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The ancient Greeks were emphatic that philosophy was not just an elaborate abstract exercise.
古希腊人坚定的认为哲学不只是一门复杂而抽象的训练。
It was, they felt, a deeply useful skill that should be learned and practiced by all,
而应该是一个能受用于所有人的，有实际意义的技术。
in order to help us to live and die well.
从而帮助我们更好的面对生与死。
No one believed this more than Plato.
没有人比柏拉图更加相信这一点。
Who was passionate in his defense of philosophy as a kind of therapy for the soul.
他坚信哲学是对灵魂的治疗。
One of the most forceful stories he told on behalf of the utility of philosophy was what has become known as "The Allegory of the Cave".
其中一个最有力的有关哲学实用性的故事，是被后人熟知的"地穴寓言"。
It is perhaps the most famous allegory in philosophy.
这大概是最著名的哲学寓言。
This was a story that was intended, as he wrote, to compare "the effect of education and the lack of it on our nature."
据柏拉图所说, 这是一个有关对比"教育的效果和我们与生俱来的无知"。
At the start of Book 7 of his masterpiece, "The Republic",
在他的著作"理想国"的第七本，
Plato tells us about some people living imprisoned in a cave
柏拉图告诉我们有一些本困在洞穴里的人
They've always lived there and don't know anything of the outside world.
从生来便没有接触过一点外面的世界。
There is no natural light in this cave, the walls are damp and dark
洞中没有阳光, 四周围阴暗潮湿
All the inhabitants can see comes from the shadows of things thrown up on the wall by a light of a fire
洞中居民可以看见映在墙上的火的影子
The cave dwellers get fascinated by these reflections of animals, plants and people
洞穴人被这些动植物, 人的影子所吸引
Moreover, they assume that these shadows are real and that if you pay a lot of attention to them you'll understand and succeed in life
他们以为这些影子都是真实的, 而且你认真观察，他们以为这些影子都是真实的, 你便会理解生命并成功
And they don't, of course, realize that they are looking at mere phantoms
然而他们当然不会意识到他们看到的都是幻觉(幽灵)
They chat about shadowy things enthusiastically and take great pride in their sophistication and wisdom
他们热情的讨论着模糊的影子，并且以他们自己的先进与智慧所骄傲
Then one day, quite by chance, someone discovers a way out of the cave out into the open air
有一天, 一个洞穴人偶然的发现了一条出洞的路，一直通到外面世界
At first, it's simply overwhelming. He is dazzled by the brilliant sunshine
一开始, 一切只是难以忍受. 他被阳光晃得发昏
In which everything is, for the first time, properly illuminated
其实一切不过是正常的被照亮而已
Gradually his eyes adjust and he encounters the true forms of all those things which he had formerly know only as shadows
渐渐地, 他的眼睛习惯了，他开始接触那些一切他以为是影子的事物的真实的状态
He sees actual flowers, the colors of birds, the nuances in the bark of trees
他看见真的花, 鸟的颜色, 树皮的细节
He observes stars and grasps the vastness and sublime nature of the universe
他开始观察星空, 体会巨大且卓越的自然
As Plato puts it in solemn terms: “Previously he had been looking merely at phantoms; now he is nearer to the true nature of being."
以柏拉图的话说:“以前他只是看着幽灵;现在他更接近于存在的真正本质了。”
Out of compassion, this newly enlightened man decides to leave the sunlit upper world and makes his way back into the cave
他曾经只看到幻象; 现在他更接近于自然地本源，被同情心所驱使, 这个已经启蒙的人决定离开光明世界回到洞穴
to try to help out his companions who are still mired in confusion and error
以帮助他深陷困惑与谬误之中的同伴们
Because he's become used to the bright upper world, he can hardly see anything underground
由于他已习惯上面的阳光, 他难以看见地下的任何事物
He stumbles along the damp wet corridors and gets confused
他跌跌撞撞的走回潮湿的走廊
He seems to the others totally unimpressive
对他人看来, 他完全是个平淡无奇的人
When he in turn is unimpressed by them and insists on explaining what the sun is or what a real tree is like
然而，他坚持像这些对他没有兴趣的同僚们解释什么是真的太阳或者树木时
The cave dwellers get sarcastic, then very angry and eventually plot to kill him
洞穴人开始讽刺他, 然后变得愤怒, 最终阴谋杀害他
The story of the cave is an allegory of the life of all enlightened people
这个关于洞穴的故事是一则对于所有已经启蒙的人的寓言
The cave dwellers are humans before philosophy
洞穴人是人类在没有哲学之前的状态
The sun is the light of reason
太阳是理性之光
The alienation of the returned philosopher is what all truth tellers can expect when they take their knowledge back to people who have not devoted themselves to thinking
而所有尝试告诉"洞穴人"真相的启蒙者都应预知到被"洞穴人"疏远的结果
For Plato, we are all for much of our lives in shadow
