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苏菲的世界 Sophies World(二)

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发表于 2019-1-27 11:41:59 | 只看该作者 回帖奖励 |正序浏览 |阅读模式
Descartes

... he wanted to clear all the rubble off the site

Alberto stood up, took off the red cloak, and laid it over a chair. Then he settled himself once again in the corner of the sofa.

"Rene Descartes was born in 1596 and lived in a number of different European countries at various periods of his life. Even as a young man he had a strong desire to achieve insight into the nature of man and the universe. But after studying philosophy he became increasingly convinced of his own ignorance."

"Like Socrates?"

"More or less like him, yes. Like Socrates, he was convinced that certain knowledge is only attainable through reason. We can never trust what the old books tell us. We cannot even trust what our senses tell us."

"Plato thought that too. He believed that only reason can give us certain knowledge."

"Exactly. There is a direct line of descent from Socrates and Plato via St. Augustine to Descartes. They were all typical rationalists, convinced that reason was the only path to knowledge. After comprehensive studies, Descartes came to the conclusion that the body of knowledge handed down from the Middle Ages was not necessarily reliable. You can compare him to Socrates, who did not trust the general views he encountered in the central square of Athens. So what does one do, Sophie? Can you tell me that?"

"You begin to work out your own philosophy."

"Right! Descartes decided to travel around Europe, the way Socrates spent his life talking to people in Athens. He relates that from then on he meant to confine himself to seeking the wisdom that was to be found, either within himself or in the 'great book of the world.' So he joined the army and went to war, which enabled him to spend periods of time in different parts of Central Europe. Later he lived for some years in Paris, but in 1629 he went to Holland, where he remained for nearly twenty years working on his mathematical and philosophic writings.

"In 1649 he was invited to Sweden by Queen Christina. But his sojourn in what he called 'the land of bears, ice, and rocks' brought on an attack of pneumonia and he died in the winter of 1650."

"So he was only 54 when he died."

"Yes, but he was to have enormous influence on philosophy, even after his death. One can say without exaggeration that Descartes was the father of modern philosophy. Following the heady rediscovery of man and nature in the Renaissance, the need to assemble contemporary thought into one coherent philosophical system again presented itself. The first significant system-builder was Descartes, and he was followed by Spinoza and Leibniz, Locke and Berkeley, Hume and Kant."

"What do you mean by a philosophical system?"

"I mean a philosophy that is constructed from the ground up and that is concerned with finding explanations for all the central questions of philosophy. Antiquity had its great system-constructors in Plato and Aristotle. The Middle Ages had St. Thomas Aquinas, who tried to build a bridge between Aristotle's philosophy and Christian theology. Then came the Renais-sance, with a welter of old and new beliefs about nature and science, God and man. Not until the seventeenth century did philosophers make any attempt to assemble the new ideas into a clarified philosophical system, and the first to attempt it was Descartes. His work was the forerunner of what was to be philosophy's most important project in the coming generations. His main concern was with what we can know, or in other words, certain knowledge. The other great question that preoccupied him was the relationship between body and mind. Both these questions were the substance of philosophical argument for the next hundred and fifty years."

"He must have been ahead of his time."

"Ah, but the question belonged to the age. When it came to acquiring certain knowledge, many of his contemporaries voiced a total philosophic skepticism. They thought that man should accept that he knew nothing. But Descartes would not. Had he done so he would not have been a real philosopher. We can again draw a parallel with Socrates, who did not accept the skepticism of the Sophists. And it was in Descartes's lifetime that the new natural sciences were developing a method by which to provide certain and exact descriptions of natural processes.

"Descartes was obliged to ask himself if there was a similar certain and exact method of philosophic reflection."

"That I can understand."

"But that was only part of it. The new physics had also raised the question of the nature of matter, and thus what determines the physical processes of nature. More and more people argued in favor of a mechanistic view of nature. But the more mechanistic the physical world was seen to be, the more pressing became the question of the relationship between body and soul. Until the seventeenth century, the soul had commonly been considered as a sort of 'breath of life' that pervaded all living creatures. The original meaning of the words 'soul' and 'spirit' is, in fact, 'breath' and 'breathing.' This is the case for almost all European languages. To Aristotle, the soul was something that was present everywhere in the organism as its 'life principle'--and therefore could not be conceived as separate from the body. So he was able to speak of a plant soul or an animal soul. Philosophers did not introduce any radical division of soul and body until the seventeenth century. The reason was that the motions of all material objects--including the body, animal or human--were explained as involving mechanical processes. But man's soul could surely not be part of this body machinery, could it? What of the soul, then? An explanation was required not least of how something 'spiritual' could start a mechanical process."

"It's a strange thought, actually."

"What is?"

"I decide to lift my arm--and then, well, the arm lifts itself. Or I decide to run for a bus, and the next second my legs are moving. Or I'm thinking about something sad, and suddenly I'm crying. So there must be some mysterious connection between body and consciousness."

"That was exactly the problem that set Descartes's thoughts going. Like Plato, he was convinced that there was a sharp division between 'spirit' and 'matter.' But as to how the mind influences the body--or the soul the body--Plato could not provide an answer."

"Neither have I, so I am looking forward to hearing what Descartes's theory was."

"Let us follow his own line of reasoning."

Albert pointed to the book that lay on the table between them.

"In his Discourse on Method, Descartes raises the question of the method the philosopher must use to solve a philosophical problem. Science already had its new method..."

"So you said."

"Descartes maintains that we cannot accept anything as being true unless we can clearly and distinctly perceive it. To achieve this can require the breaking down of a compound problem into as many single factors as possible. Then we can take our point of departure in the simplest idea of all. You could say that every single thought must be weighed and measured, rather in the way Galileo wanted everything to be measured and everything immeasurable to be made measurable. Descartes believed that philosophy should go from the simple to the complex. Only then would it be possible to construct a new insight. And finally it would be necessary to ensure by constant enumeration and control that nothing was left out. Then, a philosophical conclusion would be within reach."

"It sounds almost like a math test."

"Yes. Descartes was a mathematician; he is considered the father of analytical geometry, and he made important contributions to the science of algebra. Descartes wanted to use the 'mathematical method' even for philosophizing. He set out to prove philosophical truths in the way one proves a mathematical theorem. In other words, he wanted to use exactly the same instrument that we use when we work with figures, namely, reason, since only reason can give us certainty. It is far from certain that we can rely on our senses. We have already noted Descartes's affinity with Plato, who also observed that mathematics and numerical ratio give us more certainty than the evidence of our senses."

"But can one solve philosophical problems that way?"

"We had better go back to Descartes's own reasoning. His aim is to reach certainty about the nature of life, and he starts by maintaining that at first one should doubt everything. He didn't want to build on sand, you see."

