1、Alain de Botton: A kinder, gentler philosophy(人生观） of successFor me they normally happen, these career crises, often, actually, on a Sunday evening, just as the sun is starting to set, and the gap between my hopes for myself, and the reality of my life, start to diverge（分离） so painfully that I norma
2、lly end up weeping into a pillow. Im mentioning all this, Im mentioning all this because I think this is not merely a personal problem. You may think Im wrong in this. But I think that we live in an age when our lives are regularly punctuated（不时打断） by career crises, by moments when what we thought w
3、e knew, about our lives, about our careers, comes into contact with a threatening sort of reality. 我经常对事业感到恐慌， 周日下午 晚霞洒满天空 理想和现实的差距 是这样残酷 令我沮丧的只想抱头痛哭 我提出这件事是因为 我认为不只有我这么感觉。 你可能不这么认为 但我感觉我们活在一个充满 事业恐慌的时代 就在我们认为我们已经理解 我们的人生和事业时 真实便来恐吓我们 Its perhaps easier now, than ever before, to make a good living.
4、Its perhaps harder than ever before, to stay calm, to be free of career anxiety. I want to look now, if I may, at some of the reasons why we might be feeling anxiety about our careers. Why we might be victims of these career crises, as were weeping softly into our pillows. One of the reasons why we
5、might be suffering is that we are surrounded by snobs. 现在或许比以前更容易过上好生活 但却比以前更难保持冷静 或不为事业感到焦虑 今天我想要检视 我们对事业感到焦虑 的一些原因 为何我们会变成事业焦虑的囚徒 不时抱头痛哭 折磨人的因素之一是 我们身边的那些势利鬼 Now, in a way, Ive got some bad news, particularly to anybody whos come to Oxford from abroad. There is a real problem with snobbery（势利）. Be
6、cause sometimes people from outside the U.K. imagine imagine that snobbery is a distinctively（特殊地）U.K. phenomenon fixated on country houses （乡间别墅）and titles(头衔）. The bad news is thats not true. Snobbery is a global phenomenon. We are a global organization. This is a global phenomenon. It exists. Wha
7、t is a snob? A snob is anybody who takes a small part of you and uses that to come to a complete vision of who you are. That is snobbery. 对那些来访牛津大学的外国友人 我有一个坏消息 这里的人都很势利 有时候英国以外的人会想象 势利是英国人特有的个性 来自那些乡间别墅和头衔爵位 坏消息是，并不只是这样 势利是一个全球性的问题 我们是个全球性的组织，这是个全球性的问题 它确实存在。势利是什么？ 势利是以一小部分的你 来判别你的全部价值 那就是势利。 And t
8、he dominant（统治的） kind of snobbery that exists nowadays is job snobbery. You encounter it within minutes at a party, when you get asked that famous iconic（形象的） question of the early 21st century, “What do you do?“ And according to how you answer that question, people are either incredibly delighted t
9、o see you, or look at their watch and make their excuses. (Laughter) 今日最主要的势利 就是对职业的势利 你在派对中不用一分钟就能体会到 当你被问到这个21 世纪初 最有代表性的问题：你是做什么的？ 你的答案将会决定对方接下来的反应 对方可能对你在场感到荣幸 或是开始看表然后想个借口离开 （笑声） Now, to opposite of a snob is your mother. (Laughter) Not necessarily your mother, or indeed mine. But, as it were,
10、the ideal mother. Somebody who doesnt care about your achievements. But unfortunately, most people are not our mothers. Most people make a strict correlation（相关性） between how much time, and if you like, love, not romantic love, though that may be something, but love in general, respect, they are wil
11、ling to accord us, that will be strictly defined by our position in the social hierarchy（等级制度）. 势利鬼的相反，是你的母亲 （笑声） 不一定是你我的母亲 而是一个理想母亲的想象 一个永远义无反顾的爱你，不在乎你是否功成名就的人 不幸地，大部分世人都不怀有这种母爱 大部分世人决定要花费多少时间 给于多少爱，不一定是浪漫的那种爱 虽然那也包括在内 世人所愿意给我们的关爱、尊重 取决于 我们的社会地位 And thats a lot of the reason why we care so much abo
12、ut our careers. And indeed start caring so much about material goods. You know, were often told that we live in very materialistic times（物欲横流的时代）, that were all greedy people. I dont think we are particularly materialistic. I think we live in a society which has simply pegged certain emotional rewar
