Good news, I found three that I particularly liked.

好消息是: 我找到了3個特別喜歡的

The first by Samuel Johnson, who said,

第一個是賽繆爾˙詹森說的

“When making your choice in life, do not forget to live.”

「我們不停在生活中做出選擇，但不要忘了把握當下」

The second by Aeschylus, who reminded us that,

第二個是埃斯庫羅斯(註: 希臘詩人及悲劇作家) 他提醒了我們

“Happiness is a choice that requires effort.”

「快樂是自己的選擇，加上額外的努力」

And the third is one by Groucho Marx who said,

第三個是格魯喬˙馬克思(註: 美國喜劇演員、電影明星)說的

“I wouldn’t want to choose to belong to any club that would have me as a member.”

「我不想選擇任何一個俱樂部，將自己侷限於他們的會員身分」

Now, bad news, I didn’t know which one of these quotes to choose and share with you.

壞消息是: 我現在不知道該選哪個來分享了

The sweet anxiety of choice.

選擇常常讓人愉悅又苦惱

In today’s times of post-industrial capitalism,

在今天這個後工業資本主義的時代

choice, together with individual freedom and the idea of self-making,

人們對與選擇掛勾的個人自由及自我塑造理念

has been elevated to an ideal.

要求越來越高

Now, together with this, we also have a belief in endless progress.

我們還深信未來會不斷進步

But the underside of this ideology has been an increase of anxiety,

這種意識形態的缺點是它讓人們感到焦慮

feeling of guilt, feeling of being inadequate,

感到罪惡、覺得自己有太多不足

feeling that we are failing in our choices.

覺得自己可能做錯了選擇

Sadly, this ideology of individual choice has prevented us to think about social changes.

遺憾的是 這種個人選擇的意識形態更讓我們忽視了社會變遷

It appears that this ideology was actually very efficient in pacifying us as political and social thinkers.

不過這種思想對於政治家或社會思想家卻有安撫的作用

Instead of making social critique, we are more and more engaging in self-critique,

相較於批判社會 我們更常批評指教自己

sometimes to the point of self-destruction.

有時候甚至到了自我毀滅的程度

Now, how come that ideology of choice is still so powerful,

那為什麼這種意識形態依然如此盛行呢?

even among people who have not many things to choose among?

也仍然影響著沒有太多選擇的人?

How come that even people who are poor very much still identify with the idea of choice, the kind of rational idea of choice which we embrace?

為什麼貧窮的人 也認同我們接受的「理性選擇」概念呢?

Now, the ideology of choice is very successful in sort of opening for us

「選擇」其實成功為人們

a space to think about some imagined future.

創造了對未來的想像空間

Let me give you an example.

我舉個例子

My friend Manya, when she was a student at university in California,

我朋友曼雅 當她還在加州讀大學時

was earning money by working for a car dealer.

為汽車仲介工作 賺取零用錢

Now, Manya, when she encountered the typical customer,

當客戶上門時

would debate with him about his life style, how much he wants to spend,

她會問客戶的生活型態、預算、

how many children he has, what does he need the car for?

有幾個小孩、買車的用途?

They would usually come to a good conclusion what would be a perfect car.

最後通常能找到一台合適的車

Now, before Manya’s customer would go home and think things through,

客戶回家好好考慮一番之前

she would say to him,

曼雅會告訴他:

“The car that you are buying now is perfect,

「我們剛剛選的那台車很不錯

but in the few year’s time, when your kids will be already out of the house,

但幾年後 當孩子長大離家

when you will have a little bit more money,

你也有更多錢時

that other car will be ideal.

另一台車會更適合你

But what you are buying now is great.”

但原本的最符合你現在所有需要」

Now, the majority of Manya’s customers who came back the next day bought that other car,

大部分客戶都會隔天回來買下那另一台車

the car they did not need, the car that cost far too much money.

那台他們現在不需要、也更貴的車

Now, Manya became so successful in selling cars that soon she moved on to selling airplanes.

曼雅越賣越成功 她很快就改行去賣飛機了

And knowing so much about the psychology of people

精準掌握人類心態

prepared her well for her current job, which is that of a psychoanalyst.

讓她對現在的職業－心理分析師 更加得心應手

Now, why were Manya’s customers so irrational?

為什麼曼雅的客戶如此不理智?

Manya’s success was that she was able to open in their heads an image of an idealized future,

曼雅的成功秘訣就在於她為客戶編織了一個未來的美夢

an image of themselves when they are already more successful, freer.

自己變得更成功、更自由自在的美夢

And for them, choose that other car was as if they are coming closer to this ideal

對買主來說 選擇那另一台車 就表示離美夢又更近了點

in which it was as if Manya already saw them.

離那個好像一定會實現的夢更近了點

Now, we rarely make really totally rational choices.

我們很少做出百分之百理性的選擇

Choices are influenced by our unconscious, by our community.

選擇會受到潛意識、所處的社會環境影響

We’re often choosing by guessing, what would other people think about our choice?

通常也都包含極多臆測成分－要是我選了這個 別人會怎麼想?

Also we are choosing by looking at what others are choosing.

