薄荷的功效与作用
上节课结束时我们提出了这么一个问题
Last time we ended with the following puzzle or question.
如果我们说要成为一个人
If we say that to be a person
就要有运行人体功能的肉体
is to be a P-functioning body,
那么我们似乎只能得出这么个结论
it ems then as though we have to conclude
即 当你没有运行人体功能时
that when you're not P-functioning,
你就是死的
you're dead.
那就是说 你作为一个人是死的
That is, you're dead as a person.
之前我们区分了肉体的死亡
Previously, we distinguished between the death of my body
和作为人的死亡
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现在我们来着重研究作为人的死亡
let's focus on my death as a person.
如果我没有运行人体功能
If I'm not P-functioning,
我们是不是只能说我死了
do we have to then say I'm dead?
那似乎是定义死亡的最自然的方式
Well, that may em to be the most natural way to define death,
但不可取
but it's not an acceptable approach.
因为它紧接着就会推出
Becau it would follow then,
当我睡着的时候也是死的
that when I'm asleep, I'm dead.
只要不是同时
Well, not during tho times,
比方说 睡着了又在做梦
perhaps, when I'm dreaming while I'm asleep.
不过想想一个熟睡的 无梦的夜晚
But think of the various periods during the night
的各个不同时段
in which you are in a deep, deep dreamless sleep.
你并没有在思考
You're not thinking.
也没有规划什么
You're not planning.
没有与人交流
You're not communicating.
我们来假设一下 也许
Let's just suppo, as ems likely,
在睡眠的某个时刻
that none of the P-functioning is occurring,
根本没有人体功能在运作
沙包
at some point during sleep.
我们能说你死了吗
Should we say then that you're dead?
显然那样说是不对的
Well, that's clearly not the right thing to say.
所以我们需要从物理层面修正一下
So we need to revi our account of what it is
一个人死亡的具体含义
on the physicalist picture to say that you're dead.
死亡到底意味着什么
What is it to be dead?
不可能只是不再运行人体功能
It can't just be a matter of not P-functioning.
有一种可能性是
Well, one possibility would be to say,
问题不在于你是否运行人体功能
the question is not whether you are P-functioning.
你不运行人体功能也没问题
It's okay if you're not P-functioning,
只要这是暂时的就行
as long as your not P-functioning is temporary.
如果你能重新运行人体功能
If you will P-function again,
如果你以前运行过人体功能
if you have been P-functioning in the past
未来又还会再运行
and you will be P-functioning again in the future,
我说的P功能是指人体功能
P-functioning for person functioning,
如果你未来还会再运行人体功能
you will be P-functioning again in the future,
那么你就没
死
then you're not dead.
那至少是一个进步
Well, that's at least an improvement,
因为我们接着会说 "瞧
becau then we say, "look,
当你睡着的时候
while you're asleep,
虽然人体功能没有运行
even though there's no P-functioning going on,
但这只是暂时的
the lack of P-functioning is temporary,
所以你仍旧活着"
so you're still alive."
但我觉得那也不太说得通
But I think that won't quite do either.
我们假设审判日到了
Let's suppo that come Judgment Day,
上帝会让死人复活
God will resurrect the dead.
我们就假设一下人格同一性的正确理论
And let's just suppo the correct theory of
是让我们抛开一切
personal identity is such as to put aside any worries
之前所讨论到过的
we might have along with van Inwagen,
范·因瓦根的忧虑
that we discusd previously,
参见本课程系列之第十一课
也就是在复活日
as to whether or not on resurrection day
复活的那个人究竟是不是你
that would really be you or not.
假设是你
Suppo it would be you.
那么上帝让这个死人复活
So God will resurrect the dead.
到了审判日
Judgment Day comes.
死人复活了
The dead are resurrected.
现在他们正在运行人体功能
Well, now they're P-functioning.
结果 在这段时间
So it turns out that during that period in which
他们是死亡的
they were dead,
但他们只是暂时停止运行人体功能
they were only temporarily not P-functioning.
但若死亡意味着永久地停止人体功能
But if death means permanent cessation of P-functioning,
那就说明他们根本不是真死了
then it turns out the dead weren't really dead after all.
他们只是暂时停止运行人体功能
They were only temporarily not P-functioning,
就像我们在睡眠状态中
just like we are temporarily not P-functioning
暂时停止运行人体功能
when we're asleep.
那好像也不太对吧
Well, that doesn't em right either.
