Allegory of the Cave
柏拉圖的《山洞寓言》
- 作 者：[美] Alex Gendler
- 翻 譯：島主·Sean
Allegory of the Cave
柏拉圖的《山洞寓言》
- 作 者：[美] Alex Gendler
- 翻 譯：島主·Sean
2400 years ago, one of the history’s most famous thinkers said life is like being chained up in a cave, forced to watch shadows flitting across a stone wall.
2400年前，有史以來最著名的一位思想家說：人的一生恰似被鎖鏈拴住，囚禁在山洞之中，被迫觀看投射在石牆上斑駁的光影。
Pretty cheery, right?
聽起來很厲害吧？
That’s actually what Plato suggested in his Allegory of the Cave, found in the book VII of The Republic, in which the Greek philosopher envisioned the ideal society by examining concepts like justice, truth and beauty.
實際上，這個想法是柏拉圖在其《山洞寓言》中提及的，收錄在《理想國》第七卷。在這本書中，這位希臘哲學家設想了一個理想的社會，藉此概述諸如公正、真理和美的概念。
In this allegory, a group of prisoners have been confined in a cavern since birth, with no knowledge of the outside world.
在這個寓言中，有一群囚徒從出生起就被關押在一個山洞裡，對洞外世界一無所知。
They are chained, facing a wall, unable to turn their heads, while a fire behind them gives off a faint light.
他們被鎖鏈拴住，只能面朝牆壁，無法轉過頭來。在他們的身後，有一堆火散發著微弱的光。
Occasionally, people pass by the fire, carrying figures of animals and other objects that cast shadows on the wall.
時不時有人經過這堆火，他們抬著動物或其他雕像走過時，影子都會投在牆上。
The prisoners name and classify these illusions, believing they’re perceiving actually entities.
囚徒們給這些幻影命名、分類，十分確信自己洞察到了真相。
Allegory of the Cave
柏拉圖的《山洞寓言》
- 作 者：[美] Alex Gendler
- 翻 譯：島主·Sean
2400 years ago, one of the history’s most famous thinkers said life is like being chained up in a cave, forced to watch shadows flitting across a stone wall.
2400年前，有史以來最著名的一位思想家說：人的一生恰似被鎖鏈拴住，囚禁在山洞之中，被迫觀看投射在石牆上斑駁的光影。
Pretty cheery, right?
聽起來很厲害吧？
That’s actually what Plato suggested in his Allegory of the Cave, found in the book VII of The Republic, in which the Greek philosopher envisioned the ideal society by examining concepts like justice, truth and beauty.
實際上，這個想法是柏拉圖在其《山洞寓言》中提及的，收錄在《理想國》第七卷。在這本書中，這位希臘哲學家設想了一個理想的社會，藉此概述諸如公正、真理和美的概念。
In this allegory, a group of prisoners have been confined in a cavern since birth, with no knowledge of the outside world.
在這個寓言中，有一群囚徒從出生起就被關押在一個山洞裡，對洞外世界一無所知。
They are chained, facing a wall, unable to turn their heads, while a fire behind them gives off a faint light.
他們被鎖鏈拴住，只能面朝牆壁，無法轉過頭來。在他們的身後，有一堆火散發著微弱的光。
Occasionally, people pass by the fire, carrying figures of animals and other objects that cast shadows on the wall.
時不時有人經過這堆火，他們抬著動物或其他雕像走過時，影子都會投在牆上。
The prisoners name and classify these illusions, believing they’re perceiving actually entities.
囚徒們給這些幻影命名、分類，十分確信自己洞察到了真相。
Suddenly, one prisoner is free and brought outside for the first time.
突然，有個囚徒獲得了自由，並且被平生第一次帶出山洞。
The sunlight hurt his eyes and he finds the new environment disorienting.
陽光照得他眼睛生疼，他感到這個嶄新的環境讓人頭暈腦脹。
When told that the things around hims are real, while the shadows were mere reflections, he cannot believe it.
人們告訴他這一切都是真實的，唯獨地上的影子是光線投射的結果，他無法相信。
The shadows appeared much clearer to him.
在他看來，分明影子才更清晰啊！
But gradually, his eyes adjust until he can look at reflections in the water, at objects directly, and finally at the Sun, whose light is the ultimate source of everything he has seen.
但是，當他的眼睛逐漸適應了一切，他可以看到水中的倒影，可以直接觀看各種物體，最後，他看到了太陽——他所能看到的萬事萬物的終極原因。
The prisoner returns to the cave to share his discovery, but he is no longer used to the darkness, and has a hard time seeing the shadows on the wall.
