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  • Consciousness is perhaps the biggest riddle in nature.

    意識也許是自然界最大的謎團。

  • Stripped to its core meaning,

    深究其核心意義,

  • consciousness is what allows us to be aware both of our surroundings and of our own inner state.

    意識使我們能夠意識到自身周圍與內在的狀態。

  • But thinking about consciousness has this habit of taking us round in circles.

    但思考什麼是意識經常讓我們的思考不停打轉。

  • We all intuitively know what consciousness is.

    我們都直覺地知道什麼是意識。

  • It's this...

    就是...

  • It's what you're experiencing here, right now.

    就是你此時此地正在經歷的。

  • But once we try to pinpoint just what exactly it is, it leaves us grasping at thin air.

    但是一旦試著精確指出它到底是什麼, 就只能抓到空氣。

  • And not just us, philosophers and scientists struggle to define consciousness.

    不只是我們,哲學家與科學家們也對定義意識也舉步維艱。

  • Different schools and ideas compete with one another, but no one has come close to figuring it out.

    不同的學派和思想相互競爭,但也沒有人能夠釐清。

  • It's unsettling to realise that we don't understand what makes us aware of ourselves and the world.

    認知到自己不知道為什麼能意識到自己與世界, 使我們感到不安

  • In this fuzzy area, consciousness and intelligence are also related, although they are not the same.

    在這模糊的區域,意識和智能也是相關的, 即使它們並不一樣。

  • We'll talk in greater depth about theories of consciousness and intelligence in other videos.

    我們將在其他影片中更深入的討論意識與智慧的理論。

  • Like much of what makes us human,

    像許多使我們成為人類的東西一樣,

  • our consciousness is likely to have evolved from less complex forms,

    我們的意識很可能是從不太複雜的形式演變來的,

  • as a product of evolution by natural selection.

    是天擇後進化的產物。

  • It has probably emerged from an immense several 100 million years sequence of countless micro steps,

    它可能是從一個跨越數億年, 無數小步驟組成的序列中顯現出來的,

  • that together make up a sort of gradient of consciousness.

    集合後漸漸成為了意識。

  • What was the first step on this path from the non-conscious

    從無意識開始到基礎的意識

  • to the basic consciousness that ultimately led to the convoluted consciousness we humans enjoy today?

    再到今日我們人類享有的錯綜複雜的意識, 起始的第一步究竟是什麼?

  • [Intro]

    [開場]

  • Take a stone.

    拿起一個石頭。

  • The consensus is that a stone is not conscious. Though, not everyone agrees even on this.

    我們都同意石頭是沒有意識的。 但並不是所有人都認同這個觀點。

  • Some panpsychists claim that a lump of rock may have an inner life.

    一些泛心論者宣稱一塊石頭可能有內心世界。

  • However, there are no real grounds for any such assumption since stones never show behaviour.

    然而這種假設毫無根據,因為石頭從來沒顯現過任何行為。

  • Their inner life can neither be proven nor disproven.

    它們的內心世界無法被證明或推翻。

  • A more common starting point is with the living things.

    更常見的出發點是生物。

  • A living thing, or a self, is a part of the universe that sustains itself and makes more of its kind.

    生物,或自我,是宇宙中維持自身與自我增值的存在。

  • To do so, it needs energy.

    這是需要能量的。

  • And this is where an awareness of the world comes in handy.

    這正是對世界的認知開始有用的地方。

  • The original function of consciousness was probably to direct a mobile self that was short of energy

    意識最初的功能相當可能是當缺乏能量時移動自身

  • to a fresh supply of food.

    到食物充足之處。

  • On the smaller scales of life, you don't need to be aware to find food.

    對較小尺度的生命而言,你並不需要知道覓食這件事。

  • Trichopax adhaerens - one of the simplest of all animals moves around haphazardly.

    絲盤蟲 - 一種最小的,隨機四處移動的生物。

  • It slows down in the presence of food, and speeds up in its absence.

    有食物時它會慢下來,反之則加速。

  • This is highly effective, and makes the tiny creature spend more time where there is food

    這招相當有效, 使得這微小生物會在有食物的地方花費的時間

  • spend more time where there is food than where there is not.

    多於沒有食物的地方。

  • But it never moves in a particular direction towards a particular target,

    但它從不朝向特定方向或目標移動,

  • and there's no need for it to be conscious of its environment.

    這樣他無須擁有能感知周圍的意識。

  • The first major step towards consciousness

    邁向意識最初始的重要目的

  • was probably taken when mobile selves started to move themselves directionally.

