and to talk to you about a subject dear to my heart,

跟你們分享我所熱愛的主題

which is beauty.

那就是「美」

I do the philosophy of art, aesthetics,

我研究藝術哲學和美學

actually, for a living.

並以此為業

I try to figure out intellectually,

我試圖透過知性、

philosophically, psychologically,

哲學、心理學的層面探討

what the experience of beauty is,

「美」的感受究竟是什麼，

what sensibly can be said about it

我們如何用理智的語言來詮釋「美」

and how people go off the rails in trying to understand it.

人們如何透過非傳統的眼光來理解「美」

Now this is an extremely complicated subject,

這個主題何其複雜

in part because the things that we call beautiful

一部份的原因是，那些我們稱之為「美」的事物

are so different.

是如此不同

I mean just think of the sheer variety --

試想它們是多麼南轅北轍：

a baby's face,

嬰孩的小臉

Berlioz's "Harold in Italy,"

白遼士的《哈羅爾德在義大利》交響曲

movies like "The Wizard of Oz"

《綠野仙蹤》之類的電影

or the plays of Chekhov,

或是，契訶夫的戲劇

a central California landscape,

加州中部的壯麗景觀

a Hokusai view of Mt. Fuji,

葛飾北齋眼中的富士山

"Der Rosenkavalier,"

歌劇《玫瑰騎士》

a stunning match-winning goal

世界盃足球賽

in a World Cup soccer match,

精采致勝的那一球

Van Gogh's "Starry Night,"

梵谷的《星夜》

a Jane Austen novel,

珍‧奧斯汀的小說

Fred Astaire dancing across the screen.

螢光幕上弗雷德‧阿斯泰爾的舞蹈

This brief list includes human beings,

剛剛簡略列出來的事物，包括人物

natural landforms,

自然風景

works of art and skilled human actions.

藝術作品，以及人類精妙的動作

An account that explains the presence of beauty

要找到一種說法能夠涵蓋剛剛所列出的

in everything on this list

所有美麗事物

is not going to be easy.

並不是容易的事

I can, however, give you at least a taste

但是，我至少能讓你們稍微了解

of what I regard

我認為

as the most powerful theory of beauty

我們目前所有有關「美」的理論中

we yet have.

最有力的一個

And we get it not from a philosopher of art,

這個理論不是來自於藝術哲學家

not from a postmodern art theorist

也不是來自後現代藝術理論學者

or a bigwig art critic.

或是擲地有聲的藝術評論家

No, this theory

都不是。這個理論

comes from an expert

是出自一位

on barnacles and worms and pigeon breeding,

研究藤壺、蠕蟲和鴿子繁殖的專家

and you know who I mean:

你們應該知道我講的是誰：

Charles Darwin.

就是達爾文

Of course, a lot of people think they already know

當然，很多人認為自己已經知曉

the proper answer to the question,

這個議題的最佳答案

"What is beauty?"

什麼是「美」?

It's in the eye of the beholder.

美是存在於觀者的眼中

It's whatever moves you personally.

是能觸動你個人內心的東西

Or, as some people,

或者像是某些人

especially academics prefer,

尤其是學術界的人所偏好的說法

beauty is in the culturally conditioned

美是觀者在其個別的文化薰陶之下

eye of the beholder.

所產生的觀感

People agree that paintings or movies or music

人們都認同畫作、電影或音樂

are beautiful

是美麗的

because their cultures determine a uniformity of aesthetic taste.

因為他們的文化決定了他們美學品味的一致性

Taste for both natural beauty and for the arts

對於自然美景和藝術的喜好品味

travel across cultures

能輕易地跨越

with great ease.

各種文化

Beethoven is adored in Japan.

貝多芬在日本備受推崇

Peruvians love Japanese woodblock prints.

祕魯人喜歡日本木刻版畫

Inca sculptures are regarded as treasures

印加雕刻在英國博物館

in British museums,

被視為珍寶

while Shakespeare is translated

莎士比亞的作品則被翻譯成

into every major language of the Earth.