"No, because if the foundations give way, the whole house collapses."

"As you so neatly put it, my child. Now, Descartes did not think it reasonable to doubt everything, but he thought it was possible in principle to doubt everything. For one thing, it is by no means certain that we advance our philosophical quest by reading Plato or Aristotle. It may increase our knowledge of history but not of the world. It was important for Descartes to rid himself of all handed down, or received, learning before beginning his own philosophical construction."

"He wanted to clear all the rubble off the site before starting to build his new house ..."

"Thank you. He wanted to use only fresh new materials in order to be sure that his new thought construction would hold. But Descartes's doubts went even deeper. We cannot even trust what our senses tell us, he said. Maybe they are deceiving us."

"How come?"

"When we dream, we feel we are experiencing reality. What separates our waking feelings from our dream feelings?

" 'When I consider this carefully, I find not a single property which with certainty separates the waking state from the dream,' writes Descartes. And he goes on: 'How can you be certain that your whole life is not a dream?' "

"Jeppe thought he had only been dreaming when he had slept in the Baron's bed."

"And when he was lying in the Baron's bed, he thought his life as a poor peasant was only a dream. So in the same way, Descartes ends up doubting absolutely everything. Many philosophers before him had reached the end of the road at that very point."

"So they didn't get very far."

"But Descartes tried to work forward from this zero point. He doubted everything, and that was the only thing he was certain of. But now something struck him: one thing had to be true, and that was that he doubted. When he doubted, he had to be thinking, and because he was thinking, it had to be certain that he was a thinking being. Or, as he himself expressed it: Cogito, ergo sum."

"Which means?"

"I think, therefore I am."

"I'm not surprised he realized that."

"Fair enough. But notice the intuitive certainty with which he suddenly perceives himself as a thinking being. Perhaps you now recall what Plato said, that what we grasp with our reason is more real than what we grasp with our senses. That's the way it was for Descartes. He perceived not only that he was a thinking /, he realized at the same time that this thinking / was more real than the material world which we perceive with our senses. And he went on. He was by no means through with his philosophical quest."

"What came next?"

"Descartes now asked himself if there was anything more he could perceive with the same intuitive certainty.

He came to the conclusion that in his mind he had a clear and distinct idea of a perfect entity. This was an idea he had always had, and it was thus self-evident to Descartes that such an idea could not possibly have come from himself. The idea of a perfect entity cannot have originated from one who was himself imperfect, he claimed. Therefore the idea of a perfect entity must have originated from that perfect entity itself, or in other words, from God. That God exists was therefore just as self-evident for Descartes as that a thinking being must exist."

"Now he was jumping to a conclusion. He was more cautious to begin with."

"You're right. Many people have called that his weak spot. But you say 'conclusion.' Actually it was not a question of proof. Descartes only meant that we all possess the idea of a perfect entity, and that inherent in that idea is the fact that this perfect entity must exist. Because a perfect entity wouldn't be perfect if it didn't exist. Neither would we possess the idea of a perfect entity if there were no perfect entity. For we are imperfect, so the idea of perfection cannot come from us. According to Descartes, the idea of God is innate, it is stamped on us from birth 'like the artisan's mark stamped on his product.' "

"Yes, but just because I possess the idea of a crocophant doesn't mean that the crocophant exists."

"Descartes would have said that it is not inherent in the concept of a crocophant that it exists. On the other hand, it is inherent in the concept of a perfect entity that such an entity exists. According to Descartes, this is just as certain as it is inherent in the idea of a circle that all points of the circle are equidistant from the center. You cannot have a circle that does not conform to this law. Nor can you have a perfect entity that lacks its most important property, namely, existence."

"That's an odd way of thinking."

"It is a decidedly rationalistic way of thinking. Descartes believed like Socrates and Plato that there is a connection between reason and being. The more self-evident a thing is to one's reason, the more certain it is that it exists."

"So far he has gotten to the fact that he is a thinking person and that there exists a perfect entity."

"Yes, and with this as his point of departure, he proceeds. In the question of all the ideas we have about outer reality--for example, the sun and the moon--there is the possibility that they are fantasies. But outer reality also has certain characteristics that we can perceive with our reason. These are the mathematical properties, or, in other words, the kinds of things that are measurable, such as length, breadth, and depth. Such 'quantitative' properties are just as clear and distinct to my reason as the fact that I am a thinking being. 'Qualitative' properties such as color, smell, and taste, on the other hand, are linked to our sense perception and as such do not describe outer reality."

"So nature is not a dream after all."

"No, and on that point Descartes once again draws upon our idea of the perfect entity. When our reason recognizes something clearly and distinctly--as is the case for the mathematical properties of outer reality--it must necessarily be so. Because a perfect God would not deceive us. Descartes claims 'God's guarantee' that whatever we perceive with our reason also corresponds to reality."

"Okay, so now he's found out he's a thinking being, God exists, and there is an outer reality."

"Ah, but the outer reality is essentially different from the reality of thought. Descartes now maintains that there are two different forms of reality--or two 'substances.' One substance is thought, or the 'mind,' the other is extension, or matter. The mind is purely conscious, it takes up no room in space and can therefore not be subdivided into smaller parts. Matter, however, is purely extension, it takes up room in space and can therefore always be subdivided into smaller and smaller parts-- but it has no consciousness. Descartes maintained that both substances originate from God, because only God himself exists independently of anything else. But al-though both thought and extension come from God, the two substances have no contact with each other. Thought is quite independent of matter, and conversely, the material processes are quite independent of thought."

"So he divided God's creation into two."

"Precisely. We say that Descartes is a dualist, which means that he effects a sharp division between the reality of thought and extended reality. For example, only man has a mind. Animals belong completely to extended reality. Their living and moving are accomplished me-chanically. Descartes considered an animal to be a kind of complicated automaton. As regards extended reality, he takes a thoroughly mechanistic view--exactly like the materialists."

"I doubt very much that Hermes is a machine or an automaton. Descartes couldn't have liked animals very much. And what about us? Are we automatons as well?"

"We are and we aren't. Descartes came to the conclusion that man is a dual creature that both thinks and takes up room in space. Man has thus both a mind and an extended body. St. Augustine and Thomas Aquinas had already said something similar, namely, that man had a body like the animals and a soul like the angels. According to Descartes, the human body is a perfect machine. But man also has a mind which can operate quite independently of the body. The bodily processes do not have the same freedom, they obey their own laws. But what we think with our reason does not happen in the body--it happens in the mind, which is completely independent of extended reality. I should add, by the way, that Descartes did not reject the possibility that animals could think. But if they have that faculty, the same dualism between thought and extension must also apply to them."

