and long after that,

以及那之後許久

scientists and philosophers alike

科學家和哲學家們

have puzzled over what they call the mind-body problem.

都有一個他們稱之為「心物問題」

Is the mind some separate, non-material entity piloting a machine of flesh?

到底心智是與肉體分離且非物質的一種存在嗎？

Or if it's just a particularly elusive part of our physical body,

或者它是我們肉體中特別難以捉摸的一個部分？

how can it translate the input of our animal senses

我們如何能將我們的動物性感官輸入的資訊轉譯

into the seemingly non-physical experiences that we call thoughts?

成似乎非體感經驗的，我們稱之為想法的東西呢？

But though the answers have been debated endlessly,

但儘管對於解答的爭論從未停止過

new research suggests that part of the problem lies

新的研究指出部分的問題在於我們

in how we pose the question in the first place,

如何在最初界定這個命題時就被決定了

assuming a distinction between our sensory perception and our ideas

也就是假設我們的感覺感知和我們的想法中存在一個差異這個論述

that may not really be there.

也許不是真實存在的

The traditional model of our mental function

傳統的心智運作模型

has been that the senses provide separate data to our brain

是說感覺器官各自提供資訊給我們的大腦

which are then translated into the appropriate mental phenomena:

然後大腦轉譯成適當的心智現象：

visual images into trees, auditory experiences into bird songs, and so on.

樹的視覺影像，鳥鳴的聽覺經驗，以及其他的等等

But occasionally, we have come across people

但偶而，我們會遇到一些人

whose senses seem to mingle together, allowing them to hear colors,

這些人的感官似乎糾結在一塊兒，讓他們能夠聽到顏色

or taste sounds.

或者嘗到聲音等等

Until recently, the common understanding was that this phenomenon,

直到最近，普遍對於這種現象的了解

called synesthesia,

叫做「聯感」

was a direct connection between the parts of the brain

是一個大腦中負責感知像是看見黃色的刺激的部份

responsible for sensory stimuli such as

直接和

seeing the color yellow immediately upon hearing the tone of b flat.

聽見降b大調的聽覺反應連結在一起

But newer studies have shown that synesthesia

但從未有研究顯示「聯感」

is actually mediated through our understanding

真的中介於我們的感官所接收到的形狀、顏色和聲音

of the shapes, colors and sounds that our senses apprehend.

的了解過程。

In order for the cross-sensory experiences to occur,

為了要體驗交叉感知經驗的存在

the higher level ideas and concepts that our minds associate

在我們的心智處理更高層想法和概念時

with the sensory input must be activated.

我們的對外界刺激的感官接收必須是很活躍的

For example, this shape can be seen as either the letter "s" or the number "5"

舉例來說，這個形狀可以被當做字母"s"或者數字"5"

and synesthetes associate each with different colors or sounds

而具有「聯感」的人連結儘管視覺上的刺激保持不變

based on how they interpret it

仍然會依據他自己如何轉譯不同的顏色或聲音

despite the purely visual stimulus remaining identical.

來做出連結和判斷

In another study, synesthetes created novel color associations

在另一個研究中，具有「聯覺」的人

for unfamiliar letters after learning what the letters were.

在學習這些字母的意義之後

So because it relies on a connection between ideas and senses,

會對這些一開始不熟悉的字母創造新奇的顏色來做連結

this mental phenomenon underlying synesthesia

對這個聯覺的心智創造的現象

is known as ideasthesia.

我們稱之為 ideasthesia

Synesthesia only occurs in some people,

儘管也許比之前我們認為的要普遍

although it may be more common than previously thought.

「聯覺」的現象也只在部分的人身上出現

But ideasthesia itself is a fundamental part of our lives.

但是ideasthesia本身就是我們生活中的基礎一部分

Virtually all of us recognize the color red as warm and blue as cold.

幾乎我們所有人都會認為紅色是溫暖的顏色而藍色是冰冷的顏色

Many would agree that bright colors, italic letters and thin lines

許多人可能會同意明亮的顏色，斜體字和細線

are high-pitched,

可以歸類到高音調的類別

while earth tones are low-pitched.

而泥土若有音調的話應該是屬於低音部的

And while many of these associations are acquired through cultural exposure,

而當這些許多連結都與文化的浸潤度有關

others have been demonstrated even in infants and apes,

其他連結甚至存在於嬰孩和猩猩之中

suggesting that at least some associations are inborn.

