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道金斯的自私基因理论

来源:可可英语 编辑:Jenny   可可英语APP下载 |  可可官方微信:ikekenet

Let's go back a long time ago, and we have man number one with wife number one,

回到很久以前,有两对夫妻,我们称之为男一号和妻子一号,
and man number two with wife number two.
男二号和妻子二号。
Now man number one decides that he's going to cheat on his wife, and man number two decides that he's not going to cheat.
男一号决定欺骗他的妻子,而男二号则不然。
So let's say they both have two kids each with their wives
比如说他们分别有两个孩子
but man number one also cheated with three other women and has a kid with each.
但是男一号还欺骗了另外三个女人,并和她们分别有了一个孩子。
That gives the cheater a total of five kids with his genes and the non-cheater a total of only two.
这样就有五个孩子携带欺骗者(男一号)的基因,而只有两个孩子携带非欺骗者(男二号)的基因。
Now let's say a few lions get hungry and attack and eat two kids of each of the men.
假如有几头狮子饿了,攻击并吃掉了两人各自的两个孩子。
The genes of man number two, the honest non-cheater will not survive
男二号(诚实者)的基因将不会存活,
while the genes of man number one, the dishonest cheater will go on.
而男一号(欺骗者)的基因将会存活下去。
This is the main idea of the selfish gene. If there's a gene that's not selfish, it will disappear over time.
这就是自私基因的核心理念。如果某个基因不含自私性质,久而久之就会消失。
The cheat on your wife genes will go on and the don't cheat on your wife genes will go extinct.
欺骗妻子的基因会延续,反之就会灭绝。
Let's look at another example... What if you're walking home to your family and you come across an empty hut?
我们来看另一个例子…如果你在回家的路上遇到一个空的小屋会怎样?
The people who own the hut are out gathering food
房子主人外出收集食物,
but they've left the hut all by itself, and you see that there's food in there.
小屋里没有人,你发现那里有食物。
And you know you're not going to get caught if you go in and steal all the food.
你知道如果你进去把食物偷走,别人也不会抓到你。
Are you going to be selfish and steal, or are you going to be a good guy?
你会去自私的去偷别人的食物,还是做个好人?
Well, let's look at it in terms of man number one and man number two again.
我们再来看一下男一号和男二号的行为。
Man number two decides to be honest again and goes home with what he has.
男二号还是决定要诚实,就带着他的东西回家了。
On the other hand, Man number one goes in and steals everything,
然而男一号进去偷了所有的东西,
adds it to everything else he has gathered, and brings home twice as much food.
和他自己的食物放到一起,带了两倍的食物回家。
Now famine strikes. Both families of man number one and man number two are struggling to feed themselves.
现在,饥荒来袭。男一号和男二号的家庭都想竭力吃饱饭。
But, man number one has twice as much food because he was selfish.
但是,由于男一号的自私,他有两倍的食物。
Man number two's family ends up starving to death
男二号的家庭以饿死告终,
and man number one struggles to feed his family but they eventually survive and reproduce.
而男一号尽力去解决家庭的温饱问题,他们最后存活并繁衍了下来。
Again, we end up with the selfish genes surviving while the honest genes disappear.
最后此故事以自私基因的存活及诚实基因的消失而告终。
Now you might be asking, Well, what about all the nice things we do for each other?
你可能会问,那我们为对方做的那些好事怎样呢?
What about all those altruistic genes? So let me give you an example of that...
那些无私基因又怎样呢?我们来看一个例子…
I have two brothers... If someone were to take a gun
我有两个兄弟…如果有人拿枪指着我妈妈
and tell my mom that she had to choose between the three of us dying or her own death,
并告诉她必须在我们和她之间进行生死抉择,
I have almost full certainty that she would pick her own death.
我几乎可以肯定的是她会选择自己死亡。
So how does that work then? Where's the selfish gene there?
所以那又是怎么回事呢?自私基因去哪了?
A selfish gene is obviously not going to want that, right?
自私的基因很显然不会那么选择,对吗?
Well, let's actually take a closer look... My mom's over 50 now, so she's not going to be reproducing anymore.
我们再进一步看一下…我的妈妈年过50,所以她不可能再繁衍更多后代。
She does have three sons however who're all capable of reproducing.
她的三个儿子却可以。
So the decision is between absolutely no chance of reproduction
所以这就是在完全没有后代
or a very high chance of reproduction and survival considering three healthy sons.
和三个健康儿子很可能给她带来后代之间做选择。
Keeping this in mind, it now makes perfect sense for a gene to be selfish and want my mom to sacrifice herself.
记住这一点,自私的基因想让我妈妈牺牲自己,就很合理了。
She's not going to sacrifice herself for any random three brothers, why not?
她不会随随便便为了其他三兄弟牺牲自己,为什么?
It's not like we're the best three brothers in the world... What's the difference?
并不是因为我们是世界上最优秀的三兄弟…那么区别是什么呢?
The difference is that they don't carry her genes. So the selfish gene's logic is very clear here...
不同就在于他们没有携带她的基因。所以自私基因的逻辑在这里就很清晰了…
When you're a 50 year old woman and you have three sons,
当你50岁的时候,有三个儿子,
it makes absolutely perfect sense to pick your own death over the death of your three sons.
很明显选择让自己死亡,而非三个儿子。
Let's look at another example... Worker bees will sting an intruder
我们来看另一个例子…工蜂会去叮入侵者
and kill it but in the process the bee's internal organs are ripped out and it dies as well.
并杀死它,但是这期间,蜜蜂的内部器官会受损,它自己也会死去。
Wow! Now that can't be because of a selfish gene, right?!
哇!因为自私基因的存在,肯定不会是那样的吧,对吗?
We love looking at social insects like bees and ants and glorifying them for these selfless acts,
我们喜欢研究像蜜蜂、蚂蚁这样的群居昆虫,并赞美他们这种无私的行为,
but let's take a closer look at this kamikaze behavior.
但是我们来进一步看一下这种高尚的行为。