"We have talked about this before. If I decide to run after a bus, the whole 'automaton' goes into action. And if I don't catch the bus, I start to cry."

"Even Descartes could not deny that there is a constant interaction between mind and body. As long as the mind is in the body, he believed, it is linked to the brain through a special brain organ which he called the pineal gland, where a constant interaction takes place between 'spirit' and 'matter.' Therefore the mind can constantly be affected by feelings and passions that are related to bodily needs. But the mind can also detach itself from such 'base' impulses and operate independently of the body. The aim is to get reason to assume command. Because even if I have the worst pain in my stomach, the sum of the angles in a triangle will still be 180 de-grees. Thus humans have the capacity to rise above bodily needs and behave rationally. In this sense the mind is superior to the body. Our legs can age and become weak, the back can become bowed and our teeth can fall out--but two and two will go on being four as long as there is reason left in us. Reason doesn't become bowed and weak. It is the body that ages. For Descartes, the mind is essentially thought. Baser passions and feelings such as desire and hate are more closely linked to our bodily functions--and therefore to extended reality."

"I can't get over the fact that Descartes compared the human body to a machine or an automaton."

"The comparison was based on the fact that people in his time were deeply fascinated by machines and the workings of clocks, which appeared to have the ability to function of their own accord. The word 'automaton' means precisely that--something that moves of its own accord. It was obviously only an illusion that they moved of their own accord. An astronomical clock, for instance, is both constructed and wound up by human hands. Descartes made a point of the fact that ingenious inventions of that kind were actually assembled very simply from a relatively small number of parts compared with the vast number of bones, muscles, nerves, veins, and arteries that the human and the animal body consists of. Why should God not be able to make an animal or a human body based on mechanical laws?"

"Nowadays there is a lot of talk about 'artificial intelligence.' "

"Yes, that is the automaton of our time. We have created machines that can sometimes deceive us into believing that they are intelligent. Machines like these would have terrified Descartes out of his wits. He might have begun to doubt whether human reason really was as free and independent as he had supposed. And there are philosophers who believe that man's spiritual life is no more free than the bodily processes. The human soul is naturally infinitely more complex than any data program, but some people think that in principle we are just as unfree as these data programs. But look, Sophie--I'll show you something."

Alberto pointed to a large writing table at the other end of the room. On it stood a small computer. He went over to it. Sophie followed him.

Alberto switched the computer on and soon the screen showed C: at the top. He wrote "Laila," explaining that this was an advanced conversation program.

A text soon appeared at the top of the screen:

"Hi, my name is Laila. Are you sitting comfortably?"

Sophie entered three letters:

"Yes," she wrote although she had not yet sat down. Alberto brought up a chair for her.

"What is your name?" appeared on the screen.

"Sophie Amundsen," wrote Sophie, and the computer answered:

"3 Clover Close. Nice to meet you, Sophie. Are you looking forward to your fifteenth birthday?"

Sophie was startled. Alberto laid a hand on her shoulder and said: "I have only given her your name, your address, and your date of birth. It's like when you are going to be introduced to a new friend. It's nice to know a little about them beforehand."

"Not bad," wrote Sophie.

"Oh dear, I hope you are not feeling bad, Sophie. You must try to talk in whole sentences."

"Thank you, I'm perfectly well. Can I ask you something?"

"I am glad you are well. Go ahead and ask me something."

"How old are you?" Sophie wrote.

"I was constructed in Atlanta on August 8, 1988, but I was translated into Norwegian at the Norwegian Polytechnic on March 28, 1990."

"Gosh!"

"I said you must talk in whole sentences."

"I only said gosh!"

"I do not understand slang. I have a vocabulary of over 100,000 words, but the nearest I can find to gosh is gospel."

"That means the story of Jesus."

"Are you a Christian, Sophie?"

"I don't know."

"As a rule not knowing is a step toward new knowledge."

"Socrates would most likely have said the same. Or Descartes, for that matter."

"Socrates was a Greek philosopher who lived from 470 to 399 B.C. If you wish to know more, press F7. Descartes was a French philosopher who lived from 1596 to 1650. If you wish to know more, press F7."

"Thank you, that will be quite enough. Can I ask you something else?"

"I am glad that this was enough. Go ahead and ask!"

Alberto laughed quietly. Sophie wrote:

"Who is Hilde Moller Knag?"

"Hilde Moller Knag lives in Lillesand and is exactly the same age as Sophie Amundsen."

"How do you know?"

"I don't know how. I found her on the hard disc."

Sophie felt a hand on her shoulder.

"I have fed the data program with the little information we have about Hilde," said Alberto.

"What else do you know about Hilde?" wrote Sophie.

"Hilde's father is a UN Observer in Lebanon. He has the rank of major and continually sends postcards to his daughter."

"I want you to find him!"

"I can't do that. He is not on any of my files and I am not coupled to any other data base."

"I said find him!!!!!!!!"

"Are you angry, Sophie? So many exclamation marks are a sign of violent feelings."

"I want to talk to Hilde's father!"

"You have difficulty controlling yourself. If you wish to talk about your childhood, press F9."

Alberto laid his hand on Sophie's shoulder again.

"She's right. This is not a crystal ball. Laila is only a data program."

"Shut up!" wrote Sophie.

"As you wish, Sophie. Our acquaintance lasted only 13 minutes and 52 seconds. I shall remember everything we have said. I shall now end the program."

The letter C: once again showed up on the screen.

"Now we can sit down again," said Alberto.

But Sophie had already pressed some other keys.

"Knag," she wrote.

Immediately the following message appeared on the screen:

"Here I am."

Now it was Alberto who jumped.

"Who are you?" wrote Sophie.

"Major Albert Knag at your service. I came straight from Lebanon. What is your command?"

"This beats everything!" breathed Alberto. "The rat has sneaked onto the hard disc."

He motioned for Sophie to move and sat down in front of the keyboard.

"How did you manage to get into my PC?" he wrote.

"A mere bagatelle, dear colleague. I am exactly where I choose to be."

"You loathsome data virus!"

"Now, now! At the moment I am here as a birthday virus. May I send a special greeting?"

"No thanks, we've had enough of them."

"But I'll be quick: all in your honor, dear Hilde. Once again, a very happy fifteenth birthday. Please excuse the circumstances, but I wanted my birthday greetings to spring up around you everywhere you go. Love from Dad, who is longing to give you a great big hug."

Before Alberto could write again, the sign C: had once again appeared on the screen.

Alberto wrote "dir knag*.*," which called up the following information on the screen:


*    *    *

22:34

Alberto wrote "erase knag*.*" and switched off the computer.

"There--now I have erased him," he said. "But it's impossible to say where he'll turn up next time."

