special existential purpose

都在期望自己的存在

has existed through out history.

能有目標

There's a scene in Dan Harmon and Justin Roiland's

在Dan Harmon以及Justin Roiland

sci-fi cartoon, Rick and Morty

製作的《Rick and Morty》裡的一幕

that addresses this desire with what I'd call

點出了我稱為

an uplifting cynicism.

《積極向上的憤世嫉俗》的渴望

In it, Summer finds out that she was, an unwanted pregnancy.

在那一幕裡，Summer發現她的出生是一場意外

She breaks down and wonders if there's any real meaning to her life.

她很崩潰，很想知道自己活著有什麼意義

Morty then tells her his equally unsettling experience of burying his own body

Morty告訴她，他也有一樣難過的經驗-

from a different reality. He concludes by saying

「埋葬了另一個世界的他。」 他接著說

"Nobody exists on purpose, nobody belongs anywhere, everybody's gonna die"

沒有人的存在是安排好的，沒有人屬於任何地方 每個人都會死

"Come watch T.V?"

來看電視吧

While this may be an especially dark moment, it contains a comforting message:

這看來是一個格外黑暗的時候，但它包含了一個欣慰的訊息

For people like Summer, its devastating to think we weren't created for some

對Summer這種人來說，不為任何特殊目的被創造出來

"special purpose"

是可怕的

to Rick and Morty, life's been that way forever

對Rick和Morty來說，生活一直是這樣

Why get depressed about existential meaning, when life is full of stuff to enjoy?

當生活充滿歡樂時，為何要對存在的意義感到焦慮

As Morty said, like watching T.V. together

像Morty說的，一起來看電視吧。

This struggle with meaninglessness is central to the show.

本劇一直圍繞著與「無意義」的掙扎

Its doing part to the sheer scale of Rick and Morty's exploits

它一直是Rick和Morty冒險中的一部分

Not only is there an enormous universe,

不只有一個巨大的宇宙

but that universe has infinite dimensions and those dimensions have infinite realities

而且宇宙還有無限的次元 那些次元又有著無限的平行時空

Indeed it shows us how common, short-lived, and fragile our existence is

而事實上，他展現出我們的存在是多麼的普遍、短暫、脆弱

but that scale is intended to cause a redirection of meaning

但這麼大的世界規模，是為了重新定義「意義」

Once you confront the randomness of the universe, the only option is to find

一旦面對了宇宙的隨機性，唯一能做的就是

importance in the stuff, right in front of you.

去尋找你眼前事物的重要性

Rick and Morty in particular tells us that friends, family, and doing what we enjoy

Rick和Morty告訴我們，朋友、家人、和我們享受的事

are far more important then any unsolvable questions about existence

遠遠重要於沒有答案的存在意義

It's a message best explained through the work of philosopher Albert Camus

這樣的訊息可以透過哲學家阿爾貝·卡繆的作品解釋

and what he called "The (Capital A) Absurd"

他稱之為「荒謬 (The Absurd)」

He saw a contradiction between humans desire to find meaning in life

他看到了存在於「人類尋求意義」以及

and the meaninglessness of the universe.

「宇宙的無意義」之間的矛盾

To Camus, we are Sisyphus, the king of Greek Mythology condemned to repeat the same task

對卡謬來說，我們就像希臘神話裡的國王-薛西佛斯

of pushing a boulder up a mountain, only too see it roll down again and again, for the rest of his life.

被懲罰終其一生裡要不斷的把一塊巨石搬上山頂，並看著它一次又一次地滾下來

But Camus says one must imagine Sisyphus happy

但卡謬說，我們必須想像薛西佛斯是快樂的

he argues

他認為

we have to recognize the absurd meaningless background of our existence

我們必須認知到我們存在的荒誕以及無意義

and accept it

並且接受它

Once we do, it frees us too find our own subjective meanings and purposes

一旦我們這樣做，我們就能發現自己主觀的意義以及目標

Rick and Morty show us where we can find meaning, primarily through Rick-C137,

透過C-137的Rick，這部動畫告訴我們如何找到意義

who we follow for most of the show. He's aware of the meaningless of existence

跟著Rick的視角，他意識到存在的無意義

and it no doubt bothers him

而且這無庸置疑的令他困擾

He's the most genius scientist in the multi-verse, yet, he's an alcoholic

他是所有宇宙中最聰明的科學家，同時，他也是個酒鬼

If he can't find a (Capital T) Truth, about his own existence,

如果連他都不能找到自己存在的事實

what hope does anyone else have? it's clear however that science is one of Ricks best avenues

還有誰可以？ 顯然，科學是他找到意義

for finding a sense of meaning in his daily life

的一個很好的管道

His projects allow him to go on adventures, make himself laugh, and bond with his grandkids

他的計劃讓他能和他的孫子，到處去冒險、歡笑

Indeed, science doesn't help find and existential purpose because it doesn't provide agreeable

沒錯，科學並不能讓他找到存在的意義 因為它不能為生活提供

absolute meanings to life

令人愉快的意義

and Rick knows that

而且瑞克知道這點

He's better off using it to experience the wonders of space around him

他使用科學來體驗這個宇宙

with the people he cares about

與他在乎的人一起

Now Rick, at times, tries to convince us he doesn't care about his family

瑞克有時會表現得他不在乎他的家人

his relationships with them aren't perfect, they're far from it.