全世界各種主要語言

Or just think about American jazz

或者光想想看美國的爵士樂

or American movies --

或是美國電影

they go everywhere.

在世界各地隨處可見

There are many differences among the arts,

藝術有各種不同的形式

but there are also universal,

但卻也有普遍一致的

cross-cultural aesthetic pleasures

跨文化的審美樂趣

and values.

和美感價值

How can we explain

我們該怎麼解釋

this universality?

這種普遍性呢?

The best answer lies in trying to reconstruct

最好的答案就在我們試著重建

a Darwinian evolutionary history

藝術與美學品味的

of our artistic and aesthetic tastes.

演化歷史

We need to reverse-engineer

我們必須回溯

our present artistic tastes and preferences

目前既有藝術品味與偏好的源頭

and explain how they came

理解它們從何而來

to be engraved in our minds

如何在我們的心志生根

by the actions of both our prehistoric,

從史前的人類活動

largely pleistocene environments,

多活動在更新世環境中

where we became fully human,

也就是人類進化成全人的地方

but also by the social situations

以及不斷進化的

in which we evolved.

社會狀態

This reverse engineering

這樣的回溯動作

can also enlist help

同樣也能幫助

from the human record

保存記錄人類

preserved in prehistory.

在史前記錄的活動

I mean fossils, cave paintings and so forth.

像是化石，洞穴壁畫

And it should take into account

我們也應該考慮到

what we know of the aesthetic interests

那些舊石器時代的採獵族群

of isolated hunter-gatherer bands

他們的美學興趣

that survived into the 19th and the 20th centuries.

是如何延續至十九與二十世紀

Now, I personally

我個人

have no doubt whatsoever

並不懷疑

that the experience of beauty,

美的體驗包含

with its emotional intensity and pleasure,

強烈的情緒與歡愉

belongs to our evolved human psychology.

也就是屬於已進化人類的心理層面

The experience of beauty is one component

美的經驗是一系列的達爾文演化論中

in a whole series of Darwinian adaptations.

其中的一項元素

Beauty is an adaptive effect,

美是種適應性的影響

which we extend

也就是我們加以延伸

and intensify

強調

in the creation and enjoyment

創作與享受

of works of art and entertainment.

藝術品與其娛樂性

As many of you will know,

你們多數人大都知道

evolution operates by two main primary mechanisms.

演化的過程是由兩個主要機制所操控的

The first of these is natural selection --

第一為物競天擇

that's random mutation and selective retention --

也就是隨機突變與選擇性的保留

along with our basic anatomy and physiology --

加上人類基本的解剖與生理演化

the evolution of the pancreas or the eye or the fingernails.

例如胰臟，眼睛或指甲的進化

Natural selection also explains

物競天擇同樣也能解釋

many basic revulsions,

我們普遍感到懼怕與厭惡的事物

such as the horrid smell of rotting meat,

例如腐爛肉的可怕氣味

or fears, such as the fear of snakes

或恐懼，對蛇

or standing close to the edge of a cliff.

或站在懸崖邊的恐懼

Natural selection also explains pleasures --

物競天擇也能解釋歡愉

sexual pleasure,

性歡愉

our liking for sweet, fat and proteins,

以及我們對甜食，油脂與蛋白質的喜好

which in turn explains a lot of popular foods,

進而解釋現在許多受歡迎的食物

from ripe fruits through chocolate malts

是熟成乾果，巧克力麥芽

and barbecued ribs.

與烤肋排

The other great principle of evolution

另一個演化的原則

is sexual selection,

是性別選擇

and it operates very differently.

這項機制運作方式相當不同

The peacock's magnificent tail

例如孔雀的華美尾巴

is the most famous example of this.

就是好的例子

It did not evolve for natural survival.

這項機制跟物競天擇無關

In fact, it goes against natural survival.

事實上，是剛剛好相反

No, the peacock's tail

孔雀的尾巴

results from the mating choices

目的是吸引雌孔雀

made by peahens.

決定要不要與之交配

It's quite a familiar story.

這其實是相當耳熟的故事

It's women who actually push history forward.