社會規範還有他人的選擇

We’re also guessing what is socially acceptable choice.

都會影響我們最後的決定

Now, because of this, we actually even after we have already chosen, like bought a car,

正因為如此 我們才會在做出選擇後－比方說 已經買了車

endlessly read reviews about cars,

卻還一直在瀏覽各廠牌車子的評價

as if we still want to convince ourselves that we made the right choice.

好像想要說服自己買對了車

Now, choices are anxiety-provoking.

選擇讓人產生焦躁不安的情緒

They are linked to risks, losses.

因為它們背後隱藏的

They are highly unpredictable.

是難以預料的風險、損失

Now, because of this, people have now more and more problems that they are not choosing anything.

太多選擇反而帶來困擾 所以有些人開始一樣都不選

Not long ago, I was at a wedding reception.

不久前 我在一個婚宴上

And I met a young, beautiful woman who immediately started telling me about her anxiety over choice.

遇到一位年輕貌美的女士 她馬上開始向我抱怨她對於選擇的煩惱

She said to me, “I needed one month to decide which dress to wear.”

她說: 「我需要一個月來決定到底穿哪件洋裝;

Then she said, “For weeks I was researching which hotel to stay for this one night.

新婚之夜住的旅館 我也找了好幾個禮拜;

And now, I need to choose a sperm donor.”

然後我現在又需要一個精子捐贈者」

I looked at this woman in shock.

我非常驚訝

“Sperm donor? What’s the rush?”

「精子捐贈者?! 會不會太早了?」

She said, “I’m turning 40 at the end of this year,

她說: 「我今年底就40了,

and I’ve been so bad in choosing men in my life.”

卻總是遇不到對的人」

Now choice, because it’s linked to risks, is anxiety-provoking.

因為選擇挾帶了風險 所以我們會擔心、會害怕

And it was already the famous Danish philosopher Søren Kierkegaard

丹麥哲學家索倫˙奧貝˙齊克果也早就說過

who pointed out that anxiety is linked to the possibility of possibility.

這種恐慌感和極度的不確定性息息相關

Now, we think today that we can prevent these risks.

我們認為在這個時代 風險已經可以避免

We have endless market analysis,

接二連三的市場分析

projections of the future earnings.

人民未來所得的預測

Even with market, which is about chance, randomness, we think we can predict rationally where it’s going.

即使是市場這種充滿機率、變動的東西 我們也還是覺得可以準確預測它的走向

Now, chance is actually becoming very traumatic.

事實上 「機率」可能導致嚴重的後果

Last year, my friend Bernard Harcourt at the University of Chicago organized an event,

去年我朋友柏納˙哈克在芝加哥大學籌畫了一個活動

a conference on the idea of chance.

是一場探討「偶然與機會」的座談

He and I were together on the panel, and just before delivering our papers,

我們一起上台去 開始之前

we didn’t know each other’s papers, we decided to take chance seriously.

兩人都不知道對方稿子的內容 但我們決定冒個險

So we informed our audience that what they will just now hear will be a random paper,

我們跟底下的人說 他們將會聽到兩份內容參雜在一起、

a mixture of the two papers, which we didn’t know what you know, each was writing.

完全沒組織過的稿子

Now, we delivered the conference in such a way.

我們用以下的方式進行－

Bernard read his first paragraph.

伯納念他手上稿子的第一段

I read my first paragraph.

然後我念我手上稿子的第一段

Bernard read his second paragraph, I read my second paragraph,

伯納念他的第二段 然後我念我的第二段

in this way towards the end of our papers.

就這樣一直到最後一段

Now, you will be surprised that a majority of our audience

你可能會很驚訝 大部分聽眾

did not think that what they’d just listened was a complete random paper.

都不覺得演講沒組織

They couldn’t believe that speaking from the position of authority

他們無法相信具有專業、權威的

like two professors we were, we would take you know, chance seriously.

兩個教授居然會把演講稿混著用

They thought we prepared the paper together

聽眾以為我們一起準備了演講稿

and was just joking that it’s random.

說混著用只是在開玩笑

Now, we live in times with a lot of information, big data,

這是個資訊、數據、關於人體臟器知識

a lot of knowledge about the insides of our body.

都大爆炸的時代

We decoded our genome.

我們甚至解碼基因

We know about our brains more than before.

對腦內運作達到前所未有的了解

But surprisingly, people are more and more turning a blind eye in front of this knowledge.

但人們對這些知識卻選擇視而不見

Ignorance and denial are on the rise.

愚昧和自欺欺人現象越來越嚴重

Now, in regard to current economic crisis,

眼前的經濟危機

we think that we will just wake up again and everything will be the same as before,

沒人當一回事 大家都覺得情況會自動好轉、自動回到之前的狀態

and no political or social changes are needed.

不需要任何政治或社會變革

In regard to ecological crisis, we think nothing needs to be done just now,

至於生態危機 我們也認為還不用積極去處理、面對

or others need to act before us.