他與家人的關係並不完美，甚至很糟

And I think that's a point Harmon and Roiland are trying to make

而我認為這是Harmon和Roiland試圖表達的

His family relationships are terrible and Rick's not happy; in fact,

瑞克的家庭關係很糟糕，他自己也不快樂

he's only happy when he fosters a good relationship with them

而事實上，他只有在與家人建立良好關係時他才會開心

It's revealed to Morty for example, that Ricks "Off use" catchphrase "Wubba Lubba Dub Dub!"

莫提也得知這點，瑞克的口頭禪 「Wubba Lubba Dub Dub!」

means "I am in great pain, please help me."

的意思是：「我身陷極大的痛苦之中，幫我！」

Later in the episode Rick freezes time, making sure that Morty and Summer

之後在時光凍結的片段，確保 Morty和Summer

can clean up a party before there parents get home

能在父母回家前清理乾淨

But they spend most of their time having fun and watching movies together

但他們花了很多時間玩樂、看電影

When Morty mentions Rick hasn't said "Wubba Lubba Dub Dub!" in a while

當Morty提到Rick已經一段時間沒說「Wubba Lubba Dub Dub!」

he responds with "Don't need too, I have a (burp) new catchphrase"

Rick則回應 「我不需要它了 我有了新的口頭禪」

"Oh yeah, what's that Rick?"

是嗎？ 那是什麼？

"I love my grandkids"

我愛我的孫子和孫女

This is only reiterated by the fact that he freezes time for six months

提到這個片段是因為它凍結了六個月的時間

just him and his grandkids

與他的孫子及孫女相處

and that's just one, of many examples

而這只是眾多例子的其中之一

Here, Rick can't wait to go to the intergalactic arcade with Morty for the day

在這裡，Rick要和Morty去星際電動場玩一整天

In the episode "Rixty Minutes" he bonds with Morty in front of the T.V. the entire episode

而在「 Rixty Minutes」這集裡，他們花了整級的時間看電視

Then, there's this moment where Rick sacrifices his own life for Morty

接著，Rick在這裡犧牲了自己為了拯救Morty

Although he end's up surviving the situation, it's clear he found more meaning in his relationship with Morty

雖然他最終活了下來 但他也從與Morty的關係中發現更多意義

than any special existential purpose for himself

而不是任何關乎自己存在的任何意義

These moments allow us to see through Rick's hardened shell

在這個時刻，我們透過Rick堅強的外在看到

He's a man who find's meaning in almost nothing

他原本是一個找不到意義的人

but is happiest when he is with his family

但他與家人相處時卻很快樂

Most of our lives we filter our actions through the idea that we have a "special purpose"

在大部分的時候 我們透過「我們有一個特殊目的」來篩選我們的行為

It's hard to accept that our efforts would be largely pointless and quickly forgotten

但難以接受的是，我們的努力幾乎是沒有意義的 而且很快會被遺忘

in our indifferent universe

在這個冷漠的宇宙中

That search for our big, existential purpose often blinds us from the stuff we actually enjoy

尋找存在的目的使我們脫離現有的感官享受

and keeps us from being with people that truly matter, in this way, Rick provides some serious catharsis

且使我們不再關注與真正重要的人的連結 而瑞克為觀眾提供了一種

for the audience

情緒宣洩的方式

we see someone who is so disaffected and cynical

我們可以看到如此憤世嫉俗的人

actually gain enjoyment from being around his friends and family

可以透過與家人、朋友的相處獲得歡笑

Its through Rick, that the show tells us too embrace life, revel in it, and ultimately... not take it too seriously

這部動畫透過Rick告訴我們 擁抱生命、享受生命，最後，不要太過執著

"The answer is, don't think about it"

「答案是不要去想它」

In our post modern age, religion, ideology, science and even common values

在後現代的宗教、意識形態、科學甚至是普世的價值觀

don't always provide a meaning for our existence and it can be extremely isolating

並不會為我們存在的意義給出答案，它是非常孤立的

Rick and Morty doesn't suggest that our search for existential meaning won't continue

Rick and Morty並不是要我們不再追求存在的意義

It only asks, if it's a question worth answering when a meaningful life can be found

只是，當我們能透過與朋友、家人的連結，新的經驗使我們的生活有意義時

through friends, family, and new experiences

這個問題還重要嗎？

Indeed, the only thing more terrifying then not existing, or not knowing why you exist

事實上，唯一比不存在或者你不知道為何存在更可怕的

is existing and having no one too share it with.

是你的存在無人分享

Phew! That took a long damn time! I hope you've taken something from this video!

Love everyone, even if they don't love you back, dont take everything so serious

and only do

what you love