审判日这天 上帝让死人复活
On Judgment Day, God resurrects the dead.
这可不是说他简单地唤醒了
It's not that He simply wakes up
那些沉睡着的人们
tho in a deep, deep sleep.
所以说死亡就是讨论
So the proposal that death is a matter of
人体功能究竟是永久停止还是暂时的
permanent cessation of P-functioning versus temporary,
貌似这样是行不通的
that doesn't em like it's going to do the trick.
那我们还能怎么解释呢
But what el do we have up our sleeves?
这儿还有另一种说法
Here's a different proposal
我觉得它也许会更说得通
that I think is probably clor to the right account.
我们可能会说 看 当你睡着以后
We might say, look, while you're asleep,
你的确没有运行人体功能
it's true that you're not P-functioning.
比如说 你就没在做乘法
For example, you're not doing your multiplication tables.
但尽管你没有运
行人体功能
But although you are not engaged in P-functioning,
似乎还是可以说
it does em true to say
你是能够运行人体功能的
that you still can P-function.
你仍旧是能够做乘法的
You still could do your multiplication tables.
尽管你没在说法语
Although it's not true that you are speaking French--
假设你会说法语的话
let's suppo that you know how to speak French--
你睡着的时候
it's still true of you while you're asleep
也还是有说法语的能力的
that you can or could speak French.
我们是怎么知道的呢
How do we know this?
我们只要把你叫醒就可以了
Well, all we have to do is just wake you up.
把你叫醒 问你
We wake you up and we say,
"约翰 3乘以3是多少"
"Hey John, what's three times three?"
等你骂够我们之后
And after you stop swearing at us,
你就会说 "答案是9"
you say, "Well, it's nine."
或者我们跟你说
Or we say,
"琳达 用法语说这个那个动词"
"Linda, hey, conjugate such and such a verb in French."
你也能说出来
And you can conjugate it.
即便你在睡觉的时候
Even though you were not engaged in P-functioning
1964年属相没有运行人体功能
while you were asleep,
但当你睡觉的时候
it's still true that while you were asleep,
你仍旧有能力运行人体功能
you had the ability to engage in P-functioning.
能力不一定要变成现实
Abilities aren't always actualized.
你现在正在运行人体功能
Your P-functioning is actualized now,
因为你在思考
becau you're engaged in thought,
但你不在思考的时候
but you don't lo the ability
你也不会失去
to think during tho moments
思考的能力
when you're not thinking.
假设我们说 那样的话
Suppo we say then
作为一个人那样活着
that to be alive as a person
就意味着有运行人体功能的能力
is to be able to engage in P-functioning.
而死亡
And to be dead then,
则意味着不再具有这种能力
is to be unable to engage in P-functioning.
为什么不再具有呢
Why are you unable?
很可能
Well, presumably
由于不管你的大脑
becau whatever cognitive structures
以什么样的认知结构
it takes in your brain
来保证人体功能的运行
to underwrite the ability to P-function,
这些认知结构都已经被损坏了
tho cognitive structures have been broken,
再也不工作了
so they no longer work.
当你死亡
It's--When you're dead,
你的大脑也损坏了
your brain is broken.
不止是你不再运行人体功能
It's not just that you're not engaged in P-functioning,
而且是你不再有能力运行人体功能
you're no longer able to engage in P-functioning.
这样似乎终于能说清楚睡觉那个例子了
That, at least, ems to handle the ca of sleep properly.
尽管你没有在运行人体功能
Although you're not engaged in P-functioning,
只要你有运行人体功能的能力
you're
able to,
你就仍然活着
so you're still alive.
就举审判日复活的人的例子吧
Take the dead who will be resurrected on Judgment Day.
尽管他们之后被赋予运行人体功能的能力
Although they will be engaged in P-functioning later on,
但他们现在却并不能运行
it's not true right now that they can engage in P-functioning.
他们的肉体和大脑都损坏了
Their bodies and brains are broken
直到上帝来复活他们
until God fixes them.
所以他们是死亡的
So they're dead.
好了
All right,
这貌似是正确答案苹果电脑复制
that ems to give the right answer and,
事实上 它也的确给了我们一些启示
in fact, it gives us some guidance
关于如何思考其它纠结的问题
how to think about some other puzzling cas.
比如昏迷的人
Take somebody who is in a coma,
也没有运行人体功能
not engaged in P-functioning.
我们要规定一下 他们的肉体还活着
Their body, let's stipulate, is still alive.