He went on sitting there, staring at the screen. Then he added:

"The worst of it all was the name. Albert Knag ..."

For the first time Sophie was struck by the similarity between the two names. Albert Knag and Alberto Knox. But Alberto was so incensed that she dared not say a word. They went over and sat by the coffee table again.
33
 楼主| 发表于 2019-2-4 10:26:16 | 只看该作者
那轰然一响

……我们也是星尘……
席德舒服地坐在秋千上,靠在爸爸身旁。已经将近午夜了。他们坐在那儿眺望海湾,明亮的天空有几颗星星正闪烁着微弱的光芒。
温柔的海浪一波波拍打在平台下的礁岩上。
爸爸打破沉默。
“想起来真是很奇怪,我们居然住在宇宙这样一个小小的星球上。”
“嗯......”
“地球只是许多围绕太阳运行的星球之一,但它却是唯一有生命的星球。”
“会不会也是整个宇宙中唯一的一个?”
“可能。但宇宙也可能到处充满了生命,因为宇宙之大是无法想象的。其间的距离如此遥远,因此我们只能以光分和光年来计算。”
“什么是光分和光年?”
“一光分就是光线在一分钟内可走的距离,这是非常长的距离,因为光线在太空每秒钟可以走三十万公里。这表示一光分就是三十万乘以六十,也就是一千八百万公里。一光年就是将近十兆公里。”
“那太阳有多远呢?”
“它距离地球有八光分多一点。炎热的六月天照在我们脸上的温暖太阳光,可是在太空中走了八分钟才到我们这儿来的。”
“然后呢?”
“地球到太阳系最远的一颗星球冥王星的距离大约有五光时。
当天文学家透过天文望远镜观察冥王星的时候,事实上他看的是五个小时以前的冥王星。我们也可以说冥王星的画面要花五个小时才能传到这里。”
“实在有点难以想象,但我想我可以了解。”
“很好,席德,但是你要知道我们人类只是刚开始了解宇宙而已。我们的太阳只是银河里四千亿个星球当中的一个,这个银河有点像是一个很大的铁饼。我们的太阳刚好位于其中一个螺旋臂上。
当我们在晴朗的冬日夜晚仰望星星时,会看见一条由星星构成的宽带子,那是因为我们正好看到银河的中心。”
“大概是因为这样,所以瑞典文才把银河称为‘冬之街’吧。”
。“在银河系中,离我们最近的一颗恒星距地球有四光年,也许它正在我们这个岛的上方。此时此刻,如果那颗星球上有一个人正用一具强力的天文望远镜对着柏客来山庄看的话,他看到的将是四年前的柏客来山庄。他也许会看到一个十一岁女孩正坐在秋千上晃动她的双腿。”
“真不可思议。”
“可是这还是最近的一颗。整个银河(或称星云)共有九万光年这么宽,也就是说光线从银河的一端传到另外一端要花九万年的时间。当我们注视着银河中一颗距离我们有五万光年的星星时,我们看到的是那颗星球在五万年以前的情形。”
“这么大的空间实在是我这个小脑袋难以想象的。”
“我们只要眺望太空,所看到的一定是从前的太空。我们永远无法知道现在的宇宙是什么模样。我们只知道它当时如何。当我们仰望一颗距我们有几千光年的星球时,我们事实上是回到了几千年前的太空。”
“真是不可思议极了。”
“因为我们眼中所见的一切事物都以光波的形式出现,这些光波需要时间才能传过太空。我们可以拿打雷来做比方。我们总是在看见闪电后才听见打雷的声音,这是因为声波传送的速度比光波慢。当我听到一阵雷鸣时,我听到的声音事实上已经发出了一会儿。各星球间的情况也是这样。当我看到一颗几千光年之外的星星时,就好像见到几千年前发出的‘雷声’一样。”
“嗯,我明白了。”
“但是到目前为止,我们谈的还只是我们的银河系。天文学家说,宇宙间大约有一千亿像这样的银河系,而每一个银河系都包含一千亿左右的星球。我们称距我们的银河最近的一个银河系为仙女座星云。它距我们的银河系约有两百万光年。就像我们刚才所说的,这表示那个银河系的光线要花两百万年才能到达我们这里。
同时也表示当我们看见高空中的仙女座星云时,我们看到的是它在两百万年前的情形。如果在这个星云内有一个人正在观测星球——我可以想象那个鬼鬼祟祟的小家伙现在正用天文望远镜对准地球——他是看不到我们的。如果他运气好的话,倒是可以看见几个扁脸的尼安德原人。”
“真是太令人吃惊了。”
“我们今天所知的最远的银河系距我们大约有一百亿光年。当我们收到来自那些银河系的信号时,我们事实上是收到一百亿年前的人所发出的信号。这个时间大约是太阳系历史的两倍。”
“我的头都昏了。”
“虽然我们很难理解这是一种什么样的情形,但天文学家已经发现一种现象,它将对我们的世界观有很大的影响。”
“什么现象?”
“太空中的银河系显然没有一个留在固定的位置。宇宙中所有的银河系都以极快的速度彼此分开,愈离愈远。它们离我们愈远,移动的速度就愈快。这表示各银河系之间的距离在不断增加。”
“我正试着想象这幅画面。”
“如果你有一个气球,而你在它的表面画上许多黑点。然后你愈吹它,那些黑点就分得愈开。这就是宇宙间各银河系所发生的现象。我们说宇宙在扩张。”
“怎么会这样呢?”
“大多数天文学家都认为,宇宙扩张的现象只可能是一个原因造成的。那就是:在大约一百五十亿年以前,宇宙间所有的物质都集中在一个比较小的范围内。由于物质密度极高,再加上重力的作用,使得这些物质温度高得吓人。温度日趋上升的结果,这一团紧密的物质终于爆炸了。我们称这个现象为‘宇宙大爆炸’。”
“挺吓人的。”
“宇宙大爆炸使得宇宙中所有的物质都向四面扩散。当这些物质碎片逐渐冷却后,就形成各个星球、银河系、卫星与行星……”
“你不是说宇宙还在继续扩张吗?”
“是的。而它扩张的理由正是由于一百多亿年前的这次大爆炸。因此目前宇宙各星球并没有固定不变的位置,宇宙仍然在形成中。它是一次爆炸后的产物。各银河目前仍继续以极高的速度向宇宙的四面飞散。”
“它们会永远这样下去吗?”
“有可能,但还有另外一个可能性。你还记得艾伯特告诉过苏菲有两种力量使行星一直在固定的轨道上围绕恒星运行吗?”
“是不是引力和惯性?”
“对,同样的道理也适用于各银河系。因为即使宇宙仍继续扩张,引力的作用却刚好相反。也许几十亿年后有一天,当大爆炸的力量逐渐减弱后,重力会使得各星球重新凝聚,然后就会发生一种‘反爆炸’的现象,也就是所谓的‘内破裂’。不过,由于各银河系之间的距离过于遥远,所以情况会变得像是电影的慢动作,就像你把一个气球里的空气放掉以后的现象。”
“那这些银河系会不会再度聚拢成一个紧密的核心呢?”
“没错,你说对了。但到时候会发生什么事呢?”
“又会有一次大爆炸,而宇宙也会再度开始扩张,因为到时同样的自然法则又会发生作用。所以会形成新的星球和新的银河系。”
未来的宇宙“说得好。关于宇宙的未来,天文学家认为有两种可能。要不就是宇宙一直扩张下去,使得各银河系间的距离愈来愈远。要不就是宇宙会开始再度收缩。究竟会发生哪一种现象,要看宇宙有多重、多大而定。而这点天文学家目前还无法得知。”
“但是如果宇宙重到使它开始收缩的程度,那么也许这种扩张、收缩又扩张的现象以前已经发生过好几次了。”