13、ds to the acquisition of material goods. Its not the material goods we want. Its the rewards we want. And thats a new way of looking at luxury goods. The next time you see somebody driving a Ferrari dont think, “This is somebody who is greedy.“ Think, “This is somebody who is incredibly vulnerable（易
14、受伤害的） and in need of love.“ In other words - (Laughter) feel sympathy, rather than contempt（轻视）. 这就是为什么我们如此在乎事业和成就 以及看重金钱和物质的原因 我们时常被告知我们处在一个物质挂帅的时代 我们都是贪婪的人 我并不认为我们特别看重物质 而是活在一个 物质能带来大量情感反馈 的时代 我们想要的不是物质，而是背后的情感反馈 这赋予奢侈品一个崭新的意义 下次你看到那些开着法拉利跑车的人 你不要想“这个人很贪婪” 而是“这是一个无比脆弱、急需爱的人” 也就是说 （笑声） 同情他们，不要鄙视他们
15、There are other reasons - (Laughter) There are other reasons why its perhaps harder now to feel calm than ever before. One of these, and its paradoxical（看似矛盾其实有道理的） because its linked to something thats rather nice, is the hope we all have for our careers. Never before have expectations been so high
16、 about what human beings can achieve with their lifespan. Were told, from many sources, that anyone can achieve anything. Weve done away with the caste（阶级） system. We are now in a system where anyone can rise to any position they please. And its a beautiful idea. Along with that is a kind of spirit
17、of equality. Were all basically equal. There are no strictly defined kind of hierarchies. 还有一些其他的 （笑声） 还有一些其他理由，让我们比过去 更难获得平静 这有些矛盾因为拥有自己的事业 是一件不错的事 但同时 人们也从未对自己的短暂一生 有过这么高的期待 这个世界用许多方法告诉我们 我们无所不能 我们不再受限于阶级 而是只要靠着努力 就能攀上我们想到的高度 这是个美丽的理想 出于一种生而平等的精神 我们基本上是平等的 没有任何明显的 阶级存在 There is one really big prob
18、lem with this. And that problem is envy. Envy, its a real taboo（禁忌）to mention envy, but if there is one dominant emotion in modern society, that is envy. And its linked to the spirit of equality. Let me explain. I think it would be very unusual for anyone here, or anyone watching, to be envious of t
19、he Queen of England. Even though she is much richer than any of you are. And shes got a very large house. The reason why we dont envy her is because shes too weird. Shes simply too strange. We cant relate to her. She speaks in a funny way. She comes from an odd place. So we cant relate to her. And w
20、hen you cant relate to somebody, you dont envy them. 这造成了一个严重的问题 这个问题是嫉妒 嫉妒在今日是一种禁忌话题 但这个社会上最普遍的感受，便是嫉妒 嫉妒来自生而平等的精神。这么说吧 我想在场的各位 或是观看这个影片的众位 很少有人会嫉妒英国女皇 虽然她比我们都更加富有 住在一个巨大的房子里 我们不会嫉妒她的原因是她太怪异了 她太怪了 我们无法想象自己与她扯上关系，她的语调令人发噱 来自一个奇怪的地方 我们与她毫无关联。当你认为你与这个人毫无关联时，你便不会嫉妒 The closer two people are, in age, in
21、 background, in the process of identification, the more there is a danger of envy. Which is incidentally why none of you should ever go to a school reunion. Because there is no stronger reference point than people one was at school with. But the problem, generally, of modern society, is that it turn
22、s the whole world into a school. Everybody is wearing jeans, everybody is the same. And yet, theyre not. So there is a spirit of equality, combined with deep inequalities. Which makes for a very - can make for a very stressful situation. 越是两个年龄、背景相近的人 越容易陷入嫉妒的苦海 所以千万避免去参加同学会 因为没有比同学 更强烈的参照点了 今日社会的问题
23、是，它把全世界变成了一个学校 每个人都穿着牛仔裤，每个人都一样 但，并非如此 当生而平等的概念遇上现实中悬殊的不平等 巨大的压力就出现了 Its probably as unlikely that you would nowadays become as rich and famous as Bill Gates, as it was unlikely in the 17th century that you would accede to the ranks of the French aristocracy（贵族）. But the point is, it doesnt feel tha
24、t way. Its made to feel, by magazines and other media outlets, that if youve got energy, a few bright ideas about technology, a garage, you too could start a major thing. (Laughter) And the consequences of this problem make themselves felt in bookshops. When you go to a large bookshop and look at th
25、e self-help sections, as I sometimes do, if you analyze self-help books that are produced in the world today, there are basically two kinds. The first kind tells you, “You can do it! You can make it! Anything is possible!“ And the other kind tell you how to cope with what we politely call “low self-