道金斯的自私基因理论

What you have to keep in mind is that the bee is sterile. There are two ways to help your genes survive.

你要知道的是蜜蜂是不能繁衍后代的。有两种方式可以让你的基因存活。
One... To produce offspring. Two... To to take care of and protect the organisms with the same genes as you.
第一…生产后代。第二…照顾并保护和你拥有同样基因的生物体。
Well, since the bee is sterile and cannot produce its own offspring,
由于蜜蜂无法繁殖后代,
it now makes perfect sense to kill itself for the organisms which do carry its genes.
所以它为了和自己有相同基因的生物体勇敢赴死就合乎情理了。
Dawkins says, The death of a single sterile worker bee is no more serious to its genes
道金斯说过,对于它的基因来说,一个没有繁衍能力的工蜂的死亡
than is the shedding of a leaf in autumn to the genes of a tree.
就像秋天树上掉下一片枯叶那样无足轻重。
So now that we're not completely naive about all of this, let's make one thing clear...
所以既然我们已经有所理解了,那我们就把它弄清楚…
Of course the gene doesn't have some little brain in it that knows what to do to survive.
当然了基因不会知道怎样才能生存下去。
The primitive woman didn't have a sophisticated understanding of statistics
当她在决定为了孩子牺牲自己是否是一个好主意的时候,
when she decided if it was a good idea to sacrifice herself for her kids.
远古的女人对于牺牲也没有很复杂的理解。
This is all just based on what they do, but what they do turns out to be evolutionarily advantageous
这都基于他们的行为,但是他们的行为证明是很有进化优势的,
and therefore through natural selection they survive. That's it.
因此通过自然选择他们存活下来。就是这样的。
Alright, now what is the conclusion for all of this?
好的,那总体结论是什么呢?
Well, that our genes are selfish otherwise we wouldn't be here,
我们的基因是自私的,否则我们就不会出现在这里,
and that we're simply vehicles for these genes to transport themselves into the future
对于基因来说我们就是简单的运输工具,把他们输送到未来,
and they have no problem throwing us away once we're no longer of use to them.
一旦我们没有利用价值,它们也会毫不犹豫的把我们丢掉。
And of course this is not the happiest conclusion to arrive at, and it makes a lot of people angry!
这肯定不是最好的结局,很多人都为此感到生气!
People get angry at the book and Dawkins himself! Is this what you want Dawkins?
人们对这本书以及道金斯都很愤怒!这就是你想要的吗道金斯?
Social Darwinism?! Is that what you want?!
社会达尔文主义!这就是你想的吗?
I mean some people are probably angry even at this video!
我的意思是可能还有些人会对这个视频感到生气!
But neither Dawkins nor I want to live in a society that's governed by social darwinism.
但是道金斯和我都不想我们生活在一个被社会达尔文主义主导的社会中。
We're just simply presenting factual information.
我们只是在陈述一些事实信息。
Doesn't matter if you like the fact that a husband who will cheat as many times as he can
无论你喜欢与否,一个丈夫都会为了更好的传播基因而尽可能多的欺骗别人,
will have a better chance of spreading his genes, that's just a fact.
这就是事实。
But how can we approach this and what can we learn from it?
但是我们怎样才能理解这一点并从中学习呢?
Well one... We have to start by facing reality. The reality isn't pretty.
第一…我们必须从面对现实开始。现实并不完美。
We're programmed to cheat. We're programmed to eat a lot of sugar.
我们的本性惯于欺骗别人,我们的本性喜欢吃糖。
You have to understand what you're dealing with if you're going to go against it.
如果你想要反抗你就要明白你面对的是什么。
It won't help you to get angry and yell, Well, I'm not programmed to eat sugar,
生气和大叫没有任何帮助,“我不喜欢吃糖”,
because you'll be presented with cookies and you'll overeat like everyone else. So one, face the reality.
因为你会有蛋糕,你会像别人一样吃撑。所以第一就是面对现实。
Two... We're so lucky as humans! You can't expect a bird to honor his commitment to his bird wife
第二…很庆幸我们属于人类!你不能期待一只鸟会坚守对它妻子的承诺,
and not cheat on her, because he'll just go off of what he's programmed to do.
还不欺骗她,因为它不会按套路来。
But we humans have the ability! We have the ability to go against our programming.