他们的心脏还在跳动
Their heart's still beating,
他们的肺也还在呼吸 等等
the lungs are still breathing and so forth.
但我们要问
But we wonder,
那个人真的还活着吗
is the person still alive?
那个人还存在吗
Does the person still exist?
他们并没有在运行人体功能
they're not engaged in P-functioning.
这是很明显的
That's pretty clear.
我们想知道的是
We want to know,
他们还能运行吗
can they engage in P-functioning?
此时此刻
Now, at this point
我们会想知道更多关于人体的内部结构
we'd want to know more about the underlying mechanics
关于接下来会发生什么事
about what's gone on in the ca of the coma.
如果我下面说的是正确的
英语高手If the following is the right description,
那么也许我们应该说 他们还活着
then we perhaps should say they're still alive.
当某人睡着的时候
Look, when somebody's asleep,
我们要做些事
we need to do something to,
来叫醒他们
in effect, wake them up,
让他们的机能再次运行
something to turn the functioning back on.
他的认知结构始终存在
The cognitive structures are still there,
但运行机能的开关是关着的
but the on-off switch is switched to off.
也许这就像
Perhaps that's what it's like
某人在昏迷中
when somebody's in a coma,
或者至少是某种类型的昏迷
or perhaps at least certain types of comas.
当然 在人昏迷的时候
Of cour, to turn the on-off switch on is harder
打开开关会更困难一些
when somebody's in a coma.
更加...
It's a bit more--
我们继续讲那个开关的比喻
to continue with the metaphor of the on-off switch--
好像那开关不止是关着
as though not only is the switch turned to off,
而且还上了锁
there's a lock on the switch.
所以我们不能按照常规去打开开关
And so we can't turn the switch on in the normal way.
比方说 推推那个昏迷的人
Pu
shing the person in the coma
并说 "吉米 醒醒"
and saying, "Wake up, Jimmy"
这么做可不管用
doesn't do the trick.
不过不管怎么说
But for all that,
就算那个开关被卡住了
although the on-off switch may be stuck in off,
只要大脑深层的认知结构
if the underlying cognitive structures of the brain
仍旧有能力
are such as to still make it true that,
将开关重新打开
flip the on switch back to on
且这个人仍能够运行人体功能
and the person can still engage in cognitive P-functioning,
那么也许就应该说 这个人还活着
maybe the right thing to say is the person's still alive.
第二种昏迷情况
Coma ca two.
我不太确定这究竟算不算是昏迷
I'm not sure whether this really should be called a coma.
我不了解生物学和药学的细节
I don't know the biological and medical details.
不过可以想象一下
But imagine that what's gone on
保持认知结构运作的
is there's been decay of the brain structures
国殇屈原大脑结构正在腐烂
that underwrite the cognitive functioning.
于是现在就不只是开关关着
So now it's not just that the on-off switch is stuck in off,
连大脑也没法
the brain's no longer capable
再运行那些高级指令的人体功能了
of engaging in the higher order P-functions.
有可能这是一种持续的植物人状态
This might be a persistent vegetative state
基本上不可能再恢复意识了
with no possibility of turning it on, even in principle.
对于这样一个人我们可能会认为
Of such a person we might say,
他不再具有运行人体功能的能力
they're no longer capable of P-functioning.
这样的话 也许正确的说法是
And then perhaps the right thing to say is
这个人再也不存在了
the person no longer exists,
作为一个人 他不再存在了
so they no longer exist as a person,
虽然他的肉体还活着
even if the body is still alive.
目前为止都没问题
So far, so good.
但想想更复杂的情况
Here's a harder ca to think about.
假设我们让某人
Suppo we put somebody
处于一种假死状态
in a state of suspended animation,
冷却他们的身体
cool their body down
于是各种新陈代谢过程停止
so that the various metabolic process come to an end.
不再继续了
They stop.
美容酒我敢肯定你们知道
As I'm sure you know,
澳洲小龙虾
我们可以将各种各样的低等生物体
we're able, with various lower organisms,
置于假死状态
to put them in a state of suspended animation
然后惊人的是
and then, the amazing thing is,
如果你适当地将它们加热
if you heat them back up again properly,
它们就会重新开始运作
they start functioning again.
但我们不能对人类做这样的事
Now, we can't do that yet with humans.
不过至少这不能说明
But it doesn't jump out at us, at least,
假死是不可能的事情
that that should be an impossibility.
所以假