    很可能是有方向性的移動自身。

  • Moving towards what was good for them, say food, and away from what was less good,

    移向對它們有益的,像是食物,遠離對它們有害的,

  • say someone else who thought that they were food.

    像是其他認為他是食物的東西。

  • Take Dugesia tigrina - a tiny worm known for its funny face.

    以渦蟲為例 - 一種有趣的小蟲。

  • Sometimes the worm is hungry, and sometimes not.

    有時小蟲很餓,有時則不餓。

  • This means that when it moves,

    這代表當它移動時,

  • the worm self is not simply producing an automatic response to an external stimulus,

    小蟲並非簡單地對外在刺激產生自動反應,

  • but that its actions depend upon its inner, physiological state,

    它的行動取決於自己內在的生理狀態,

  • whether it's hungry or sated.

    是餓還是飽。

  • When it's just eaten, the worm is less energetic,

    如果它才剛吃飽,小蟲就不太活潑,

  • but when starved for a while, it will move itself in the direction of tasty things.

    但當餓一陣子後,它就會往美食的方向移動。

  • It uses chemoreceptors on its head to smell its environment,

    它用頭上的化學受體嗅聞環境,

  • and guide it in the direction where the scent of food is strongest.

    然後導向食物氣味最強的方向。

  • After finding and eating a meal, our worm buddy heads back to a dark sheltered spot to digest it in safety,

    找到並吃完一餐後,我們的小蟲會回到陰暗的掩蔽處,安全的消化食物,

  • until it's hungry again.

    直到它又餓了。

  • But animals that blindly follow their sense of smell don't have a concrete objective in view.

    但盲目跟從嗅覺器官的動物們並沒有有形目標的景象。

  • They still lack any sense of where they are heading.

    他們還是對自己的目標缺乏感知。

  • So, the next step on the ladder of consciousness is to add some perception at a distance,

    所以,意識的下一階段便是增加遠距離感知能力。

  • like vision.

    像是視覺。

  • Vision adds context and depth to our world.

    視覺為我們的世界增加了背景與深度。

  • With vision comes a sense of the space we and our food exists in.

    有來自對空間感知的視覺,食物與我們自身就出現了。

  • It adds a whole new dimension to awareness, and is a huge step towards more familiar consciousness.

    它為知覺增加了一個全新的維度, 是邁向我們較為熟悉的意識的一大步。

  • An optical apparatus, like an eye, enables us to visualise our goal and lock onto it.

    像眼睛這樣的光學設備允許我們形象化目標並鎖定它。

  • But even at this stage, a self is only able to pursue its food as long as it sees it.

    但即使在這個階段,自我只是當看見食物時可以追捕。

  • So, the next logical step needs to happen on the inside.

    所以,合乎邏輯的下一步必定是發生於內在。

  • To visualise food in its absence, for example,

    例如要想起缺乏的食物,

  • a self needs to create some sort of inner representation of the world.

    內在必須創造某種世界的內在形象。

  • Now, an animal can continue looking for food, even when it escapes its sensory range.

    現在,即使食物逃出它的可視範圍, 動物還是可以繼續尋找食物。

  • Because of this inner representation of what is relevant in the world,

    因為這個內在形象與實際世界是相關的,

  • it can remain focused on its food and its desire to get it.

    它可以持續關住在找食物與想得到的欲望。

  • Our self now exists in a world it can get familiar with.

    我們的自我現在存在於一個我們可以熟悉的世界。

  • The ability to remember things has emerged.

    記住事物的能力出現了。

  • Thanks to memory, animals can be distracted from the pursuit for a few seconds,

    由於記憶,動物們在被分神數秒後,

  • but quickly continue their path afterwards.

    依然可以快速的回到原本的目標。

  • A related phenomenon is called 'object permanence'.

    相關的現象稱為 "物體恆存"。

  • This describes our awareness that things continue to exist even when we can't see them.

    這敘述了我們認知到事物持續存在,即使並沒有看到。

  • This cognitive skill is enjoyed by some mammals and birds, and perhaps other animals too.

    這個認知技能被哺乳類與鳥類所享有, 也許其他動物類也有。

  • Human babies tend to develop this ability around the time they turn eight months,

    嬰兒會在約八個月大時發展這種能力,

  • while baby chickens show this ability within a day or two of being born.

    而嬰兒雞則在出生後一到兩天內表現出這種能力。

  • The capacity to remember a thing in its absence suggests at least a basic sense of time.