他回到山洞裡，跟其他囚徒分享了自己的發現。但是，他已經不能適應黑暗，也再不能看清牆上的影子。
Allegory of the Cave
柏拉圖的《山洞寓言》
- 作 者：[美] Alex Gendler
- 翻 譯：島主·Sean
2400 years ago, one of the history’s most famous thinkers said life is like being chained up in a cave, forced to watch shadows flitting across a stone wall.
2400年前，有史以來最著名的一位思想家說：人的一生恰似被鎖鏈拴住，囚禁在山洞之中，被迫觀看投射在石牆上斑駁的光影。
Pretty cheery, right?
聽起來很厲害吧？
That’s actually what Plato suggested in his Allegory of the Cave, found in the book VII of The Republic, in which the Greek philosopher envisioned the ideal society by examining concepts like justice, truth and beauty.
實際上，這個想法是柏拉圖在其《山洞寓言》中提及的，收錄在《理想國》第七卷。在這本書中，這位希臘哲學家設想了一個理想的社會，藉此概述諸如公正、真理和美的概念。
In this allegory, a group of prisoners have been confined in a cavern since birth, with no knowledge of the outside world.
在這個寓言中，有一群囚徒從出生起就被關押在一個山洞裡，對洞外世界一無所知。
They are chained, facing a wall, unable to turn their heads, while a fire behind them gives off a faint light.
他們被鎖鏈拴住，只能面朝牆壁，無法轉過頭來。在他們的身後，有一堆火散發著微弱的光。
Occasionally, people pass by the fire, carrying figures of animals and other objects that cast shadows on the wall.
時不時有人經過這堆火，他們抬著動物或其他雕像走過時，影子都會投在牆上。
The prisoners name and classify these illusions, believing they’re perceiving actually entities.
囚徒們給這些幻影命名、分類，十分確信自己洞察到了真相。
Suddenly, one prisoner is free and brought outside for the first time.
突然，有個囚徒獲得了自由，並且被平生第一次帶出山洞。
The sunlight hurt his eyes and he finds the new environment disorienting.
陽光照得他眼睛生疼，他感到這個嶄新的環境讓人頭暈腦脹。
When told that the things around hims are real, while the shadows were mere reflections, he cannot believe it.
人們告訴他這一切都是真實的，唯獨地上的影子是光線投射的結果，他無法相信。
The shadows appeared much clearer to him.
在他看來，分明影子才更清晰啊！
But gradually, his eyes adjust until he can look at reflections in the water, at objects directly, and finally at the Sun, whose light is the ultimate source of everything he has seen.
但是，當他的眼睛逐漸適應了一切，他可以看到水中的倒影，可以直接觀看各種物體，最後，他看到了太陽——他所能看到的萬事萬物的終極原因。
The prisoner returns to the cave to share his discovery, but he is no longer used to the darkness, and has a hard time seeing the shadows on the wall.
他回到山洞裡，跟其他囚徒分享了自己的發現。但是，他已經不能適應黑暗，也再不能看清牆上的影子。
The other prisoners think the journey has made him stupid and blind, and violently resist any attempts to free them.
其他一眾囚徒覺得這次外出讓他變得既蠢又瞎，激烈地反對妄圖釋放他們的做法。
Plato introduces this passage as an analogy of what it’s like to be a philosopher trying to educate the public.
柏拉圖通過這段話說明了一個哲學家試圖教育大眾的難度。
Most people are not just comfortable in their ignorance, but hostile to anyone who points in out.
對大多數人來說，他們不僅僅是在無知中沉迷，更是對指出此事的人不共戴天。
In fact, the real life Socrates was sentences to death by the Athenian government for disrupting the social order, and his student Plato spends much of “The Republic” disparaging Athenian democracy, while promoting rule by philosopher kings.
其實在真實的歷史中，蘇格拉底就是以“破壞社會秩序”的罪名被雅典政府判為死刑，而他的學生柏拉圖在其著作《理想國》中也大篇幅表達了對雅典式民主的蔑視，他堅信應當由哲學家治國。
Allegory of the Cave
柏拉圖的《山洞寓言》
- 作 者：[美] Alex Gendler
- 翻 譯：島主·Sean
2400 years ago, one of the history’s most famous thinkers said life is like being chained up in a cave, forced to watch shadows flitting across a stone wall.
2400年前，有史以來最著名的一位思想家說：人的一生恰似被鎖鏈拴住，囚禁在山洞之中，被迫觀看投射在石牆上斑駁的光影。
Pretty cheery, right?