也暗示著至少某些連結的能力是天生的

When asked to choose between two possible names for these shapes,

當被要求在這幾個不同形狀之間選擇兩個可能的名字

people from entirely different cultural and language backgrounds

不同文化和語言背景的人就會做出完全不同的選擇

overwhelmingly agree that "kiki" is the spiky star,

以壓倒性的票數同意"kiki"是刺刺的星星形狀

while "bouba" is the rounded blob,

而"bouba"是圓鈍的blob

both because of the sounds themselves and the shapes our mouths make

都由於我們對這些字的發音以及發音時嘴巴的形狀

to produce them.

有關係

And this leads to even more associations

而因此有更多因為語意網而生成的

within a rich semantic network.

連結出現

Kiki is described as nervous and clever,

kiki被認為用來描述緊張和聰明

while bouba is perceived as lazy and slow.

而bouba被看做懶惰和緩慢

What all of this suggests is that our everyday experiences

這些全部都在暗示一件事情

of colors, sounds and other stimuli do not live on separate sensory islands

我們對於顏色、聲音和其他刺激的日常生活經驗

but are organized in a network of associations

並不是在一個彼此不連接的「感覺島」上運作

similar to our language network.

而是像我們的語言網路一樣形成網絡連結的組織

This is what enables us to understand metaphors

這讓我們能夠了解寓意

even though they make no logical sense,

即使這些並不具有邏輯感

such as the comparison of snow to a white blanket,

就像是白色的毛毯比喻成白雪

based on the shared sensations of softness and lightness.

基於我們共通的對雪的感受是帶著柔軟和白亮，就如白色毛毯一樣

Ideasthesia may even be crucial to art,

由於藝術依靠的勢將概念話的想法與情緒的具象結合

which relies on a synthesis of the conceptual and the emotional.

所以ideasthesia也許對於其發展是舉足輕重的

In great art, idea and aesthesia enhance each other,

在偉大的藝術中，想法和覺受相互輝映

whether it's song lyrics combining perfectly with a melody,

無論是歌詞和完美、美妙的旋律的結合

the thematic content of a painting

主題性強烈的畫作

heightened by its use of colors and brushstrokes,

被用色和筆觸畫龍點睛

or the well constructed plot of a novel

或者細密交織的小說

conveyed through perfectly crafted sentences.

由完美無暇的詞句傳達出來

Most importantly, the network of associations formed by ideasethesia

最重要地，由ideasethesia形成的網絡連結

may not only be similar to our linguistic network

也許不僅僅是和我們的語言網絡類似的系統

but may, in fact, be an integral part of it.

而也許，事實上，是它整體的其中一部分

Rather than the traditional view,

不同於傳統的觀點

where our senses first capture a collection of colors and shapes,

即我們的感官首先捕捉一組顏色和形狀

or some vibrations in the air,

或者一些空氣中的震動

and our mind then classifies them as a tree or a siren,

而後我們的心智將那些訊息分類界定為樹或者是警笛聲響

ideasthesia suggests that the two processes occur simultaneously.

ideasthesia 暗指這兩個過程其實是同時發生地

Our sensory perceptions are shaped by our conceptual understanding of the world.

我們的感覺覺知由我們對世界的概念性了解而勾勒出來

and the two are so connected that one cannot exist without the other.

而這兩者是如此緊密連結以致於任何一個都無法獨立於世

If this model suggested by ideasthesia is accurate,

若ideasthesia暗指的這個模型是正確的

it may have major implications for some of the biggest

這也許會對於某些圍繞著研究心智的最大的科學和哲學議題

scientific and philosophical issues surrounding the study of mind.

帶來許多見解、啟示

Without a preexisting concept of self,

若少了預設存在自我的這個概念

Descartes would not have had an "I" to attribute the thinking to.

笛卡兒可能無法擁有「我」來貢獻對於其他事物的思考

And without a preexisting network of interrelated and distinct concepts,

而少若了對於不同和彼此關連的概念網絡的預設存在

our sensory experience of the world would be an undifferentiated mass

我們對世界的感覺經驗可能會是個無法分別的混沌

rather than the discrete objects we actually apprehend.

而不是一群我們能夠理解接受的離散物體

For science, the task is to find where this network lies,

對於科學家，找出這些網絡在哪是主要的課題

how it is formed, and how it interacts with external stimuli.

找出它如何形成，且找出它如何對外部刺激做出反應

For philosophy, the challenge is to rethink

對於哲學家，挑戰在於重新思索

what this new model of consciousness means for our understanding of our selves

什麼是我們用來了解我們自己的新的意識模型方法

and our relation to the world around us.

和我們與周遭世界的關係