“结论显然应该是这样。但在这一点上,各家理论不同。也许宇宙的扩张现象只会发生这么一次,但是如果它永远不断扩张下去,则这个现象是从何处开始的问题就变得更加迫切了。”
“没错,因为这些突然间爆炸的物质最初是从哪里来的呢?”
“对于一个基督徒来说,这次大爆炸显然就是创造过程开始的时刻。圣经告诉我们上帝说过:‘让世上有光吧!’你可能也还记得艾伯特说过基督教的历史观是‘直线式的’。从基督教相信上帝创造万物的观点来看,宇宙应该是会继续扩张下去的。”
“真的吗?”
“东方文化的历史观则是‘循环式的’。换句话说,他们认为历史会不断重复。举例来说,印度就有一个古老的理论,主张世界会不断开合,因此造成所谓的‘婆罗门日’(Brahman’sDay)和‘婆罗门夜’(Brahman’sNight)轮流交替的现象。这种观点自然比较符合宇宙会永远不断扩张、收缩的看法。在我的想象中,那就像是有一颗宇宙的心脏不断在跳动的情景……”
“我认为这两种理论都同样令人无法想象,也同样令人兴奋。”
“这就像是苏菲有一次坐在花园里思索永恒的矛盾:宇宙要不就是一向都存在着,要不就是突然无中生有……”
“喔,好痛!”
席德用手拍了一下额头。
“怎么回事?”
“我好像被牛蝇叮了一口。”
“也许是苏格拉底在给你一些心灵的刺激呢。”
苏菲和艾伯特坐在红色的敞篷车里听着少校对席德讲述宇宙的现象。过了一会儿,艾伯特问道:“你有没有想到现在我们的角色已经完全相反了呢?”
“怎么说?”
“以前是他们听我们说话,而我们看不见他们。现在是我们听他们讲话,而他们看不见我们。”
“还不止于此呢。”
“你是指什么?”
“我们一开始时并不知道席德和少校生活的那个世界,而现在他们也不知道我们存在的这个世界。”
“我们算是报了一箭之仇了。”
“可是那时候少校可以介入我们的世界。”
“我们的世界全是他一手造成的。”
“我还不死心。我们应该也有办法介入他们的世界吧?”
“可是你知道这是不可能的。还记得我们在灰姑娘餐馆里发生的事吗?无论你多费劲,还是拿不起那瓶可乐。”
苏菲默默不语。当少校正在说明宇宙大爆炸的现象时,她看着这座花园。“大爆炸”这个名词牵动着她的思绪。
她开始在车子里面四处翻寻。
“你在干嘛?”
“没事。”
她打开手套箱,找到了一支扳钳。她拿着扳钳,跳出车外,走到秋千旁,站在席德和她父亲前面。她试着吸引席德的视线,但一直都没有成功。最后她举起扳钳敲在席德的额头上。
“喔,好痛!”席德说。
然后苏菲又用扳钳敲击少校的额头,可他动也不动。
“怎么回事?”他问“我好像被牛蝇叮了一口。”
“也许是苏格拉底在给你一些心灵的刺激呢。”
苏菲躺在草地上,努力推动秋千。但是秋千仍静止不动。可是又好像稍动了一点点。
“风挺凉的。”席德说。
“不会呀,我倒觉得挺舒服的。”
“不只是风。还有另1J的。”
“这里只有我们两个,在这个凉爽的仲夏夜。”
“不,空气里面有一种东西。”
“会是什么呢?”
“你还记得艾伯特拟的秘密计划吗?”
“我怎么会忘记?”
“他们就这样从花园宴会里消失了。就好像他们消失在空气中了。”
“没错,可是……”
“……消失在空气中了……”
“故事总得结束呀。那不过是我编的。”
“没错,那时候是你编的。可是后来就不是了。他们不知道会不会在这儿.....”
“你相信吗?”
“爸,我可以感觉到。”
苏菲跑回车子里。
“很不错嘛!”当她紧握着扳钳爬进车里时,艾伯特不太情愿的说。“你有很不寻常的本领。我们就等着瞧吧。”
人生如星尘少校搂住席德。
“你没有听到那神秘的海潮声?”
“听到了。我们明天得让船下水。”
“可是你有没有听见那奇异的风声呢?你看那白杨树的叶子都在颤动呢。”
“这个星球是有生命的。不是吗……”
“你在信里说书中的字里行间另有意思。”
“我有吗?”
“也许这座花园也有别的东西存在。”
“大自然充满了谜题,不过我们现在谈的是天上的星星。”
“水上很快也会有星星了。”
“对。你小时候就把磷光称为水上的星星。从某个角度来看,你说的并没有错。磷光和其他所有的有机体都是由那些曾经融合为一个星球的各种元素所组成的。”
“人也是吗?”
“没错,我们也是星尘。”
“说得很美。”
“当无线电波天文望远镜可以接收到来自数十亿光年外的遥远银河系的光线时,它们就可以描绘出太初时期大爆炸后宇宙的形貌。我们现在在天空中所看到的一切,都是几千、几百万年前宇宙的化石,因此占星学家只能预测过去的事。”
“因为在它们的光芒传到地球之前,这些星座里的星星早就已经彼此远离了,是吗?”
“即使是在两千年前,这些星座的面貌也与今天大不相同。”
“我以前从来不知道是这样。”
“在晴天的夜晚,我们可以看见几百万、甚至几十亿年前宇宙的面貌。所以,我们可以说正在回家的路上。”
“我不懂你的意思。”
“你我也是在大爆炸时开始,因为宇宙所有的物质整个是一个有机体。在万古之前,所有的物质都聚合成一大块,质量极其紧密,因此即使是小如针头般的一块,也可以重达好几十亿吨。在这样大的重力作用下,这个‘原始原子’爆炸了,就好像某个东西解体一样。所以说当我们仰望天空时,我们其实是在试图找寻回到自我的路。”
“这个说法好特别。”
“宇宙中所有的星球和银河都是由同一种物质做成的。这种物质的各个部分分别又合成一块,这里一块,那里一块。一个银河系到另外一个银河系的距离可能有数十亿光年,可是它们都来自同样一个源头。所有的恒星和行星都属于同一个家庭。”
“我懂了。”
“但是这种物质又是什么呢?数十亿年前爆炸的那个东西究竟是怎样的一种物质?它是从哪里来的呢?”
“这是个很大的问题。”
“而与我们每个人都密切相关。因为我们本身就是这种物质。
我们是几十亿年前熊熊燃烧的那场大火所爆出来的一点火花。”
“这种想法也很美。”
“然而,我们也不要太过强调这些数字的重要性。只要你在手中握着一块石头就够了。就算宇宙是由这样一块橘子般大小的石头做成的,我们也还是无法理解它。我们还是要问:这块石头是从哪里来的?”
苏菲突然在红色敞篷车里站起来,指着海湾的方向。
“我想去划那条船。”她说。
“它被绑起来了,而且我们也不可能拿得动桨。”
“我们试试看好不好?不管怎么说,现在可是仲夏耶!”
“至少我们可以到海边去。”
他们跳下车,沿着花园向下跑。
他们试图解开牢牢系在一个铁圈里的缆绳,可是却连绳尾都举不起来。
“跟钉牢了一样。”艾伯特说。
“我们有很充裕的时间。”“一个真正的哲学家永远不能放弃。如果我们能够……松开它……”
“现在星星更多了。”席德说。
“是的,因为现在是夏夜里夜色最深的时候。”
“可是在冬天里它们的光芒比较亮。你还记得你要动身去黎巴嫩的那个晚上吗?那天是元旦。”
“就在那个时候,我决定为你写一本有关哲学的书。我也曾经去基督山的一家大书店和图书馆找过,可是他们都没有适合年轻人看的哲学书。”
“感觉上现在我们好像正坐在白兔细毛的最顶端。”
“我在想那些遥远的星球上是否也有人。”
“你看,小船的绳子自己松开了!”
“真的是这样!”
“怎么会呢?在你回来前,我还到那里去检查过的。”
“是吗?”
“这使我想到苏菲借了艾伯特的船的时候。你还记得它当时在湖里漂浮的样子吗?”
“我敢说现在也一定是她在搞鬼。”
“你尽管取笑我吧。可是我还是觉得整个晚上都有人在这里。”
“我们两人有一个必须游到那里去,把船划回来。”
“我们两个都去,爸爸。”
32
 楼主| 发表于 2019-2-4 10:24:58 | 只看该作者
对位法

