three little words have sent poets to the blank page,

有三個字總讓詩人們無力回答、

philosophers to the Agora,

讓在阿哥拉市集苦苦思辯的哲學家無法達成共識 (阿哥拉是古希臘居民談論政治、哲學並相互結識的場所)、

and seekers to the oracles:

也讓疑惑者試著尋求神諭的解答

"Who am I?"

「我是誰？」

From the ancient Greek aphorism inscribed on the Temple of Apollo,

從古希臘刻在阿波羅神殿的遠古格言：

"Know thyself,"

「認識你自己。」

to The Who's rock anthem, "Who Are You?"

到現代搖滾樂團 The Who 的搖滾名曲：「你是誰？」

Philosophers, psychologists, academics, scientists, artists, theologians and politicians

哲學家、心理學家、學者、科學家、藝術家、神學家和政治家

have all tackled the subject of identity.

都處理過「身份」這個主題

Their hypotheses are widely varied and lack significant consensus.

但他們各自的理論假設不但大相逕庭，且缺乏足夠的共識

These are smart, creative people,

這些全都是聰明的、有創造力的人

so what's so hard about coming up with the right answer?

所以找出正確答案到底難在哪呢？

One challenge certainly lies with the complex concept of the persistence of identity.

其中一個挑戰顯然跟「身份的連續性」這個複雜的概念有關

Which you is who?

哪個時間點的「你」才是這個所謂的「你」？

The person you are today?

是今天的你嗎？

Five years ago?

五年前的你？

Who you'll be in 50 years?

還是五十年後的你？

And when is "am"?

還有，那個時間點是指什麼時候？

This week?

這個禮拜嗎？

Today?

今天？

This hour?

這個小時？

This second?

還是這一秒？

And which aspect of you is "I"?

所謂的「我」是從哪個角度來看？

Are you your physical body?

是以你的身體為判準嗎？

Your thoughts and feelings?

以你的思想跟感覺？

Your actions?

還是你的行為舉止？

These murky waters of abstract logic are tricky to navigate,

這一片好似由抽象邏輯所籠罩的水域十分難以航行

and so it's probably fitting that to demonstrate the complexity,

所以這個問題用希臘歷史學家 Plutarch 所寫的一艘船 (特修斯之船) 的故事

the Greek historian Plutarch used the story of a ship.

來描述其複雜難解的程度或許蠻恰當的

How are you "I"?

你如何是「你」？

As the tale goes, Theseus, the mythical founder King of Athens,

隨著故事進展，特修斯，希臘神話中建立雅典的神秘國王

single-handedly slayed the evil Minotaur at Crete,

在克里特島隻手斬殺了邪惡的牛人彌諾陶洛斯

then returned home on a ship.

然後搭船返家

To honor this heroic feat, for 1000 years Athenians painstakingly maintained his ship in the harbor, and annually reenacted his voyage.

為了表彰他的英雄事蹟，一千年來雅典人不遺餘力地維持這艘船的原貌並展示在港口供人觀賞，並且每年都會重演一次特修斯傳說中的航行之旅

Whenever a part of the ship was worn or damaged,

只要船身有損耗或被破壞的部分

it was replaced with an identical piece of the same material,

他們就用相同材質的相同材料去替換

until, at some point, no original parts remained.

直到某個時間點，整艘船沒有一個部分是原本的零件

Plutarch noted the Ship of Theseus

普魯塔克寫下了「特修斯之船」

was an example of the philosophical paradox

作為一個哲學上矛盾的範例

revolving around the persistence of identity.

圍繞在身份延續性這個問題上

How can every single part of something be replaced,

我們怎麼能說一個物體在每個部分完全都被取代後

yet it still remains the same thing?

仍然是同一個物體呢？

Let's imagine there are two ships:

試著想像兩艘船：

the ship that Theseus docked in Athens, Ship A,

A 船是特修斯當年停回雅典的那艘船

and the ship sailed by the Athenians 1000 years later, Ship B.

B 船是一千年後雅典人所用來紀念特修斯而航行的那艘船

Very simply, our question is this: does A equal B?

這個問題非常簡單：A 等於 B 嗎？

Some would say that for 1000 years there has been only one Ship of Theseus,

有些人會說一千年來一直都只有一艘特修斯之船

and because the changes made to it happened gradually,

而因為它是慢慢的把零件一個一個換掉

it never at any point in time stopped being the legendary ship.

所以自始至終它都是那艘傳奇的特修斯之船

Though they have absolutely no parts in common,

雖然這兩艘船 (一部分一部分被替換掉的船跟原本的船) 沒有任何一個部分是相同的

the two ships are numerically identical, meaning one and the same,

但這兩艘船其實是同一艘船

so A equals B.

所以 A 船等於 B 船

However, others could argue that Theseus never set foot on Ship B, and his presence on the ship is an essential qualitative property of the Ship of Theseus.

然而其他人可以說特修斯從未真正踏上過 B 船，而「特修斯出現在船上」這件事是「特修斯之船」之所以是特修斯之船的必要性質

It cannot survive without him.

少了這個條件就不能算是特修斯之船

So, though the two ships are numerically identical,

因此，即使兩艘船其實是一艘船

they are not qualitatively identical.

它們性質上並不相同

Thus, A does not equal B.

因此，A 船不等於 B 船

But what happens when we consider this twist?

但是如果我們把問題稍微換一下呢？

What if, as each piece of the original ship was cast off, somebody collected them all, and rebuilt the entire original ship?

如果這艘船每個零件被一個一個換掉的時候，某人把這些被丟掉的零件蒐集起來，然後把整艘船重新建造起來呢？

When it was finished, undeniably two physical ships would exist:

造好之後，無法否認的是同時會有兩艘船存在

the one that's docked in Athens,

一艘停泊在雅典的港口

and the one in some guy's backyard.

一艘在某人後院裡

Each could lay claim to the title, "The Ship of Theseus,"

雙方都可以宣稱自己的船是真的「特修斯之船」

but only one could actually be the real thing.

但只可能有一艘船是真的那艘

So which one is it,

所以到底哪一艘才是那艘特修斯之船？

and more importantly, what does this have to do with you?

更重要的是，這個故事跟你有什麼關係？

Like the Ship of Theseus,

就好比特修斯之船

you are a collection of constantly changing parts:

你本身也是由持續不斷改變的部分所組成的：

your physical body, mind, emotions, circumstances, and even your quirks,

你的身體、心智、情緒、環境，甚至是你的癖好

always changing, but still in an amazing and sometimes illogical way,

這些都不斷在改變，但，以令人驚嘆且有點不合邏輯的方式

you stay the same, too.

你也仍然還是你

This is one of the reasons that the question, "Who am I?" is so complex.

這也是讓「我是誰」這個問題那麼難回答的原因之一

And in order to answer it,

要回答這個問題的話

like so many great minds before you,

跟之前那些試著解決這個問題的偉大人們一樣

you must be willing to dive into the bottomless ocean of philosophical paradox.

你必須願意投身進入這個無底的哲學悖論

Or maybe you could just answer,

又或許你也可以這樣回答：

"I am a legendary hero sailing a powerful ship on an epic journey."

「我是一個傳奇英雄，駕著一艘強大的船偉大地航行著。」

That could work, too.

這樣也是行得通的啦