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Recording Three
录音三
John Donne, the English poet, wrote in the 17th century, "No man is an island, entire of itself; every man is a piece of the continent, a part of the main."
英国诗人约翰·多恩在17世纪写道:“没有人是一座岛屿，可以完全独立;每个人都是大陆的一部分，是主体的一部分。”
Now, a British academic has claimed that human individuality is indeed just an illusion, because societies are far more interconnected at a mental, physical, and cultural level than people realize.
现在，一位英国学者声称，人类的个体性的确只是一种错误的观念，因为社会在精神、身体和文化层面的相互联系远比人们意识到的要紧密得多。
In his new book, The Self Delusion, Professor Tom Oliver, a researcher in the Ecology and Evolution group at the University of Reading, argues there is no such thing as "self", and not even our bodies are truly "us".
雷丁大学生态学和进化论小组研究员汤姆·奥利弗教授在他的新书《自我妄想》中论证称，根本不存在所谓的“自我”，甚至我们的身体都不是真正的“我们”。
Just as Copernicus realized the Earth is not the center of the universe, Professor Oliver said society urgently needs a Copernican-like revolution to understand people are not detached beings but rather part of one connected identity.
正如哥白尼意识到地球不是宇宙的中心一样，奥利弗教授说，社会迫切需要一场哥白尼式的革命，让人们明白人不是独立的存在，而是一个相互联系的身份的一部分。
"A significant milestone in the cultural evolution of human minds was the acceptance that the Earth is not the center of the universe, the so-called Copernican Revolution," he writes.
他写道:“人类思想文化进化的一个重要的里程碑就是接受了地球不是宇宙的中心这个观点，即所谓的哥白尼式革命。
However, we have one more big myth to dispose of: that we exist as independent selves at the center of a subjective universe.
然而，我们还需要摒弃一个巨大的错觉，那就是我们作为独立的自我，存在于主观宇宙的中心。
You may feel as if you are an independent individual acting autonomously in the world; that you have unchanging inner self that persists throughout your lifetime, acting as a central anchor-point with the world changing around you.
你可能会觉得自己在世界上是一个独立的个体，自主行事;你有一个终生不变的内在自我，作为一个中心锚点，而周围的世界却在不断变化。
This is the illusion I seek to tackle. We are intimately connected to the world around us."
这就是我要解决的一种错误的观念。我们与周围的世界紧密相连。”
Professor Oliver argues there are around 37 trillion cells in the body but most have a lifespan of just a few days or weeks, so the material "us" is constantly changing.
奥利弗教授认为，人体内大约有37万亿个细胞，但大多数细胞的寿命只有几天或几周，因此物质方面的“我们”在不断变化。
In fact, there is no part of your body that has existed for more than ten years.
事实上，你身体的任何部分都不会存在超过十年。
Since our bodies are essentially made anew every few weeks, the material in them alone is clearly insufficient to explain the persistent thread of an identity.
既然我们的身体(中的细胞)基本上每隔几周就会更新，因此仅凭身体中的物质显然不足以解释身份的永恒性。
Professor Oliver claims that individualism is actually bad for society, and only by realizing we are part of a bigger entity can we solve pressing environmental and societal problems.
奥利弗教授声称，个人主义实际上对社会不利，而且只有我们意识到自己是更大的实体的一部分，才能解决紧迫的环境问题和社会问题。
Through selfish over-consumption we are destroying the natural world and using non-renewable resources at an accelerating rate.
由于自私自利的过度消费，我们正在破坏自然世界，并加速消耗不可再生资源。
"We are at a critical crossroads as a species where we must rapidly reform our mindsets and behavior to act in less selfish ways," he said.
他说:“作为一个物种，我们正处在一个关键的十字路口，我们必须迅速改变我们的心态和行为，行事方式不能再那么自私自利。
"So let's open our eyes to the hidden connections all around us."
因此，让我们睁开眼睛，看看我们周围隐藏的那些联系。”
Question 22. What is indeed just an illusion according to Professor Tom Oliver?
根据汤姆·奥利弗教授所言，什么的确只是一种错误的观念?
Question 23. What does Professor Tom Oliver think of the idea that we exist as independent selves at the center of a subjective universe?
汤姆·奥利弗教授如何看待"我们作为独立的自我，存在于主观宇宙的中心"这个观点？
Question 24. Why does Professor Tom Oliver claim that the material "us"is constantly changing?
汤姆·奥利弗教授为什么声称物质方面的"我们"在不断变化?
Question 25. How can we solve pressing environmental and societal problems according to Professor Tom Oliver?
根据汤姆·奥利弗教授所言，我们如何解决紧迫的环境问题和社会问题?