但是我们人类有这个能力!我们有能力来反抗。
That doesn't mean that most people will go against it, but it's definitely possible.
那并不意味着大多数人都会反抗,但是是有可能的。
Most people won't be able to go against the urge to eat sugar when they're tempted by it,
当人们被诱惑吃糖的时候,抵抗不了这种催促。
but I also have plenty of friends who do go against eating a cookie every time they're presented with one.
但是我还有很多朋友,他们每次都能抵抗的住不去吃蛋糕。
Another thing I get asked a lot is when I'm going to have kids.
另一个常问的问题就是我什么时候要孩子。
And my answer is I'm not sure if I want kids or not.
我的答案是我不确定我是不是想要有个孩子。
I don't know if I want to play the game that I'm programmed to play which is to have kids so my genes can keep going,
我不知道我是否想要按照既定规划来生活,要个孩子这样我的基因就可以延续下去,
or just create my own game and play that.
还是随心所欲就可以。
And to this, most people's reaction is just pure shock!
对于这个想法,大部分人的反应都很震惊!
How could you possibly not want kids?! What is wrong with you?!
你怎么能不想要孩子!你是怎么了?
And that's great that there's such a strong reaction, otherwise we would be extinct by now.
能有这么强烈的反应太好了,否则我们现在可能就灭绝了。
But, I might have kids or I might not. I don't know yet...
但是,我或许想要孩子,或许不想要。我依然不知道…
I don't want it to be determined just by what I'm programmed to do which is why most of us are brought into this world.
我不想按照既定安排来决定是否要孩子,尽管大多数人都是因此来到的这个世界。
So again two things... One... Accept the facts of natural selection. Getting angry about it doesn't help you at all.
所以有两点…第一…接受自然选择的事实。生气没有任何帮助。
Two... Realize that as a human, you're extremely lucky.
第二…为自己生而为人感到无比幸运。
You've been programmed for certain behaviors, but you can rebel against them even if it's going to be really challenging
你的某些行为已经程式化,但是尽管很有挑战,你也可以反抗,
because you'll be up against years and years of evolution.
因为你要对抗多年的进化。
And finally, don't take this as an endorsment for being an asshole or building a family
最后,不要把这个当成是变坏,或者组建家庭
or a society around social darwinism.
或者建立充斥着社会达尔文主义社会的借口。
It will probably make you really miserable but yes, your genes will be very proud of you.
可能会让你很悲伤,但是就是这样的,你的基因会以你为荣。
So to quote Richard Dawkins... I am not advocating a morality based on evolution.
所以引用理查德·道金斯的话…我不是在拥护基于进化的道德。
I am saying how things have evolved. I am not saying how we humans morally ought to behave.
我只是表明事物是怎样进化的。我没有说人们应该怎样做才合乎道德。
I stress this, because I know I am in danger of being misunderstood by those people, all too numerous,
我强调,是因为我陷入了被太多人误解的危机,
who cannot distinguish a statement of belief in what is the case from an advocacy of what ought to be the case.
他们不能看出“现实是什么样的”以及“ 人们应该怎么做”这两者之间的区别。

重点单词   查看全部解释    
commitment [kə'mitmənt]

想一想再看

n. 承诺,保证; 确定,实行

联想记忆
survival [sə'vaivəl]

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n. 生存,幸存者

联想记忆
sacrifice ['sækrifais]

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n. 牺牲,供俸,祭品
vt. 牺牲,祭祀,贱

联想记忆
understand [.ʌndə'stænd]

想一想再看

vt. 理解,懂,听说,获悉,将 ... 理解为,认为<

 
naive [nɑ'i:v]

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adj. 天真的,幼稚的

联想记忆
produce [prə'dju:s]

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n. 产品,农作物
vt. 生产,提出,引起,

联想记忆
advocacy ['ædvəkəsi]

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n. 拥护,支持,鼓吹

 
certainty ['sə:tnti]

想一想再看

n. 确定,确实的事情

联想记忆
protect [prə'tekt]

想一想再看

vt. 保护,投保

联想记忆
yell [jel]

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v. 大叫
n. 大喊

 

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