女性是推動歷史演進的重要推手

Darwin himself, by the way,

另外，達爾文自己

had no doubts that the peacock's tail

也承認在母孔雀眼裡

was beautiful in the eyes of the peahen.

公孔雀的尾巴是非常美麗的

He actually used that word.

他甚至用『美麗』一字來形容

Now, keeping these ideas firmly in mind,

接下來，請將這些觀念記住

we can say that the experience of beauty

我們可以說美的體驗

is one of the ways that evolution has

是演化其中一個方式

of arousing and sustaining

是喚起和維持

interest or fascination,

其興趣或喜好

even obsession,

甚至是迷戀

in order to encourage us

讓我們能做出

toward making the most adaptive decisions

最適應環境的決定

for survival and reproduction.

以利生存與繁衍

Beauty is nature's way

美是一種

of acting at a distance,

也就是

so to speak.

隔空影響的自然法則

I mean, you can't expect to eat

我是指，你無法吃下

an adaptively beneficial landscape.

具有利適應條件的美好景色

It would hardly do to eat your baby

你不可能如此對你的小孩

or your lover.

或你所愛的人

So evolution's trick

所以演化的技巧就是

is to make them beautiful,

讓他們變得美麗

to have them exert a kind of magnetism

讓他們擁有某種吸引力

to give you the pleasure of simply looking at them.

讓你光是看著他們就感到歡樂

Consider briefly an important source of aesthetic pleasure,

另外，關於美所帶來的歡愉

the magnetic pull

另一個重要的來源就是

of beautiful landscapes.

美麗風景的吸引力

People in very different cultures

全世界許多來自

all over the world

不同文化背景的人們

tend to like a particular kind of landscape,

都會喜歡特定種類的風景景觀

a landscape that just happens to be similar

而這樣的風景剛好與史前時代

to the pleistocene savannas where we evolved.

人類進化的環境相當類似

This landscape shows up today

這樣的景觀畫面會出現在今天的

on calendars, on postcards,

月曆上，明信片上

in the design of golf courses and public parks

高爾夫球場與公園的設計

and in gold-framed pictures

以及掛在客廳裡

that hang in living rooms

並以金色邊框裱起來

from New York to New Zealand.

不論是在紐約或是紐西蘭皆隨處可見

It's a kind of Hudson River school landscape

這是類似哈德遜河畫派的風景畫

featuring open spaces

有著廣闊的地理空間

of low grasses

低矮的草坪

interspersed with copses of trees.

許多樹叢散落其間

The trees, by the way, are often preferred

另外，這裡的樹，大多像是

if they fork near the ground,

樹枝幾乎觸地

that is to say, if they're trees you could scramble up

也就像是，如果你在站某個茂密點上

if you were in a tight fix.

便可以攀爬而上

The landscape shows the presence

這樣的風景，也包含了水的蹤跡

of water directly in view,

無論是直接地描繪在眼前

or evidence of water in a bluish distance,

或是在畫面遠處以藍色筆觸表現水的存在

indications of animal or bird life

以及動物或鳥類

as well as diverse greenery

還有多樣的綠色植物

and finally -- get this --

以及最後

a path

一條小徑

or a road,

或一條路

perhaps a riverbank or a shoreline,

或是河岸，海岸線

that extends into the distance,

延伸至遠處

almost inviting you to follow it.

就像是邀請你前往

This landscape type is regarded as beautiful,

這樣的景色被認為是美麗的

even by people in countries

即使在某些國家裡的人們

that don't have it.

不曾擁有這樣的景觀風景

The ideal savanna landscape

理想的大草原景色

is one of the clearest examples

是其中一個明顯的例子

where human beings everywhere

說明不管來自哪裡的人類

find beauty

對美的認同

in similar visual experience.

是具有相同的視覺體驗

But, someone might argue,

但有些人也許會問

that's natural beauty.

這只能說明自然美景

How about artistic beauty?

那麼人工藝術品呢？

Isn't that exhaustively cultural?

藝術品難道不是完全的屬於個別文化性的嗎？

No, I don't think it is.

