It's an obvious question until you try to answer it,

這是一個平凡無奇的問題， 直到某天你想要找出這問題的答案

but let's take it seriously.

我們認真討論這問題吧

How do you really know you exist?

你如何知道你是存在的？

In his "Meditations on First Philosophy,"

法國哲學家笛卡兒在他的著作「第一哲學沈思集」

René Descartes tried to answer that very question,

試圖回答這問題

demolishing all his preconceived notions and opinions

笛卡兒抛棄所有成見

to begin again from the foundations.

由基礎重新開始思考

All his knowledge had come from his sensory perceptions of the world.

笛卡兒的知識是來自於他對這個世界的認知

Same as you, right?

你也是，對吧？

You know you're watching this video with your eyes, hearing it with your ears.

你知道你正用眼睛看，用耳朵聽這部影片

Your senses show you the world as it is.

你的感官知覺證明 ，這個世界就如它所呈現的樣子

They aren't deceiving you, but sometimes they do.

你的感官知覺所沒有欺騙你， 但有時候，你就是被騙了

You might mistake a person far away for someone else,

你或許從遠處將一個人誤認成另一個人

or you're sure you're about to catch a flyball,

或是，你確定你將接到一顆球

and it hits the ground in front of you.

但實際上，這顆球掉卻狠狠地掉在你前面的地板上

But come on, right here and now,

但此時此刻

you know what's right in front of you is real.

你知道擺在你前面的事物， 到底有那些是真實存在的

Your eyes, your hands, your body: that's you.

你的眼睛，你的手，你的身體， 這是一個真正實在的你

Only crazy people would deny that, and you know you're not crazy.

只有瘋子才會否認自己的存在， 而你知道自己不是瘋子

Anyone who'd doubt that must be dreaming.

任何懷疑自己的人一定都是在作夢

Oh no, what if you're dreaming?

喔不，如果你真的是在作夢呢？

Dreams feel real.

夢境讓你感覺眼前這一切都是真的

You can believe you're swimming, flying

在夢中，你會相信自己正在游泳、飛行

or fighting off monsters with your bare hands,

或是赤手空拳打敗怪獸

when your real body is lying in bed.

而你的身體其實躺在床上

No, no, no.

不、不、不

When you're awake, you know you're awake.

當你醒著的時候， 你確實知道你是醒著的

Ah! But when you aren't, you don't know you aren't,

啊！但當你睡著時，你也不知道自己是否清醒

so you can't prove you aren't dreaming.

所以，你無法證明自己不是在作夢

Maybe the body you perceive yourself to have isn't really there.

或許在你的感官認知之下， 你的身體是不存在的

Maybe all of reality, even its abstract concepts,

包括所有真實的事物， 甚至是抽象的概念

like time, shape, color and number are false,

如：時間、形狀、顏色、數字等，都是騙人的

all just deceptions concocted

這一切都是因為你被操控了

by an evil genius!

被惡魔所操控

No, seriously.

不是啦，我們認真一點

Descartes asks if you can disprove the idea that an evil genius demon

笛卡兒問了個問題： 你是否能夠反駁

has tricked you into believing reality is real.

你是被惡魔欺騙， 以致於你相信一切實際存在的事物都是真的

Perhaps this diabolical deceiver has dupedyou.

或許是這個邪惡的惡魔欺騙了你

The world, your perceptions of it, your very body.

你用你的身體去感知這個世界的存在

You can't disprove that they're all just made up,

你無法反駁你感知到的這一切，是被捏造出來的

and how could you exist without them?

沒有感官知覺，那你如何確定你的存在？

You couldn't! So, you don't.

你無法，也不去想你是否存在

Life is but a dream,

人生像是一場夢

and I bet you aren't row, row, rowing the boat merrilyat all, are you?

我相信你會是愉快地划著船

No, you're rowing it wearily

不，你是疲倦地划著船

like the duped, nonexistent doof you are/aren't.

像個存在或不存在的傻瓜一樣

Do you find that convincing?

這樣的說法，有說服你嗎？

Are you persuaded?

你被說服了嗎？

If you aren't, good; if you are, even better,

如果你沒有被說服，很好， 如果你被說服了， 那更好

because by being persuaded,

因為對於被說服這件事

you would prove that you're a persuaded being.

你就會知道，你是一個被說服的人

You can't be nothing if you think you're something,

只要你認為自己是個「什麼」，你就不會什麼都不是

even if you think that something is nothing

即使你認為自己什麼都不是

because no matter what you think, you're a thinking thing,

因為不論你怎麼想， 你就是一個會思考的存在

or as Descartes put it, "I think, therefore I am."

就如笛卡兒所說的：「我思故我在」

and so are you, really.

你也是如此