Name: (The Origin of Consciousness - How Unaware Things Became Aware)
Uploaded: 2021-01-14T08:14:30.000Z
Duration: 9 min 41 s

Consciousness is perhaps the biggest riddle in nature.

意識也許是自然界最大的謎團。

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 what you're experiencing here, right now.

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。

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.

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.

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

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？

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.

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。

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

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.

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

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.

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，

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，

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。

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,

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.

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'.

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.

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，

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.

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

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，

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，

字幕列表影片播放

(The Origin of Consciousness - How Unaware Things Became Aware)

sort

cognitive

conscious

urge