    在缺乏目標時記住的能力啟發了至少基礎的時間感。

  • A sense of time is a big step on the ladder of consciousness.

    時間感是意識階梯的一大步。

  • It may also enable a self to look forward from the present moment and anticipate the future.

    它也可能使自我從當下向前看並預期未來。

  • Adult chickens, for example, are able to resist a meal put in front of them if they expect to receive a bigger meal

    例如,成年雞如果預期到他們忍一下就會有獎勵大餐,

  • as a prize for holding back for a while.

    就能抵抗眼前食物的誘惑。

  • This sort of delayed gratification means there is an ability to visualize a reward that only exists in the future,

    這種延遲的滿足感表示 他們有能力形象化只存在於未來的獎勵,

  • which can be quite a challenge even for adult humans.

    即使對成年人來說也是個相當大的挑戰。

  • Western scrub jays are experts in delayed gratification.

    西叢鴉是延遲滿足的專家。

  • They show an even more elaborate sense of the future when they hide food in a cache

    它們將食物暫存起來,日後再享用

  • to retrieve it at a later date.

    顯現出對未來的縝密規劃。

  • The scrub jays will even rehide their food if they become aware that a potential thief has been watching them.

    如果他們意識到有小偷在看,西叢鴉甚至會再把食物藏起來。

  • This means that they know that there are other hungry selves out there,

    這代表它們知道有其他飢餓的自我存在,

  • who are aware and see the world from their own, different perspective.

    這些自我以它們自己的,不同的視角去看世界。

  • Crafty scrub jays can sort of read the mind of their fellow birds.

    狡猾的西叢鴉還可以對同種鳥類讀心。

  • This ability to mind-read is crucial for complex levels of consciousness.

    這種讀心能力是複雜意識的關鍵。

  • By putting yourself in the position of others, you can outsmart a rich competitor,

    藉由將自己放到他人的位置,你可以智取富有的對手,

  • or empathise with a hungry friend.

    或同情飢餓的朋友。

  • Language takes the ability to read minds and represent what is absent to a whole new level.

    語言能夠閱讀想法, 並將表達欠缺物的能力推展到一個全新的等級。

  • Words enable us to construct hypotheses about the world,

    文字能讓我們建立對世界的假設,

  • make detailed plans, and to communicate them with others.

    制定詳細的計畫及與其他人溝通。

  • Words enable us to think about ourselves and our place in the universe,

    文字能讓我們思考自身和我們在宇宙中的位置,

  • and even about our own consciousness, which is something we'll be doing more in future videos.

    甚至包括我們的意識, 這就是我們未來會製作的影片主題

  • So, what is the origin of our consciousness?

    所以,我們意識的起源是什麼?

  • It probably began as the directed motion of a hungry self towards a source of food.

    很可能始於飢餓的自我朝向食物來源的方向性移動。

  • With the survival benefits, this gave it over competitors that moved at random or not at all.

    由於生存優勢, 這終止了那些隨機移動或根本不移動的競爭對手。

  • It probably all started with the urge for more food.

    很可能一切都始於對更多食物的渴望。

  • So, even with the sophisticated consciousness that allows us to dream about space,

    所以,即時我們有能讓我們夢想宇宙的複雜意識,

  • build skyscrapers, or obsess about novels,

    建造摩天大樓,或沉迷於小說,

  • it's not surprising that we can't stop thinking about where we'll get our next meal.

    毫無驚訝地並不能阻止我們思考下一餐去向。

  • Collectively, we've put so much thought and ingenuity into getting food,

    總的來說,我們為了食物付出了這麼多的思考與才智,

  • that we can now just get our food to come to us with little conscious effort.

    使我們現在不太需要耗費心思取得食物。

  • This video is part one of a three-part video series relating to big questions of life and the universe,

    此影片是關於生命和宇宙大哉問三部曲影片的第一部,

  • made possible by a grant from the Templeton World Charity Foundation.

    透過 Templeton 世界慈善基金會的贈款才得以實現。

  • You can find our sources and further reading in the video description,

    您可以在影片敘述中找到我們的來源進一步閱讀,

  • or get the consciousness book by Rupert Glasgow for free- link down below.

    或免費取得 Rupert Glasgow 的意識書籍,連結如下。

  • If you want to help us make more videos, you can do so on patreon.com,

    如果想幫助我們做更多影片,您可以在 patreon.com,

  • or get one of our posters from our shop.

    或在我們的商店買海報。

Consciousness is perhaps the biggest riddle in nature.

意識也許是自然界最大的謎團。

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