但我並不這麼認為

And once again, I'd like to look back to prehistory

我想再一次請大家回到史前時代

to say something about it.

來說明其原因

It is widely assumed

普遍認為

that the earliest human artworks

最早人類的藝術品

are the stupendously skillful cave paintings

是高超技術的洞穴壁畫

that we all know from Lascaux

從法國Lasaux洞窟壁畫

and Chauvet.

到Chauvet洞穴

Chauvet caves

Chauvet洞穴

are about 32,000 years old,

大概已經三萬兩千年

along with a few small, realistic sculptures

有著一些逼真的精緻雕塑品

of women and animals from the same period.

描繪當時代的女子與動物

But artistic and decorative skills

但藝術與裝飾技巧

are actually much older than that.

遠比所描繪的時代還要來得久遠

Beautiful shell necklaces

美麗的貝殼項鍊

that look like something you'd see at an arts and crafts fair,

就像是那種你會在藝術展覽場上找到的一樣

as well as ochre body paint,

例如赭石人體彩繪

have been found

經研究

from around 100,000 years ago.

迄今已超過十萬年

But the most intriguing prehistoric artifacts

但其中最吸引人的史前藝術品

are older even than this.

其實比人體彩繪還要古老

I have in mind

是像

the so-called Acheulian hand axes.

所謂的阿舍利手斧

The oldest stone tools are choppers

是最古老的石器，用來當做手斧

from the Olduvai Gorge in East Africa.

是在東非奧度瓦伊峽谷所發掘的

They go back about two-and-a-half-million years.

迄今已有約兩百多萬年的歷史

These crude tools

這些原始的工具

were around for thousands of centuries,

都已存在超過幾千世紀

until around 1.4 million years ago

直到約一百四十萬年前

when Homo erectus

當直立猿人

started shaping

開始削磨

single, thin stone blades,

單一，輕薄的刀片

sometimes rounded ovals,

有時磨成卵圓形狀

but often in what are to our eyes

但大多時候，在我們看來

an arresting, symmetrical pointed leaf

都是個對稱，尖頭樹葉狀

or teardrop form.

或是淚珠的形狀

These Acheulian hand axes --

這些阿舍利手斧

they're named after St. Acheul in France,

是以法國的阿歇爾遺址命名

where finds were made in 19th century --

當初於十九世紀時在這個地方開始發掘

have been unearthed in their thousands,

出土的幾千把此類型手斧

scattered across Asia, Europe and Africa,

遍及亞洲，歐洲與非洲大陸

almost everywhere Homo erectus

幾乎有直立猿人

and Homo ergaster roamed.

與非洲匠人地方都有其蹤跡

Now, the sheer numbers of these hand axes

現在，光是這些斧頭的數量

shows that they can't have been made

便可證明這種手斧

for butchering animals.

不光光只是用來宰殺動物

And the plot really thickens when you realize

當我們進一步了解，會發現此項假設為真

that, unlike other pleistocene tools,

和其他史前工具不同

the hand axes often exhibit

在這些斧頭

no evidence of wear

輕薄的刀片上

on their delicate blade edges.

多數都沒有磨耗的痕跡

And some, in any event, are too big

而且有些的體型明顯過大

to use for butchery.

不適於用在屠宰上

Their symmetry, their attractive materials

他們其對稱，流線的材質

and, above all,

以及

their meticulous workmanship

非常細緻的工藝技術

are simply quite beautiful

在我們今天看來

to our eyes, even today.

都是非常美麗的

So what were these ancient --

這些年代久遠

I mean, they're ancient, they're foreign,

我是指，他們歷史非常久遠，陌生

but they're at the same time

但同時

somehow familiar.

我們卻也感到十分熟悉

What were these artifacts for?

這些工藝品的用途是什麼？

The best available answer

最合理可能的答案

is that they were literally

是他們基本上是

the earliest known works of art,

目前已知年代最為古老的藝術品

practical tools transformed

實用工具轉變成

into captivating aesthetic objects,

非常吸引人的藝術品

contemplated both for their elegant shape