聽起來很厲害吧？
That’s actually what Plato suggested in his Allegory of the Cave, found in the book VII of The Republic, in which the Greek philosopher envisioned the ideal society by examining concepts like justice, truth and beauty.
實際上，這個想法是柏拉圖在其《山洞寓言》中提及的，收錄在《理想國》第七卷。在這本書中，這位希臘哲學家設想了一個理想的社會，藉此概述諸如公正、真理和美的概念。
In this allegory, a group of prisoners have been confined in a cavern since birth, with no knowledge of the outside world.
在這個寓言中，有一群囚徒從出生起就被關押在一個山洞裡，對洞外世界一無所知。
They are chained, facing a wall, unable to turn their heads, while a fire behind them gives off a faint light.
他們被鎖鏈拴住，只能面朝牆壁，無法轉過頭來。在他們的身後，有一堆火散發著微弱的光。
Occasionally, people pass by the fire, carrying figures of animals and other objects that cast shadows on the wall.
時不時有人經過這堆火，他們抬著動物或其他雕像走過時，影子都會投在牆上。
The prisoners name and classify these illusions, believing they’re perceiving actually entities.
囚徒們給這些幻影命名、分類，十分確信自己洞察到了真相。
Suddenly, one prisoner is free and brought outside for the first time.
突然，有個囚徒獲得了自由，並且被平生第一次帶出山洞。
The sunlight hurt his eyes and he finds the new environment disorienting.
陽光照得他眼睛生疼，他感到這個嶄新的環境讓人頭暈腦脹。
When told that the things around hims are real, while the shadows were mere reflections, he cannot believe it.
人們告訴他這一切都是真實的，唯獨地上的影子是光線投射的結果，他無法相信。
The shadows appeared much clearer to him.
在他看來，分明影子才更清晰啊！
But gradually, his eyes adjust until he can look at reflections in the water, at objects directly, and finally at the Sun, whose light is the ultimate source of everything he has seen.
但是，當他的眼睛逐漸適應了一切，他可以看到水中的倒影，可以直接觀看各種物體，最後，他看到了太陽——他所能看到的萬事萬物的終極原因。
The prisoner returns to the cave to share his discovery, but he is no longer used to the darkness, and has a hard time seeing the shadows on the wall.
他回到山洞裡，跟其他囚徒分享了自己的發現。但是，他已經不能適應黑暗，也再不能看清牆上的影子。
The other prisoners think the journey has made him stupid and blind, and violently resist any attempts to free them.
其他一眾囚徒覺得這次外出讓他變得既蠢又瞎，激烈地反對妄圖釋放他們的做法。
Plato introduces this passage as an analogy of what it’s like to be a philosopher trying to educate the public.
柏拉圖通過這段話說明了一個哲學家試圖教育大眾的難度。
Most people are not just comfortable in their ignorance, but hostile to anyone who points in out.
對大多數人來說，他們不僅僅是在無知中沉迷，更是對指出此事的人不共戴天。
In fact, the real life Socrates was sentences to death by the Athenian government for disrupting the social order, and his student Plato spends much of “The Republic” disparaging Athenian democracy, while promoting rule by philosopher kings.
其實在真實的歷史中，蘇格拉底就是以“破壞社會秩序”的罪名被雅典政府判為死刑，而他的學生柏拉圖在其著作《理想國》中也大篇幅表達了對雅典式民主的蔑視，他堅信應當由哲學家治國。
With the cave parable, Plato may be arguing that the masses are too stubborn and ignorant to govern themselves.
在這篇山洞寓言中，柏拉圖也許試圖說明普羅大眾的頑固無知，他們根本無法自我管理。
But the allegory has captured imaginations for 2,400 years because it can be read in far more ways.
但這篇寓言之所以在2400年中一直激發著人們的想象，正是因為它有著千百種解讀角度。
As we go about our lives, can we be confident in what we think we know?
在人生之路漫步前行時，我們究竟能否確定我們的知識是真實的？
Perhaps one day, a glimmer of light may punch a hole in your most basic assumptions.
也許有一天，會有那麼一縷光線射出，猛然刺破你最基本的認知邏輯。
Will you break free to struggle towards the light, even if it cost you your friends and family, or stick with comfortable and familiar illusions?
你會不會打破一切桎梏一路衝向陽光，即便，它會讓你付出眾叛親離的代價？又或者，你會緊守著舒適宜人的幻覺度過一生？
Truth or habit? Light or shadow?
要真相，還是習慣？要光亮，還是黑暗？
Hard choices, but if it’s any consolation, you’re not alone.
艱難的抉擇。不知道說出來會不會讓你有所安慰：你，並不孤單。
There are lots of us down here.
像我們這樣的人多著呢。