26、esteem（自信）,“ or impolitely call “feeling very bad about yourself.“ 今日你变得像比尔-盖茨一样 有钱又出名的机会 大概就跟你在十七世纪 成为法国贵族一样困难 但重点是，感觉却差别很大 今日的杂志和其它媒体让我们感觉 只要你有冲劲、对科技有一些新颖的想法 再加上一个车库，你就可以踏上比尔的道路 （笑声） 我们可以从书店中感受到这些问题所造成的后果 当你像我一样到大型书店里的 自我帮助书籍类 如果你分析现在出版的这些自我帮助类书籍 它们基本上分成两种 第一种告诉你”你做得到！你能成功！没有不可能！“ 另外一种则教导你如何处理 我们婉
27、转地称呼为“缺乏自信” 或是直接了当地称为“自我感觉极差” There is a real correlationship, a real correlation between a society that tells people that they can do anything, and the existence of low self-esteem. So thats another way in which something that is quite positive can have a nasty（不快的） kickback（强烈反应）. There is another
28、 reason why we might be feeling more anxious, about our careers, about our status in the world today, than ever before. And it is again, linked to something nice. And that nice thing is called meritocracy（能力主义）. 这两者中间有着绝对的关联 一个告诉人们他们无所不能的社会 和缺乏自信有着绝对的关联 这是另一件好事 也会带来坏影响的例子 还有一些其它原因造成我们对事业 对我们在世上的地位感到
29、前所未有的焦虑 再一次地，它也和好的概念有关 这个好概念叫做“功绩主义“ Now everybody, all politicians on left and right, agree that meritocracy is a great thing, and we should all be trying to make our societies really really meritocratic. In other words, what is a meritocratic society? A meritocratic society is one in which if youv
30、e got talent and energy and skill, you will get to the top. Nothing should hold you back. Its a beautiful idea. The problem is if you really believe in a society where those who merit（应授予）to get to the top, get to the top, youll also, by implication, and in a far more nasty way, believe in a society
31、 where those who deserve to get to the bottom also get to the bottom and stay there. In other words, your position in life comes to seem not accidental, but merited and deserved. And that makes failure seem much more crushing（支离破碎）. 现在，无论是左倾还是右倾的政治人物 都同意“功绩主义”是个好事 我们应该尽力让我们的社会崇尚“功绩主义” 换句话说，一个崇尚“功绩主义
32、”的社会是什么样的呢？ 一个崇尚功绩主义的社会相信 如果你有才能、精力、和技术 你就会飞黄腾达，没有什么能阻止你 这是个美好的想法。问题是 如果你打从心里相信 那些在社会顶层的人都是精英 同时你也暗示着，以一种残忍的方法 相信那些在社会底层的人 天生就该在社会底层 换句话说，你在社会的地位不是偶然 而都是你配得的 这种想法让失败变得更残忍 You know, in the middle ages, in England, when you met a very poor person, that person would be described as an “unfortunate.“ Li
33、terally, somebody who had not been blessed by fortune, an unfortunate. Nowadays, particularly in the United States, if you meet someone at the bottom of society, they may, unkindly, be described as a “loser.“ There is a real difference between an unfortunate and a loser. And that shows 400 years of
34、evolution in society, and our belief in who is responsible for our lives. Its no longer the gods, its us. Were in the driving seat. 你知道，在中世纪的英国 但你遇见一个非常穷苦的人 你会认为他“不走运” 直接地说，那些不被幸运之神眷顾的人，不幸的人 今日，尤其在美国 如果人们遇见一些社会底层的人 他们被刻薄地形容成“失败者” “不走运”和“失败者”中间有很大的差别 这表现了四百年的社会演变 我们对谁该为人生负责看法的改变 神不再掌握我们的命运，我们掌握自己的人生
35、Thats exhilarating（令人愉快的事） if youre doing well, and very crushing if youre not. It leads, in the worst cases, in the analysis of a sociologist like Emil Durkheim, it leads to increased rates of suicide. There are more suicides in developed individualistic countries than in any other part of the worl
36、d. And some of the reason for that is that people take what happens to them extremely personally. They own their success. But they also own their failure. 如果你做的很好，这是件令人愉快的事 相反的情况，就很令人沮丧 社会学家 Emil Durkheim 分析发现 这提高了自杀率 追求个人主义的已发展国家的自杀率 高过于世界上其它地方 原因是人们把发生在自己身上的事情 全当作自己的责任 人们拥有成功，也拥有失败 Is there any re
37、lief（救济） from some of these pressures that Ive just been outlining? I think there is. I just want to turn to a few of them. Lets take meritocracy. This idea that everybody deserves to get where they get to. I think its a crazy idea, completely crazy. I will support any politician of left and right,
38、with any halfway decent meritocratic idea. I am a meritocrat and that is that. But I think its insane（疯狂的） to believe that we will ever make a society that is genuinely meritocratic. Its an impossible dream. 有什么方法可以解决刚才提到的 这些焦虑呢？ 是有的。我想提出几项 先说“功绩主义” 也就是相信每个人的地位忠实呈现他的能力 我认为这种想法太疯狂了 我可以支持所有相信这个想法的 无论是
39、左倾还是右倾的政治家 我同样相信功绩主义 但我认为一个完全彻底以能力取决地位的社会 是个不可能的梦想 The idea that we will make a society where literally everybody is graded, the good at the top, and the bad at the bottom, and its exactly done as it should be, is impossible. There are simply too many random factors. Accidents, accidents of birth, a
40、ccidents of things dropping on peoples heads, illnesses, etc. We will never get to grade them. Never get to grade people as they should. 这种我们能创造一个 每个人的能力都忠实地被分级 好的就到顶端，坏的就到底部 而且保证过程毫无差错，这是不可能的 这世上有太多偶然的契机 不同的机运，出身 疾病，从天而降的意外等等 我们却无法将这些因素分级 无法完全忠实的将人分级 Im drawn to a lovely quote by St. Augustine in “
41、The City of God,“ where he says, “Its a sin（罪恶） to judge any man by his post.“ In modern English that would mean, its a sin to come to any view of who you should talk to dependent on their business card. Its not the post that should count. And according to St. Augustine, its only God who can really
42、put everybody in their place. And hes going to do that on the Day of Judgement with angels and trumpets（小号）, and the skies will open. Insane idea, if youre a secularist（世俗论者） person, like me. But something very valuable in that idea, nevertheless. 我很喜欢圣奥古斯丁在“上帝之城”里的一句话 他说“以社会地位评价人是一种罪” 用现在的口吻说 看一个人的
43、名片来决定你是否要和他交谈 是罪 对圣奥古斯丁来说 人的价值不在他的社会地位 只有神可以决定一个人的价值 他将在天使围绕、小号奏鸣 天空破开的世界末日给于最后审判 如果你是像我一样的世俗论者，这想法太疯狂了 但这想法有它的价值 In other words, hold your horses when youre coming to judge people. You dont necessarily know what someones true value is. That is an unknown part of them. And we shouldnt behave as thou
44、gh it is known. There is another source of solace（安慰） and comfort for all this. When we think about failing in life, when we think about failure, one of the reasons why we fear failing is not just a loss of income, a loss of status. What we fear is the judgement and ridicule（嘲笑） of others. And it ex
45、ists. 换句话说，最好在你开口评论他人之前悬崖勒马 你很有可能不知道他人的真正价值 这是不可测的 于是我们不该为人下定论 还有另一种慰藉 当我们想象人生中的失败 我们恐惧的原因并不只是 失去收入，失去地位 我们害怕的是他人的评论和嘲笑，它的确存在 You know, the number one organ（机构） of ridicule nowadays, is the newspaper. And if you open the newspaper any day of the week, its full of people whove messed up their lives.
46、Theyve slept with the wrong person. Theyve taken the wrong substance. Theyve passed the wrong legislation（法律）. Whatever it is. And then are fit for ridicule. In other words, they have failed. And they are described as “losers.“ Now is there any alternative to this? I think the Western tradition show
47、s us one glorious alternative. And that is tragedy. 今日世界上最会嘲笑人的 便是报纸 每天我们打开报纸 都能看到那些把生活搞砸的人 他们与错误对象共枕，使用错误药物 通过错误法案，种种 让人在茶余饭后拿来挖苦的新闻 这些人失败了，我们称他们为“失败者” 还有其它做法吗？ 西方传统给了我们一个光荣的选择 就是“悲剧” Tragic art, as it developed in the theaters of ancient Greece, in the Fifth Century B.C., was essentially an art fo
48、rm devoted to tracing how people fail. And also according them a level of sympathy. Which ordinary life would not necessarily accord them. I remember a few years ago, I was thinking about all this. And I went to see “The Sunday Sport,“ a tabloid（小报） newspaper that I dont recommend you to start readi
49、ng, if youre not familiar with it already. And I went to talk to them about certain of the great tragedies of Western art. And I wanted to see how they would seize the bare bones of certain stories if they came in as a news item at the news desk on a Saturday afternoon. 悲剧的艺术来自古希腊 西元前五世纪，这是一个专属于 描绘人类失败过程的艺术 同时也加入某种程度的同情 在现代生活并不常给于同情时 几年前我思考着这件事 我去见“周日运动期刊” 如果你还不认识这个小报 我建议你也别去读 我去找他们聊聊 西方艺术中最伟大的几个悲剧故事 我想知道他们会如何露骨地以新闻的方式 在周日下午的新闻台上 呈现这些经典悲剧故事 So I told them about Othello. They had not heard of it but
