Big topics you might tackle figuratively

大課題你可能比喻性地來說明

explaining existence as a journey down a road or across an ocean,

「存在」就像一趟陸路或是越洋的旅程、

a climb, a war, a book, a thread, a game, a window of opportunity,

像登山、像場戰爭、像本書、像條線、像場賽事、像個機會

or an all-too-short-lived flicker of flame.

或者像是轉瞬即逝的飄搖燈火

2,400 years ago,

2,400 年前一位歷史知名的思想家

one of history's most famous thinkers said life is like being chained up in a cave,

說生命就像是手被上鍊吊在洞穴裡

forced to watch shadows flitting across a stone wall.

被迫看著石牆上閃動的影子

Pretty cheery, right?

太好笑了，對吧

That's actually what Plato suggested in his Allegory of the Cave,

這正是柏拉圖在「理想國」的第七章

found in Book VII of "The Republic,"

「洞穴寓言」裡所提到的

in which the Greek philosopher envisioned the ideal society

這位希臘哲學家利用檢視諸如正義、真理和美麗等概念

by examining concepts like justice, truth and beauty.

在「理想國」裡設想出一個完美的社會

In the allegory, a group of prisoners have been confined in a cavern since birth

寓言裡講到有幾個囚犯打從出生就被監禁在一個大洞穴裡

with no knowledge of the outside world.

背向洞口、無法回頭望

They are chained, facing a wall, unable to turn their heads,

對洞外的世界一無所知

while a fire behind them gives off a faint light.

不過洞口外偶爾會有人和其他東西經過

Occasionally, people pass by the fire, carrying figures of animals and other objects that cast shadows on the wall.

映射出影子和回聲在囚犯們面對的牆上

The prisoners name and classify these illusions,

囚犯們為這些幻象取名和歸類，

believing they're perceiving actual entities.

深信他們正體認到真正的實體

Suddenly, one prisoner is freed and brought outside for the first time.

突然間有一個囚犯被釋放了而且生平首次被帶出了洞穴

The light hurts his eyes and he finds the new environment disorienting.

光線刺傷了他的眼睛而且他發現新環境令人迷糊

When told that the things around him are real,

當被告知說周邊的事物是實體

while the shadows were mere reflections, he cannot believe it.

而影子不過只是倒影他根本無法置信

The shadows appeared much clearer to him.

陰影對他而言還是較為明確的

But gradually, his eyes adjust

但是他的眼睛逐漸地調適過來了

until he can look at reflections in the water,

直到他可以看著水中的倒影、直視實物最後還能看著太陽

at objects directly,

太陽的光線是他以前所見各項事物的根源

and finally at the Sun,

囚犯重新回到洞穴來分享他的發現

whose light is the ultimate source of everything he has seen.

但是他對陰暗再也不能適應

The prisoner returns to the cave to share his discovery,

而且看著牆壁上的那些影子讓他吃盡苦頭

but he is no longer used to the darkness,

其他的囚犯認為這段旅程讓他變得既愚蠢又盲目

and has a hard time seeing the shadows on the wall.

他們粗暴地排斥要解放他們的任何舉動

The other prisoners think the journey has made him stupid and blind,

柏拉圖導介這趟旅程當成是

and violently resist any attempts to free them.

一個哲學家試圖去教育普羅大眾會是怎麼一回事的比擬

Plato introduces this passage as an analogy

大多數人不僅習於自己的無知

of what it's like to be a philosopher trying to educate the public.

而且還會將任何指出此點者視為敵人

Most people are not just comfortable in their ignorance

事實上蘇格拉底在現實中

but hostile to anyone who points it out.

被雅典政府以擾亂社會秩序為由判處死刑

In fact, the real life Socrates was sentenced to death

其學生柏拉圖用「理想國」大多數的內容來貶斥雅典的民主

by the Athenian government for disrupting the social order,

大力推廣哲學家國王的統治

and his student Plato spends much of "The Republic"

憑藉洞穴的故事寓言

disparaging Athenian democracy,

柏拉圖可能是指稱大多數人太頑固和無知

while promoting rule by philosopher kings.

而無法管控自己

With the cave parable,

但是這個寓言 2,400 年來一直激發著我們的想像力

Plato may be arguing that the masses are too stubborn and ignorant

因為它可以用更多的方式去解讀

to govern themselves.

很重要的是此寓言和「理形論」有關聯

But the allegory has captured imaginations for 2,400 years

那是在柏拉圖其他的對話裡所發展建立出來的

because it can be read in far more ways.

其確信如同牆上的影子一般

Importantly, the allegory is connected to the theory of forms,

在實體世界裡的東西是理想形式有缺陷之映照

developed in Plato's other dialogues,

就像是圓滿或美麗

which holds that like the shadows on the wall,

這樣來看這個洞穴就引出了很多本質上的問題

things in the physical world are flawed reflections of ideal forms,

包括知識的源頭、表徵的問題、與真相的本質

such as roundness, or beauty.

對於神學家來說這些理想形式存在於造物主的心中

In this way, the cave leads to many fundamental questions,

對於語言哲學家而言把理想形式當作語言學的概念

including the origin of knowledge,

這個理論會闡述在抽象的語詞下

the problem of representation,

把實體物品分組的問題

and the nature of reality itself.

其他人仍舊好奇到底我們真的能知道

For theologians, the ideal forms exist in the mind of a creator.

在洞穴外的東西真的比影子更真實嗎？

For philosophers of language viewing the forms as linguistic concepts,

就像我們過著日子

the theory illustrates the problem of grouping concrete things

我們可以對自以為瞭解的都有信心嗎？

under abstract terms.

或許有一天

And others still wonder whether we can really know

一道光線可能打破你最基本的假設

that the things outside the cave are any more real than the shadows.

你會不會掙脫拘束力朝光線前進

As we go about our lives,

即便是賠上了朋友與家庭

can we be confident in what we think we know?

或是緊抓著安心和熟悉的幻象

Perhaps one day,

事實或是習慣？ 光線或是影子？

a glimmer of light may punch a hole in your most basic assumptions.

艱難的選擇

Will you break free to struggle towards the light,

如果能讓你好過些就是你並不孤單我們許多人都在這關卡前面

even if it costs you your friends and family,

or stick with comfortable and familiar illusions?

Truth or habit? Light or shadow?

Hard choices, but if it's any consolation, you're not alone.

There are lots of us down here.