……两首或多首旋律齐响……
席德在床上坐起来。苏菲和艾伯特的故事就这样结束了,但到底发生了什么事?爸爸为何要写那最后一章呢?难道只是为了展示他对苏菲的世界的影响力吗?她满腹心事地洗了一个澡,穿好衣服,很快地用过早餐,然后就漫步到花园里,坐在秋千上。
她同意艾伯特的说法。花园宴会里唯一有道理的东西就是他的演讲。爸爸该不会认为席德的世界就像苏菲的花园宴会一样乱七八糟吧?还是他认为她的世界最后也会消失呢?还有苏菲和艾伯特。他们的秘密计划最后怎么了?他是不是要席德自己把这个故事继续下去?还是他们真的溜到故事外面去了?他们现在到底在哪里呢?她突然有一种想法。如果艾伯特和苏菲真的溜到故事外面去了,讲义夹里的书页上就不会再提到他们了。因为很不幸的,书里所有的内容爸爸都很清楚呀。
可不可能在字里行间有别的意思?书里很明显地暗示有这种可能性。坐在秋千上,她领悟到她必须把整个故事至少重新再看一遍。
当白色的宾士轿车开进花园里时,艾伯特把苏菲拉进密洞中。
然后他们便跑进树林,朝少校的小木屋方向跑去。
“快!”艾伯特喊。“我们要在他开始找我们之前完成。”
“我们现在已经躲开他了吗?”
“我们正在边缘。”他们划过湖面,冲进小木屋。艾伯特打开地板上的活门,把苏菲推进地窖里。然后一切都变黑了。
计划过完生日后几天里,席德进行着她的计划。她写了好几封信给哥本哈根的安妮,并打了两三通电话给她。她同时也请朋友和认识的人帮忙,结果她班上几乎半数的同学都答应助她一臂之力。
在这期间她也抽时间重读《苏菲的世界》。这不是一个读一次就可以的故事。在重读时,她脑海中对于苏菲和艾伯特在离开花园宴会后的遭遇,不断有了新的想法。
六月二十三日星期六那一天大约九点时,她突然从睡眠中惊醒。她知道这时爸爸已经离开黎巴嫩的营区。现在她只要静心等待就可以了。她已经把他这天最后的行程都详详细细计划妥当。
那天上午,她开始与妈妈一起准备仲夏节的事。席德不时想起苏菲和她妈妈安排仲夏节宴会的情景。不过这些事都已经发生了,已经完了,结束了。可是到底有没有呢?他们现在是不是也到处走来走去,忙着布置呢?苏菲和艾伯特坐在两栋大房子前的草坪上。房子外面可以看到几个难看的排气口和通风管。一对年轻的男女从其中一栋房屋里走出来。男的拿着一个棕色的手提箱,女的则在肩上背了一个红色的皮包。一辆轿车沿着后院的一条窄路向前开。
“怎么了?”苏菲问。
“我们成功了!”
“可是我们现在在哪里呢?”
“在奥斯陆。”
“你确定吗?”
“确定。这里的房子有一栋叫做‘新宫’,是人们研习音乐的地方。另外一栋叫做‘会众学院’,是一所神学院。他们在更上坡一点的地方研究科学,并在山顶上研究文学与哲学。”
“我们已经离开席德的书,不受少校的控制了吗?”
“是的。他绝不会知道我们在这里。”
“可是当我们跑过树林时,我们人在哪里呢?”
“当少校忙着让乔安的爸爸的车撞到苹果树时,我们就逮住机会躲在密洞里。那时我们正处于胚胎的阶段。我们既是旧世界的人,也是新世界的人。可是少校绝对不可能想到我们会躲在那里。”
“为什么呢?”
“他绝不会这么轻易就放我们走,那就像一场梦一样,当然他自己也有可能参与其中。”
“怎么说呢?”
“是他发动那辆白色的宾士车的。他可能尽量不要看见我们。
在发生这么多事情以后,他可能已经累惨了……”
此时,那对年轻的男女距他们只有几码路了。苏菲觉得自己这样和一个年纪比她大很多的男人坐在草地上真是有点窘。何况她需要有人来证实艾伯特说的话。
于是,她站起来,走向他们。
“打搅一下,你可不可以告诉我这条街叫什么名字?”
可是他们既不回答她,也没有注意到她。
她很生气,又大声问了一次。
“人家问你,你总不能不回答吧?”
那位年轻的男子显然正在专心向他的同伴解释一件事情。
“对位法的形式是在两个空间中进行的。水平的和垂直的,前者是指旋律,后者是指和声。总是有两种以上的旋律一齐响起……”
“抱歉打搅你们,可是……”
“这些旋律结合在一起,尽情发展,不管它们合起来效果如何。
可是它们必须和谐一致。事实上那是一个音符对一个音符。”
多么没礼貌呀!他们既不是瞎子,也不是聋子。苏菲又试了一次。她站在他们前面,挡住他们的去路。
他们却擦身而过。
“起风了。”女人说。
苏菲连忙跑回艾伯特所在的地方。
“他们听不见我说话!”她绝望地说。这时她突然想起她梦见席德和金十字架的事。
“这是我们必须付出的代价。虽然我们溜出了一本书,可是我们却别想和作者拥有一样的身分。不过我们真的是在这里。从现在起,我们将永远不会老去。”
“这是不是说我们永远不会和我们周遭的人有真正的接触?”
“一个真正哲学家永不说‘永不’。现在几点了?”
“八点钟。”
“喔,当然了,和我们离开船长弯的时间一样。”
“今天席德的父亲从黎巴嫩回来。”
“所以我们才要赶快。”
“为什么呢?这话怎么说?”
