視斯多葛學派對勇氣的定義，

we discover that it's subdivided into endurance, confidence, high-mindedness, cheerfulness, and industriousness.

可以發現它被細分為忍耐、自信、高尚、快樂和勤奮。

We can apply these characteristics in all kinds of situations.

我們可以在各種情況下運用這些特性。

We could be very courageous doctors or very courageous YouTube content creators

我們可以是非常勇敢的醫生或非常勇敢的 YouTuber 創作者，

as long as we do it confidently with positive energy and in a way that's disciplined.

只要我們以積極的能量和自律的方式自信地生活。

This is the key to success.

這就是成功的關鍵。

We can cultivate Stoic courage by controlled adversity, also known as "askesis,"

我們可以通過控制逆境來培養堅忍的勇氣，這也被稱為「苦修」，

through which we gradually expose ourselves to dis-preferred indifference.

通過這種逆境，我們逐漸讓自己對不愉悅漠不關心。

In this way, we become more confident, strong, and skilled.

如此一來，我們會變得更自信、強大且熟練。

Ethically, courage ought to be directed toward pursuits that are in favor of the common good.

從倫理上看，勇氣應該要利於追求公眾利益。

Preferably, things that are conformable to our own inborn nature and the nature of our environment.

最好是符合自己先天本性和環境性質的東西。

Thus, the Stoic hero is a virtuous hero.

因此，斯多葛派的英雄指的是品德高尚的英雄。

Now, Nietzsche was a German philosopher who valued courage very highly.

接著，尼采是位非常重視勇氣的德國哲學家。

According to him, courage is the main ingredient to become what he called, the "overman" or "übermensch."

根據尼采所言，勇氣是成為所謂「超人」或「übermensch」的要件。

The 'overman' is an individualist who has succeeded to free himself from the master-slave morality and lives self-sufficiently while following his own unique path.

這裡，「超人」指的是成功擺脫主奴道德、自給自足，走自己獨特道路的個人主義者。

"God is dead," declared Nietzsche, meaning that we've arrived in a secular age

尼采宣稱「上帝死了」，這意味著我們已然進入世俗時代。

in which God can no longer provide us with answers.

上天已無法再為我們提供答案。

In a similar way, Albert Camus saw institutionalized religions as a form of philosophical suicide,

與之相似，阿爾貝·卡繆將製度化宗教視為一種哲學自殺形式，

and submitting to them would mean that we refuse to see reality for what it truly is:

服從它們意味著我們拒絕看清現實的真面目，

meaningless and absurd.

也就是毫無意義且荒謬。

Nietzsche, as well as Camus, thought that the right way to live as human beings is to create our own values and live by them,

尼采和卡繆認為，作為人類正確的生活方式是創造自己的價值觀並依循其生活，

instead of adopting values of certain belief systems and ideologies,

而不是全盤接收某些信仰體系和意識形態的價值觀。

which, in the end, only exploit us and rob us of our intellectual conscience.

這些價值觀最終只會剝削我們並掠奪我們的知識良知。

When we decide to set ourselves free from the herd mentality and truly forge our own path,

決定擺脫從眾心理，真正走自己的路

we need an immense amount of courage

需要巨大的勇氣，

because we have to break the chains of fear and convention.

因為我們得打破恐懼和習俗的束縛。

And by doing so, we're likely to encounter resistance from our environment.

這樣做，我們很可能會遇到來自周遭的阻力。

Simply put: courage is to become who we are.

簡單來說，真正的勇氣就是成為自己。

The Buddha had a slightly different view of courage.

佛陀對勇氣的看法則略有不同。

There's this common misunderstanding that Buddhist monks are a bunch of cowards that hide in their monasteries while renouncing life.

人們對和尚普遍有個誤解，認為他們是群躲在寺院裡放棄生活的膽小鬼。

The renunciation of life is partly true in Buddhism, as it is the renunciation of certain parts of life, also known as "samsara."

以佛教教義來說，放棄生命中的一部分是真的，指的是放棄生命中的「輪迴」。

Samsara is the wheel of suffering and involves all cravings and desires and pleasures that lead to suffering.

輪迴即是痛苦的迴圈，涉及所有渴望、慾望和愉悅，而這些都會導致痛苦。

By "taking refuge" in Buddhism, we seek to emerge from "samsara,"

通過「皈依」佛們，進而尋求擺脫「輪迴」

by giving up a great deal that conventionally makes life pleasurable.

而實行方式就是放棄許多生活中愉悅的事物。

For the regular person, giving up so many things means a great deal of pain and suffering.

對於普通人來說，放棄這麼多東西意味著極大的痛苦和磨難。

And this is the irony:

諷刺的地方就在此：

one has to go through the pain of giving up short-term pleasure and devoting oneself to a life of practice and discipline, to become free of pain.

人必須放棄眼前的享樂，全身心投入修行和紀律生活，才能擺脫痛苦。

Thus, embarking on the path of enlightenment is a very brave thing to do.

因此，決心走上這條開悟之路是件非常勇敢的事。

Part of the path of enlightenment is overcoming our fears.

開悟之路其中一部分便是克服自身恐懼。

Because a truly enlightened being has no fear.

真正開悟的人是無懼的。

And in order to overcome fear, we have to face it.

想克服恐懼，就得面對它。

This is especially true for the fear of death.

對死亡的恐懼尤是如此。

When the Buddha experienced the harsh reality of life,

當佛陀經歷生活嚴酷的現實，

he chose not to be sheltered from it but to acknowledge suffering and accept it.

他沒有逃避，而是選擇承認這些苦難並接受它。

Thus, in Buddhism, courage means that we dare to see reality for what it is,

是以，在佛教中，勇氣意味著敢於看清現實，

and transform our fear and suffering into a path to awakening.

