经济学人376:追求永生是如何影响文明

 　　Immortality²

　　永生

　　For ever and ever

　　追求永生

　　Immortality: The Quest to Live Forever and How It Drives Civilisation³.

　　《永生：对长命百岁的追求及这是如何影响文明》

　　IMMORTALITY is an age-old obsession⁴. Plenty of literature deals with the subject, from the Sumerian Epic⁵ of Gilgamish to the poems of Homer and the writings of the Old Testament⁶. The quest to live for ever has motivated medieval alchemists, modern techno-Utopians and mystics through the centuries.

　　永生是人们亘古不变的追求。不论是苏美尔人的《《吉尔迦美什史诗》，还是荷马的诗歌，亦或是《旧约》，大量的文学作品都以此为主题。历经了数个世纪，人们都追求着永生，这种观点激励着中世纪炼金术士，现代的技术乌托邦主义者，神秘主义者。

　　In his survey of the subject, Stephen Cave, a British philosopher, argues that man’s various tales of immortality can be boiled down into four basic “narratives”. The first is the simplest, in theory at least: do what the medieval alchemists never managed and discover an elixir⁸ to simply avoid dying. The second concerns resurrection, or coming back to life after dying, a belief found in all three of the Abrahamic religions. The idea of an immaterial soul that can persist through death dates back, in a formal form, at least to Plato, and forms Mr Cave’s third narrative⁷. His fourth narrative deals with immortality through achievement, by becoming so famous that one’s name lives on through the ages.

　　英国哲学家史蒂芬?凯夫在他对这一问题的调查中指出，关于永生的各种传说都可以归为四类“说法”。第一种在理论上至少是最简单的：完成中世纪炼金术士的遗愿，即发明一种长生不老药；第二种是复活，即死而复生，这种信仰普遍存在于三个亚拉伯罕宗教（基督教、犹太教和伊斯兰教）中；第三种是人们认为无形的灵魂能够穿越死亡，这种理念的正式形态，至少可以追溯回柏拉图时代。第四种是通过取得成就获得永生，即让自己名垂千古。

　　For the aspiring⁹ undying, Mr Cave unfortunately concludes that immortality is a mirage¹⁰. But his demolition¹¹ project is fascinating in its own right. The section on the soul is an able attack on the related doctrines¹³ of “vitalism”, the soul and mind-body dualism—the intuitive and still widely held body of ideas that hold that living creatures are animated¹⁴ by some sort of supernatural spark, and that an individual’s personality or consciousness can survive death. The chapters on resurrection will interest Christians¹⁵, as Mr Cave examines how the literal recreation, by God, of dead people’s bodies remains¹⁶ the doctrine¹² of most branches of Christianity. The idea of one’s soul, as opposed to one’s body, ending up in heaven or hell is a subsequent embellishment.

　　对向往长生不老的人而言遗憾的是，凯夫做出了一个结论：永生是种幻想。不过就事论事，他对此的解析的确很吸引人。调查中，关于灵魂的部分对与之相关的“生机论”教义做了有力的攻击，即灵魂与身心二元论——这是一种非常直接，且许多人都相信的思想，他们认为某种超自然的力量赋予了生物生命，一个人的人格及意识能够超越死亡而存在。基督徒会对凯夫探讨复活的章节感兴趣，因为他探讨了上帝重造已死者的肉体这一点是怎样一直做为各基督教派的教义保留下来的。人们认为，一个人的灵魂，不同于其躯体，它终会上天堂或是下地狱，则是在该思想（上帝可以重造肉体）之后才发展出来的一种修饰。

　　If anything, readers might want more of Mr Cave’s crisp conversational¹⁷ prose. There could be more on living longer; Mr Cave barely has time to give even the briefest overview¹⁸ of the emerging science of life extension, which has allowed researchers to lengthen¹⁹ the lifespans of mice by a third or more in the lab.

　　如果凯夫与其他调查有和不同的话，那便是读者也许想读到更多他的干净利索的对话式散文。有关延长寿命的章节可以再长一些，但凯夫几乎没时间对当今研究长寿的科学做一个最简洁的概述。这种科学使得科研者们将实验室里小白鼠的寿命延长了三分之一或更多。

　　There are a few quibbles. Mr Cave’s repeated claim that the quest for immortality drives every human activity feels overdone²⁰. Others might dispute his definition of immortality itself. Mr Cave’s chief argument against the desirability of living for ever (even assuming it is possible) is the familiar one of boredom²¹. As the uncountable billions of years tick away, the argument runs, even the most vivacious²² will come to realise that they have done everything there is to do, hundreds of times. With yet more billions of years looming²³ ahead they will be struck down with a debilitating²⁴ ennui²⁵.