“你不是很想知道少校回到柏客来山庄后会发生什么事吗?”
“当然啦,可是……”
“那就来吧!”
他们开始向城市走去。路上有几个人经过他们,可是他们都一直往前走,好像没看到苏菲和艾伯特似的。
整条街道旁边都密密麻麻停满了车。艾伯特在一辆红色的小敞篷车前停了下来。
“这辆就可以,”他说。“我们只要确定它是我们的就好了。”
“我一点都不知道你在说什么。”
“那我还是向你解释一下好了。我们不能随随便便开一辆属于这城里某个人的车子。你想如果别人发现这辆车没有人开就自动前进,那会发生什么事呢?何况,我们还不见得能发动它。”
“那你为什么选这辆敞篷车呢?”
“我想我在一部老片里看过它。”
“听着,我很抱歉,但我可不想继续和你打哑谜了。”
“苏菲,这不是一部真的车。它就像我们一样,别人在这里看到的是一个空的停车位,我们只要证实这点就可以上路了。”
他们站在车子旁边等候。过了一会儿,有个男孩在人行道上骑了一辆脚踏车过来。他突然转个弯,一直骑过这辆红敞篷车,骑到路上去了。
“你看到没?这辆车是我们的。”
艾伯特把驾驶座另外一边的车门打开。
“请进!”他说,于是苏菲就坐进去了。
他自己则进了驾驶座。车钥匙正插在点火器上。他一转动钥匙,引擎就发动了。
他们沿着城市的南方前进,很快就开到了卓曼(Dramman)公路上,并经过莱萨克(Lysaker)和桑德维卡(Sandvika)。他们一路看到愈来愈多的仲夏节火堆,尤其是在过了卓曼以后。
“已经是仲夏了,苏菲。这不是很美妙吗?”
“而且这风好清新、好舒服呀!还好我们开的是敞篷车。艾伯特,真的没有人能够看见我们吗?”
“只有像我们这一类的人。我们可能会遇见其中几位。现在几点了?”
“八点半了。”
“我们必须走几条捷径,不能老跟在这辆拖车后面。”
他们转个弯,开进了一块辽阔的玉米田。苏菲回头一看,发现车子开过的地方,玉米秆都被压平了,留下一条很宽的痕迹。
“明天他们就会说有一阵很奇怪的风吹过了这片玉米田。”艾伯特说。
操纵艾勃特少校刚刚从罗马抵达卡斯楚普机场。时间是六月二十三日星期六下午四点半。对于他来说,这是个漫长的一天。卡斯楚普是他行程的倒数第二站。
他穿着他一向引以为豪的联合国制服,走过护照检查站。他不仅代表他自己和他的国家,也代表一个国际司法体系,一个有百年传统、涵盖全球的机构。
他身上只背着一个飞行背包。其他的行李都在罗马托运了。他只需要举起他那红色的护照就行了。
“我没有什么东西要报关。”
还有将近三个小时,开往基督山的班机才会起飞。因此,他有时间为家人买一些礼物。他已经在两个星期前把他用毕生心血做成的礼物寄给席德了。玛丽特把它放在席德床边的桌子上,好让她在生日那天一觉醒来就可以看到那份礼物。自从那天深夜他打电话向席德说生日快乐后,他就没有再和她说过话了。
艾勃特买了两三份挪威报纸,在酒吧里找了一张桌子坐下,并叫了一杯咖啡。他还没来得及浏览一下标题,就听到扩音器在广播:“旅客艾勃特请注意,艾勃特,请和SAS服务台联络。”
怎么回事?他的背脊一阵发凉。他该不会又被调回黎巴嫩吧?是不是家里发生了什么事?他快步走到SAS服务台。
“我就是艾勃特。”
“有一张紧急通知要给你。”
他立刻打开信封。里面有一个较小的信封。上面写着;请哥本哈根卡斯楚普机场SAS服务台转交艾勃特少校。
艾勃特忐忑不安地拆开那个小信封。里面有一张短短的字条:亲爱的爸爸:欢迎你从黎巴嫩回来。你应该可以想到,我真是等不及你回来了。原谅我请人用扩音器呼叫你。因为这样最方便。
PS:很不幸的,乔安的爸爸已经寄来通知,要求赔偿他那辆被窃后撞毁的宾士轿车。
PS.PS:当你回来时,我可能正坐在花园里。可是在那之前,我可能还会跟你联络。
PS.PS.PS:我不敢一次在花园里停留太久。在这种地方,人很容易陷到土里去。我还有很多时间准备欢迎你回家呢。
爱你的席德艾勃特少校的第一个冲动是想笑。可是他并不喜欢像这样被人操纵。他一向喜欢做自己生命的主宰。但现在这个小鬼却正在黎乐桑指挥他在卡斯楚普的一举一动!她是怎么办到的?他把信封放在胸前的口袋里开始慢慢地向机场的小型购物商场走过去。他刚要进入一家丹麦食品店时,突然注意到店里的橱窗上贴了一个小信封。上面用很粗的马克笔写着:艾勃特少校。艾勃特把它从橱窗上拿下来,并打开它:私人信函。请卡斯楚普机场的丹麦食品店转交艾勃特少校。
亲爱的爸爸:请买一条很大的丹麦香肠,最好是有两磅重的。妈可能会想要一条法国白兰地香肠。
PS:丹麦鱼子酱也不赖。
爱你的席德艾勃特转一圈。她不会在这儿吧?玛丽特是不是让她飞到哥本哈根,好让她在这里跟他会合呢?这是席德的笔迹没错……突然间这位联合国观察员觉得自己正在被人观察。仿佛有人正在遥控他所做的每一件事。他觉得自己像个被小孩子抓在手里的洋娃娃。