並將恐懼和痛苦轉化為醒悟。

Philosopher Alan Watts, who was a scholar of Zen, spoke about a metaphysical courage,

哲學家兼禪宗學者阿倫·沃茨曾提及一種形而上學的勇氣，

which is basically the awareness that all manifestations of existence are a show.

基本上就是意識到所有存在的表現形式都是一場表演。

So, we approach life how we approach a movie.

所以，我們看待生活就該像看電影一般。

This means that on the one hand we get tangled up in life and experience fear

這意味著，一方面，我們身陷生活的泥沼並感到恐懼

because everything that happens appears real to us.

是因為發生的一切對我們來說都是真實的。

But on the other hand, we can see the illusion for what it is.

但另一方面，我們也可以將其視作幻象。

Then, life is no more frightening than playing a video game.

如此，生活還不如電玩可怕。

According to Watts, this is what the Samurai were after when they were studying Zen.

按照瓦茨的說法，這就是武士學禪時所追求的。

They wanted this metaphysical courage, so nothing would scare them.

他們追求這種形而上學的勇氣，如此他們便不再懼怕。

This is easier said than done.

但說比做容易。

And when we put this idea into practice, we discover that our bodies still react to the things we perceive as scary.

將此想法付諸實踐時，會發現身體仍然會對我們認為可怕的事物做出反應。

We still feel fear.

我們仍然感到恐懼。

Now, the key to dealing with this fear is not fearing fear and seeing these sensations as a part of the illusion.

現在，處理恐懼的關鍵不是害怕這些恐懼，而是將這些感覺視為幻覺的一部分。

The opposite is the act of worrying, which is a vicious cycle that is absolutely useless.

相反的，擔心只會讓你陷入無意義的惡性循環。

The cause of worrying is the illusion that we believe that by thinking, we can control the future,

憂慮的起因是我們相信通過思考，自己可以控制未來，

which isn't the case.

事實並非如此。

Thus, in this context, courage is the ability to simply letting the show play out as it plays out.

因此，在此情況下，勇氣其實是接受事情發生的能力。

The last form of courage I'd like to explore is a nice add-on to the previous one.

我想探索的最後一種勇氣是對前面提到這點的補充。

The founder of Stoicism, Zeno of Citium, once had a teacher called Crates of Thebes,

斯多葛學派的創始人，季蒂昂的芝諾，曾有位老師叫克拉特斯，

who was the most well-known cynic at that time.

是當時最著名的犬儒主義者。

Crates saw that Zeno had difficulties putting aside his shame.

克拉特斯看到芝諾難以放下恥辱之心。

So, he let his pupil walk around with a pot of lentil soup.

於是，他便讓弟子端著一鍋扁豆湯四處走動。

Lentils as a dish were looked down upon because it was seen as food for peasants.

當時，人們認為扁豆是粗鄙的菜餚，它被視作農民、粗人的食物。

Because he saw Zeno struggling and ashamed doing this assignment,

看到芝諾做這項任務時的掙扎和羞愧，

Crates broke the pot with his staff,

克拉特斯用手杖打破了鍋，

and Zeno ran away in embarrassment with the lentil soup flowing down his legs.

扁豆湯順著芝諾的腿流了下來，他傖惶逃離現場。

"Why run away, my little Phoenician? Nothing terrible has befallen you," Crates said.

「為什麼要逃跑，我的小腓尼基人？這沒什麼可怕的。」克拉特斯說。

He wanted to teach Zeno the art of shamelessness and the freedom that comes with that.

他想教導芝諾拋棄羞恥，以及隨之而來的自由。

This freedom is very well portrayed by Crates' teacher, Diogenes of Sinope, who lived in a barrel.

克拉特斯的老師，住在木桶中的錫諾普的第歐根尼很好地描繪了這種自由。

Alexander the Great was very interested in Diogenes and traveled a long way to meet him.

亞歷山大大帝對第歐根尼很感興趣，不遠千里去見他。

He asked Diogenes what he could do for him because with his wealth and power he could get him anything that the empire had to offer.

他問第歐根尼他能為他做些什麼，因為憑藉其財富和權力，他可以得到帝國內的任何東西。

Diogenes looked at him and answered:

第歐根尼看向他回答道：

"Can you please step aside? Because you're blocking my sun."

「你能不能讓一下？你擋到我的陽光了。」

Diogenes' lifestyle granted him the possibility to be independent.

第歐根尼的生活方式使他有能獨立於眾。

He didn't need the approval of other people nor the help of the most powerful man on earth.

他不需要任何人的認可，也不需要地球上最有權勢的人的幫助。

But it took him great courage to live such a radical life.

但過著如此極端的生活需要很大的勇氣。

According to the Cynics, real courage means that we simply don't give a damn about external things,

根據犬儒主義，真正的勇氣意味著不在乎外在事物，

including what people think and say about us, and don't let them stop us from living how we want to live.

這包括他人的看法及評論，不讓這些阻擋我們過想要的生活。

A courageous cynic is shameless.

勇敢的犬儒主義者是沒有羞恥的。

All in all, the human experience is full of fear, which can block us from living even the most ordinary of lives.

總而言之，人類生活中充滿恐懼，甚至會阻擋我們過上最平凡的生活。

That's why it's important to cultivate courage, so we can live more happily and freely.

這就是為什麼培養勇氣很重要，如此我們才能更加快樂、自由地生活。

Or at least, so we can cope with the predicament of being involuntarily thrown into this world.

或至少，我們才能應對身不由己存在於世上得面臨的困境。

As Albert Camus stated, "Sometimes it takes more courage to live than to shoot yourself."

正如阿爾貝·卡繆所說，「有時活著比開槍自殺需要更大的勇氣。」

Thank you for watching.

感謝收看。