对于柏拉图来说, 我们多少都生活在影子当中
Many of the things we get excited about, like fame, the perfect partner, a high status job are infinetly less real than we suppose
很多我们所激动地事物, 像名利, 完美的伴侣, 高等的工作都比我们想象中要虚无很多
they are for the most part phantoms projected by our culture onto the walls of our fragile and flawed minds
他们很多时候是文化映射在我们脆弱的大脑中的影子
but because everyone around us is insisting that they are genuine we are taken in from a young age
但是我们周围所有人都坚持它们是真实的，我们从儿时便被如此教育
It's not our fault individually
这并不是个人的错误
No one chooses to be in the cave
没有人选择待在洞穴中
That's just where we happen to begin
不过我们刚好是这么开始的
We're all starting from a very difficult place
我们都始于一个艰难的环境
If, like the man in Plato's story, you bluntly tell people they're wrong
如果, 像柏拉图故事中的智者, 你直接告诉人们他们是错的
You get nowhere, you cause deep offense and may endanger your own life
你不会得到任何认可, 因为你冒犯了他人且会让自己的生命在危险当中
Athens had, after all, recently put Socrates, Plato's friend, to death
毕竟雅典在不久之前将柏拉图的朋友, 苏格拉底处以死刑
Plato knew from close experience just what the cave dwellers might do to those who claim to know the sun
柏拉图深知洞穴人会对那些自称为"智者"的人做些什么
The solution, Plato says, is a process of widespread carefully administered philosophical education
解决之道是, 柏拉图说, 一个经管理的普及的哲学教育
By which he understood the method of inquiry pioneered by Socrates and known to us as the "Socratic Method"
也就是他理解的探索方法, 被我们称为"苏格拉底反诘法"
It's a very gentle process. You don't lecture or harang or force someone to read a particular book
是一个非常温和的过程。你并不强迫某人去读一本书
You just start with a general declaration of intellectual modesty no one knows very much
你不过是开始一个谦逊的不为人知的理论宣告
It's always good to insist: "wisdom starts with owning up to ignorance"
坚持"智慧始于对无知的承认"
Confess that you don't know exactly what the government should do, what wars meant to achieve or how good relationships work
承认你并不知道政府应该做什么, 战争的意义或者什么是好的人际关系
You then get the other person to say what they think and gradually together you investigate the answers
然后你聆听他人的观点, 然后慢慢的你和他共同探索到答案
Most likely the other person will be confident or rather painfully overconfident
很可能开始时对方会自信甚至过度自信
They may tell you it's all quite simple really and everyone knows the answer already
他们可能告诉你其实很简单, 并且所有人都已经知道答案了
You must be supremely patient with this kind of bravado
你必须对这种虚张声势保持过人的耐心
If they go off topic, you must cheerfully double back
如果他们跑题, 你必须高兴地重述观点
You must take a lot of time and be ready to have chats over many days
你必须用很多时间, 准备好日夜长谈
This method of talking is founded on a lovely confidence that with the right encouragement
这种说话方式建立在令人愉悦的自信和适当的鼓励上
people can eventually work out things for themselves and detect errors in their own reasoning
人们最终会自主学习以及发现他们理论中的错误
If you carefully and quietly draw their attention to tricky points
通过慢慢的吸引人们的注意力关注到敏感问题
and don't cast blame or ever get annoyed
同时不能批评他们或使他们厌倦
You'll never teach anyone anything by making them feel stupid
你从来不能通过使他们感到愚蠢而教会任何人任何事
Even if they are, at first we have all started in that cave but it is Plato's deepest insight that we don't have to stay there
尽管一开始，我们都是在洞穴当中的，但是柏拉图的理论告诉我们不需要一直待在当中
And the road out is called, quite simply, philosophy
出去的路, 很简单, 叫做哲学
This is the sun whose light we can follow and by whose rays the proper nature of things can become clear
哲学是照亮自然中事物的太阳，我们可以跟随哲学, 清楚地观察世界
If you enjoyed the films on this channel, you might want to hear about another smart insightful channel we love called Wisecrack
如果你喜欢这个频道的影片，请同时关注Wisecrack频道，
Click here to visit their channel page and discover a succession of videos on world literature, philosophy, cinema, history and more
点击这里订阅文学, 哲学, 影视, 历史等等，
All delivered with a playful beguiling sense of humor
所有视频会以幽默的方式提供给您
They're in L.A., we're here in London, but the School of Life and Wisecrack have become firm friends
他们在洛杉矶, 我们在伦敦, 但School of Life和Wisecrack
Based around shared values about making education compelling
因共同的"使教育有趣"的理念走到一起
We'd love you to befriend us both in turn.
我们希望您能成为我们的朋友。