　　不过，凯夫的调查还是存在小瑕疵。他一直宣称，对永生的追求主导了人类所有活动，这未免让人觉得有些夸大。他对于永生自身的定义还存在争议。对于长生的好处（姑且认为这是可能的），凯夫最主要的辩驳观点是人们非常熟悉的：厌烦。该论点认为：随着数十亿年逐渐过去，即使是最有活力的人/永生者也会慢慢意识到自己已经做完了所有可做的事，而且每一件都做了不下数百次了。未来还有数十亿年要面对，这些永生者将会感到一种压倒一切的无聊感。

　　That argument only applies if these notional immortals²⁶ are also invincible²⁷, and therefore impervious²⁸ to accident. But that is an odd definition, and not one that crops up very often, especially in scientific research into ageing. The holy grail there is simply to arrest the ageing process. Indeed, Mr Cave quotes an actuary who has estimated that the average “medical immortal¹” would persist for around 6,000 years before dying in a plane accident or a car crash or the like. And besides, boredom seems to be a non-problem: after all, if an immortal does ever get truly bored of his vastly extended life, there would be nothing to prevent him from ending it.

　　只有在这些所谓的永生者也是所向无敌，因此不受任何事故伤害时，上述论点才能成立。不过这是个奇怪的定义，并非时不时冒出来的，尤其是在研究衰老的科研中。圣杯只是为了阻止衰老。的确，凯夫引用了一位精算师的话，据那位精算师估计，一个“医学上永生”的人平均大约可以活6000年，不过最终他会死于坠机，撞车等事故。另外，这种厌烦似乎不是问题：别忘了，若一个获得永生的人实在厌烦了自己没完没了的生命，什么也阻止不了他将其结束。

1 immortal   

adj.不朽的；永生的，不死的；神的

参考例句：

• The wild cocoa tree is effectively immortal.野生可可树实际上是不会死的。
• The heroes of the people are immortal!人民英雄永垂不朽！

2 immortality   

n.不死，不朽

参考例句：

• belief in the immortality of the soul 灵魂不灭的信念
• It was like having immortality while you were still alive. 仿佛是当你仍然活着的时候就得到了永生。

3 civilisation   

n.文明，文化，开化，教化

参考例句：

• Energy and ideas are the twin bases of our civilisation.能源和思想是我们文明的两大基石。
• This opera is one of the cultural totems of Western civilisation.这部歌剧是西方文明的文化标志物之一。

4 obsession   

n.困扰，无法摆脱的思想(或情感)

参考例句：

• I was suffering from obsession that my career would be ended.那时的我陷入了我的事业有可能就此终止的困扰当中。
• She would try to forget her obsession with Christopher.她会努力忘记对克里斯托弗的迷恋。

5 epic   

n.史诗，叙事诗；adj.史诗般的，壮丽的

参考例句：

• I gave up my epic and wrote this little tale instead.我放弃了写叙事诗，而写了这个小故事。
• They held a banquet of epic proportions.他们举行了盛大的宴会。

6 testament   

n.遗嘱；证明

参考例句：

• This is his last will and testament.这是他的遗愿和遗嘱。
• It is a testament to the power of political mythology.这说明，编造政治神话可以产生多大的威力。

7 narrative   

n.叙述，故事；adj.叙事的，故事体的

参考例句：

• He was a writer of great narrative power.他是一位颇有记述能力的作家。
• Neither author was very strong on narrative.两个作者都不是很善于讲故事。

8 elixir   

n.长生不老药，万能药

参考例句：

• There is no elixir of life in the world.世界上没有长生不老药。
• Keep your mind awake and active;that's the only youth elixir.保持头脑清醒和灵活便是保持年轻的唯一灵丹妙药。

9 aspiring   

adj.有志气的；有抱负的；高耸的v.渴望；追求

参考例句：

• Aspiring musicians need hours of practice every day. 想当音乐家就要每天练许多小时。
• He came from an aspiring working-class background. 他出身于有抱负的工人阶级家庭。 来自辞典例句

10 mirage   

n.海市蜃楼，幻景

参考例句：

• Perhaps we are all just chasing a mirage.也许我们都只是在追逐一个幻想。
• Western liberalism was always a mirage.西方自由主义永远是一座海市蜃楼。

11 demolition   

n.破坏,毁坏,毁坏之遗迹

参考例句：

• The church has been threatened with demolition for years. 这座教堂多年来一直面临拆毀的威胁。
• The project required the total demolition of the old bridge. 该项目要求将老桥完全拆毁。

12 doctrine   

n.教义；主义；学说

参考例句：

• He was impelled to proclaim his doctrine.他不得不宣扬他的教义。
• The council met to consider changes to doctrine.宗教议会开会考虑更改教义。

13 doctrines   

n.教条( doctrine的名词复数 )；教义；学说；（政府政策的）正式声明

参考例句：

• To modern eyes, such doctrines appear harsh, even cruel. 从现代的角度看，这样的教义显得苛刻，甚至残酷。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• His doctrines have seduced many into error. 他的学说把许多人诱入歧途。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

14 animated   

adj.生气勃勃的，活跃的，愉快的

参考例句：

• His observations gave rise to an animated and lively discussion.他的言论引起了一场气氛热烈而活跃的讨论。
• We had an animated discussion over current events last evening.昨天晚上我们热烈地讨论时事。

15 Christians   

n.基督教徒( Christian的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Christians of all denominations attended the conference. 基督教所有教派的人都出席了这次会议。
• His novel about Jesus caused a furore among Christians. 他关于耶稣的小说激起了基督教徒的公愤。

16 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

17 conversational   

adj.对话的，会话的

参考例句：

• The article is written in a conversational style.该文是以对话的形式写成的。
• She values herself on her conversational powers.她常夸耀自己的能言善辩。

18 overview   

n.概观，概述

参考例句：

• The opening chapter gives a brief historical overview of transport.第一章是运输史的简要回顾。
• The seminar aims to provide an overview on new media publishing.研讨会旨在综览新兴的媒体出版。

19 lengthen   

vt.使伸长，延长

参考例句：

• He asked the tailor to lengthen his coat.他请裁缝把他的外衣放长些。
• The teacher told her to lengthen her paper out.老师让她把论文加长。

20 overdone   

v.做得过分( overdo的过去分词 )；太夸张；把…煮得太久；（工作等）过度

参考例句：

• The lust of men must not be overdone. 人们的欲望不该过分。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• The joke is overdone. 玩笑开得过火。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

21 boredom   

n.厌烦，厌倦，乏味，无聊

参考例句：

• Unemployment can drive you mad with boredom.失业会让你无聊得发疯。
• A walkman can relieve the boredom of running.跑步时带着随身听就不那么乏味了。

22 vivacious   

adj.活泼的，快活的

参考例句：

• She is an artless,vivacious girl.她是一个天真活泼的女孩。
• The picture has a vivacious artistic conception.这幅画气韵生动。

23 looming   

n.上现蜃景（光通过低层大气发生异常折射形成的一种海市蜃楼）v.隐约出现，阴森地逼近( loom的现在分词 )；隐约出现，阴森地逼近

参考例句：

• The foothills were looming ahead through the haze. 丘陵地带透过薄雾朦胧地出现在眼前。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Then they looked up. Looming above them was Mount Proteome. 接着他们往上看，在其上隐约看到的是蛋白质组山。 来自英汉非文学 - 生命科学 - 回顾与展望

24 debilitating   

a.使衰弱的

参考例句：

• The debilitating disease made him too weak to work. 这个令他衰弱的病，使他弱到没有办法工作。
• You may soon leave one debilitating condition or relationship forever. 你即将永远地和这段霉运说拜拜了。

25 ennui   

n.怠倦，无聊

参考例句：

• Since losing his job,he has often experienced a profound sense of ennui.他自从失业以来，常觉百无聊赖。
• Took up a hobby to relieve the ennui of retirement.养成一种嗜好以消除退休后的无聊。

26 immortals   

不朽的人物( immortal的名词复数 )； 永生不朽者

参考例句：

• Nobody believes in the myth about human beings becoming immortals. 谁也不相信人能成仙的神话。
• Shakespeare is one of the immortals. 莎士比亚是不朽的人物之一。

27 invincible   

adj.不可征服的，难以制服的

参考例句：

• This football team was once reputed to be invincible.这支足球队曾被誉为无敌的劲旅。
• The workers are invincible as long as they hold together.只要工人团结一致，他们就是不可战胜的。

28 impervious   

adj.不能渗透的，不能穿过的，不易伤害的

参考例句：

• He was completely impervious to criticism.他对批评毫不在乎。
• This material is impervious to gases and liquids.气体和液体都透不过这种物质。