或認為其他人應該先有所行動

Or even when ecological crisis already happens, like the catastrophe in Fukushima,

甚至當生態危機已經發生 例如福島核災

often we have people living in the same environment with the same amount of information

了解核災可怕的居民還是住在那裏

and half of them will be anxious about radiation and half of them will ignore it.

一半煩惱輻射問題 一半裝作沒那回事

Now, psychoanalysts know very well that people surprisingly don’t have passion for knowledge,

心理分析學家很清楚人們並不渴求知識

but passion for ignorance.

卻對無知有著難解的狂熱

Now, what does that mean?

這是什麼意思呢?

Let’s say when we are facing a life-threatening illness,

舉例來說 面對危及性命的疾病

a lot of people don’t want to know that.

許多人並不想知道事實

They rather prefer denying the illness, which is why it’s not so wise to inform them if they don’t ask.

他們傾向於否認自己生了病 這也是為什麼不主動戳破比較明智的原因

Surprisingly, research shows that sometimes people who deny their illness live longer than those who are rationally choosing the best treatment.

研究結果出人意料－有時否認病情的 比那些接受事實和治療的患者活得更久

Now, this ignorance, however, is not very helpful on the level of the social.

但這種視而不見 以社會的角度來看 並沒有助益

When we’re ignorant about where we are heading,

當我們對未來方向毫無頭緒

you know, a lot of social damage can be caused.

就可能產生許多社會成本

Now, on top of facing ignorance, we’re also facing today some kind of obviousness.

除了無知 我們還被「眼前的表象」蒙蔽

Now, it was French philosopher Louis Althusser who pointed out

法國哲人路易˙皮埃爾˙阿爾都塞曾說過

that ideology functions in such a way that it creates a veil of obviousness.

人們只看到意識形態的表層

Before we kind of do any social critique,

批判社會之前

it’s necessary really to lift that veil of obviousness

必須先揭開膚淺又明顯的表象

and to think through a little bit differently.

用不一樣的視角思考

If we go back to this ideology of individual, rational choice we often embrace,

回來看廣受認可的「個人之理性選擇」概念

it’s necessary precisely here to lift this obviousness

掀開那「顯而易見的表象」

and to think a little bit differently.

再用不同的角度思考 兩個是一樣的道理

Now for me, a question often is,

一直以來 我心中都有個疑問

why we still embrace this idea of a self-made man on which capitalism relied from its beginning?

為何今天人們還是覺得選擇能塑造個人 而不知道一切的起源其實都是資本主義?

Why we think that we are really such masters of our lives

為什麼我們會覺得自己有厲害到

that we can rationally make the best ideal choices,

可以做出最理性、最理想的抉擇

that we don’t accept losses and risks?

而拒絕蒙受損失或承擔風險?

And for me, it’s very shocking to see sometime very poor people,

看到很多非常貧窮的人

for example, not supporting the idea of the rich being taxed more.

不支持政府對富人增稅 讓我很詫異

Quite often here they still identify with a certain kind of a lottery mentality.

他們常常都抱著類似中樂透的心態

Okay, maybe they don’t think that they will make it in the future,

也許這輩子已沒機會成為富翁

but maybe they think, my son might become the next Bill Gates.

但自己的兒子可能會是下一個蓋茲

And who would want to tax one’s son?

誰希望自己的兒子被課比別人更多的稅?

Or, a question for me is also, you know why would people who have no health insurance not embrace universal healthcare?

另一個問題是 為什麼沒有健保的人會不支持該制度的普及呢?

Sometimes they don’t embrace it, again identifying with the idea of choice, but they have nothing to choose from.

有時候是因為 他們覺得自己是「選擇」不支持 但其實他們根本沒得選

Now, Margaret Thatcher famously said,

柴契爾夫人說過一句聞名世界的話

that there is nothing like a society.

沒有任何事物可與「社會」比擬

Society doesn’t exist.

「社會」根本不存在

It is only individuals and their families.

存在的只有「個人」和「家庭」

Sadly, this ideology still functions very well,

很不幸的 依然有人支持那種論調

which is why people who are poor might feel ashamed for their poverty.

那就是為何窮人會對赤貧感到羞愧

We might endlessly feel guilty that we are not making the right choices and that’s why we didn’t succeed.

我們可能一輩子都被罪惡感纏擾－因為我一直做錯選擇 才會老是失敗

We are anxious that we are not good enough.

害怕自己不夠好

That’s why we work very hard, long hours at the workplace

所以日以繼夜的努力工作

and equally long hours on remaking ourselves.

一次又一次 不斷重塑自己

Now, when we are anxious over choices,

怕自己選擇會帶來傷害

sometimes we easily give our power of choice away.

我們有時候會很輕易把選擇的權力拱手讓人

We identify with the guru who tells us what to do, self-help therapists,

我們想要一個智慧導師告訴我們該做什麼; 自我診療師

or we embrace a totalitarian leader who appears to have no doubts about choices, who sort of knows.

或者某個極權主義領導者 一個就是知道該選什麼、絕不會出差錯的人

Now, often people ask me,

人們常問我

“What did you learn by studying choice?”

「妳研究『選擇』都學到了些什麼?」

And there is an important message that I did learn.

我確實有個很重大的領悟: