与摩根·弗里曼一起穿越虫洞（2010）

Through The Wormhole With Morgan Freeman S04E10

Part 5 April 19, 2021, 2:55 p.m.

南非开普敦大学的乔治·埃利斯
George Ellis from the university of cape town in South Africa
是物理学和宇宙学上
is one of the world's leading theorists
世界前沿的理论学家
in physics and cosmology.
最近，他把自己的关注点
Recently, he has shifted his attention
从理解宇宙转向了
from trying to understand the cosmos
理解地球上
to trying to understand
复杂系统是如何形成的
how complex systems on earth come to be,
比如开普敦青年合唱团的声音
like the sounds of the cape town youth choir.
对于乔治来说，动听的歌♥声可以
To George, a beautiful song can be scientifically understood
以科学的方式理解
in different ways.
曾作为物理学家的他
His old physicist self
能看到合唱中
would have seen the singing of the choruses
体现出的亚原子水平的活动
as emerging out of activity at the subatomic level.
我认为物理学家会告诉你这里发生的
I think the physicist would tell you what is happening here
是一些像电子或质子这样的
is the effect of fundamental particles
基本粒子的相互作用
interacting with each other as electrons and protons.
这些年青人可以这么歌♥唱
That these youth can sing this way
是由于他们的神经细胞传递电子
is because in their nerve cells, electrons are flowing
将电♥信♥♥号♥♥从脑传到其他神经中
and they're sending signals down from the brain to the nerves,
这些的基础其实都是物理学
and so, it's physics at the bottom, all the way,
是物理学使这一切正在发生
and the physics is actually what's causing it to happen.
但是乔治现在正思考
But George now wonders
是否有其他的方式来理解合唱
if there's another way to understand the choir's music.
也许这些歌♥唱者并不仅仅是
Perhaps these singers aren't
一些亚原子物理过程的集♥合♥体
just an aggregation of subatomic physical processes.
因果流动
The flow of causation is
起始于指挥者，再到合唱的所有成员
from the conductor to all the members of the choir,
他是合唱者行为的协调者
so he is coordinating the chorister's actions,
人们大脑中的电子流动也是如此
and so the flow of the electrons in the people's brains --
它们可以由指挥者控制
they're just responding and being controlled
对指挥者想要的结果起反应
by what the conductor wanted to happen.
那么从顶部指挥者的想法开始
So, it's top down from the conductor's mind
向下传递到歌♥唱者脑中形成电子流
into those electrons that are flowing in people's brains.
乔治称之为自上而下的因果关系
George calls this idea top-to-bottom causation.
组成每位合唱者的基本粒子
The fundamental particles that comprise each chorister
位于整个关系的最底层
are the bottom level
由高层控制
and are being controlled by a higher level --
即指挥
the conductor.
如果没有指挥
If there were no conductor,
乔治就需要堵住耳朵了
George would need some ear plugs.
你能得到的纯粹协同的
The amount of beauty coordination
上下关系的数量非常有限
you can get purely bottom-up is strictly limited.
你只能得到简单的协同
You have to have the simple coordination,
正是这种理念控制着物理学
and it's the thought that's controlling the physics
使物理事件得以发生
and making the physics happen.
也许宇宙需要一个指挥
Perhaps the universe needs a conductor
来创造我们身边美丽的大自然
to create the beauty of nature all around us.
乔治认为
And George thinks
在几何学中有证据
there is evidence that this is true
证明这是真的
in the form of geometry.
这是毕达哥拉斯定理
This is Pythagoras' theorem.
如果你已知一直角边长度，平方
If you take that length, square it,
再加上另一直角边的平方
add it to that one squared,
就能得到直角三角形斜边的平方
you get the square on the hypotenuse.
这就是全宇宙
So that's an eternal principle
处处存在的永恒的定理
which is true everywhere in the universe.
乔治认为宇宙存在一个几何学基础
George believes the universe has an underlying geometry
统治着物理世界中发生的一切
that governs what is possible in the physical world.
他认为几何学法则早于我们宇宙而存在
He thinks geometric laws existed before our universe existed.
人类只是发现了这些法则而已
Humans are only discovering them.
这起源于古希腊哲学家柏拉图的观点
It's an idea that stems from the Greek philosopher Plato,
柏拉图认为数学规则
who believed mathematical patterns
早在宇宙诞生之前
existed in some abstract space
就已经存在
before the birth of our universe.
我也认为宇宙诞生之前
I think when the universe was set up,
数学规则就已经存在
the mathematical patterns pre-existed the universe.
但不仅是这种物理学的东西存在
But it isn't only physical things that exist.
还有其他意义也已经存在
There are also meanings that exist.
就像柏拉图认为的
Just as Plato believed
宇宙伴随着数学真理而诞生
the universe was born with mathematical truths,
他认为人类伦理也是如此
he said the same could be true for human ethics.
对于乔治来说，这种哲学观点表明
To George, it is a philosophy that suggests
我们的是非观源于一些永恒的真理
our rules of right and wrong may stem from some eternal truth
规定人们应该如何相处
that dictates how humans should treat each other.
这些道德规则早已设立
These ethical patterns were set out there,
我认为其形成早于人类诞生之前
in my opinion, before any human beings ever existed.
经过了长♥期♥为了理解
I've arrived at this position
复杂性的努力研究，我现在是这么认为的
through a long process of trying to understand complexity,
因为很明显这种意义早已存在
because it's quite clear that there is meaning.
除了纯粹的力学原理还有很多的东西都已经存在
There is more going on than this purely mechanical kind of stuff.
有谁或什么东西创造了
Did someone or something create
统治自然和社会的规则吗？
the laws that govern nature and society?
人类伦理是一种生命由其他高等道德生命
Are human ethics a sign that life was designed
创造的标志吗？
by a moral being?
还是道德只是进化的产物？
Or is morality a product of evolution?
加利福尼亚的这个人
One man in California
正在迈出回答这个问题的巨大一步
is taking a giant leap of faith to find out.
进化论寻找的是对所有生命形式的解释
Evolutionary theory seeks to explain life in all its forms.
而神学寻找的不仅仅是
But in theology, there's more to creation
我们肉体形成的解释
than our physical bodies.
神是宇宙道德的主宰者
God is master of our moral universe.
道德是在人脑中
Can morality arise in the human brain
由一些生物进化中偶然出现的进程建立的吗？
by the haphazard process of biological evolution
或是早已被设计好的？
or was it designed?
保罗·扎克教授是克莱蒙研究大学的
Professor Paul Zak from claremont graduate university
一名前沿科学家
is a scientist on the frontier.
他是神经经济学领域的先驱
He's a pioneer of a field called neuroeconomics,
这门学科主要研究脑内的化学成分
which is the study of how brain chemistry
是如何影响人们的日常决策的
affects people's decisions in life.
他最近研究的问题正是人类道德的起源
His latest quest is for the origin of human morality.
我的母亲在生我之前是一名天主教修女
My mother, before she was my mother, was a nun, a catholic nun.
那我母亲就是道德世界的标准
So, mom was the ruler of the morality world.
而我内心有一些想法
I really had this underlying kind of worry
难道没有很多形式的道德标准吗？
that aren't there many different forms of morality?
正与邪从何而来？
Where do good and evil come from?
这也是我花费时间精力
And that's the question
进行实验想要验证的问题
I really spent my time running experiments to identify.
保罗认为可能
Paul thinks there might be
有一种分子产生了道德
a single molecule responsible for morality.
他在研究中发现了一种分子
His research has led him to one possible candidate --
一个脑内叫做“催产素”的化学成分
a brain chemical called oxytocin.
催产素是脑垂体产生的化学分子
Oxytocin is a chemical the brain makes
直至十年前，这种分子的作用还只认为
that, until about 10 years ago, was only noted in humans
是促进生产和乳汁分泌
to facilitate birth and breast feeding.
当我开始着手这项工作时
So, when I first started doing this work,
我的一个同事说
one of my colleagues said,
“如果只有女性可以分泌这种激素，那么它就不会很重要。”
"it can't be that important if it's only for women,"
不过事实上男性也会分泌
but, in fact, men's brains make it, too.
问题就是为什么。催产素到底发挥了什么功能呢？
The question was why. Is it actually doing something?
保罗认为如果催产素的功能
Paul wondered if oxytocin had a larger role
不仅仅是帮助生产
than aiding in reproduction,
那么它就可能让人们感到
that perhaps it helps all humanity
同情、爱与信任
feel compassion, love, and trust.
为了找出答案，他进行了一项长♥期♥试验
In order to find out, he began a long-term study
检测当一个人被迫去相信陌生人时
of how this brain chemical fluctuates
这种脑化学成分是如何波动的
when a person is forced to trust a stranger.
今天，他的实验对象就是自己
Today, his test subject is himself.
我们今天打算去跳伞
We're gonna go skydiving today to find out
来看当人们面对其他人时的
what happens to the human brain when you're under high stress
高度紧张环境中的脑部反应
in the presence of another person.