他进入食品店,买了一条两磅重的腊肠,一条白兰地香肠和三罐丹麦鱼子酱。然后便沿着这排商店逛过去。他已经决定也要给席德买一份恰当的礼物。是计算机好呢,还是一架小收音机?嗯,对了,就买收音机。
当他走到卖电器的商店时,他看到橱窗上也贴了一个信封。这回上面写着:请卡斯楚普机场最有趣的商店转交艾勃特少校。里面的字条上写着:亲爱的爸爸:苏菲写信问候你,并且谢谢你,因为她那很慷慨的父亲送了她一个迷你电视兼调频收音机做为生日礼物。那些玩意都是骗人的,但从另外一方面来说,也只不过是个小把戏而已。不过,我必须承认,我和苏菲一样喜欢这些小把戏。
PS:如果你还没有到那儿,丹麦食品店和那家很大的烟酒免税商店还有更进一步的指示。
PS.PS:我生日时得到了一些钱,所以我可以资助你三百五十元买那架迷你电视。顺便告诉你,我已经把火鸡的肚子填好料了,也做了华尔道夫沙拉。
爱你的席德一架迷你电视要九八五丹麦克朗。但比起艾勃特被女儿的诡计耍得团团转这件事,当然只能算是小事一桩。她到底在不在这里呢?从这时候起,他无论到哪里都留神提防。他觉得自己像个间谍,又像个木偶。他这可不是被剥夺了基本人权了吗?他也不得不到免税商店去。那儿又有一个写有他名字的信封。
这整座机场好像变成了一个电脑游戏,而他则是那个游标。他看着信封里的字条:请卡斯楚普机场免税商店转交艾勃特少校:我只想要一包酒味口香糖和几盒杏仁糖。记住,这类东西在挪威要贵得多。我记得妈很喜欢Campari。
PS:你回家时一路上可要提高警觉,因为你大概不想错过任何重要的信息吧?要知道,你女儿的学习能力是很强的。
爱你的席德艾勃特绝望地叹了口气,可是他还是进入店里,买了席德所说的东西。然后他便提了三个塑胶袋,背了一个飞行包,走向第二十八号登机门去等候他的班机。如果还有任何信,那他是看不到了。
然而,他看到第二十八号登机门的一根柱子上也贴了一个信封:“请卡斯楚普机场第二十八号登机门转艾勃特少校”。上面的字也是席德的笔迹,但那个登机门的号码似乎是别人写的。但究竟是不是,也无从比对,因为那只是一些数字而已。
他坐在一张椅子上,背靠着墙,把购物袋放在膝盖上。就这样,这位一向自负的少校坐得挺直,目光注视前方,像个第一次自己出门的孩子。他心想,如果她在这儿,他才不会让她先发现他呢!他焦急地看着每一位进来的旅客。有一阵子,他觉得自己像一个被密切监视的敌方间谍。当旅客获许登机时,他才松了一口气。
他是最后一个登机的人。当他交出他的登机证时,顺便撕下了另外一个贴在报到台的白色信封。
苏菲和艾伯特已经经过布列维克(Brevik),没多久就到了通往卡拉杰罗(Krager)的出口。
“你的时速已经开到一八O英里了。”苏菲说。
“已经快九点了。他很快就要在凯耶维克机场着陆了。不过,你放心,我们不会因为超速被抓的。”
“万一我们撞到别的车子怎么办?”
“如果是一辆普通的车子就没关系,但如果是一辆像我们一样的子……”
“那会怎样?”
“那我们就要非常小心。你没注意到我们已经超过了蝙蝠侠的车……”
“没有。”
“它停在维斯特福(Vestfold)的某个地方。”
“想超这辆游览车可不容易。路两旁都是浓密的树林。”
“这没有什么差别。你难道就不能了解这点吗?”
说完后,他把车子调个头就开进树林里,直直穿过那些浓密的树木。
苏菲松了一口气。
“吓死我了!”
“就算开进一堵砖墙,我们也不会有感觉的。”
“这只表示,和我们周遭的东西比起来,我们只不过是空气里的精灵而已。”
“不,你这样说就本末倒置了。对我们来讲,我们周遭的现实世界才是像空气一般的奇怪东西。”
“我不懂。”
“那请你听好:很多人以为精灵是一种比烟雾还要‘缥缈’的东西。这是不对的。相反的,精灵比冰还要固体。”
“我从来没有想过是这样。”
“现在我要告诉你一个故事。从前有一个男人,他不相信世上有天使。有一天,他到树林里工作时,有一个天使来找他。”
“然后呢?”
“他们一起走了一会儿。然后那个人转向天使说:‘好吧,现在我必须承认世上真的有天使。可是你不像我们一样真实。,‘你这话是什么意思?’天使问。这人回答道:‘我们刚才走到那块大石头的时候,我必须绕过去,而你却是直接走过去。’天使听了很惊讶,便说道:‘你难道没有注意到刚才我们经过了一个沼泽吗?我们两个都直接穿过那阵雾气。那是因为我们比雾气更固体呀?”
“啊!”
“我们也是这样,苏菲。精灵可以穿过铁门。没有坦克或轰炸机可以压垮或炸毁任何一种由精灵做的东西。”
“这倒是挺令人安慰的。”
“我们很快就要经过里棱(Ris&r)。而从我们离开少校的小木屋到现在顶多只有一个小时。我真想喝一杯咖啡。”
当他们经过费安(Fiane),还没到桑德雷德(S&ndeled)时,在路的左边看到了一家名叫灰姑娘的餐馆。艾伯特将车子调头,停在它前面的苹地上。
在餐馆里,苏菲试着从冰柜里拿出一瓶可乐,却举不起来。那瓶子似乎被粘紧了。在柜台另一边,艾伯特想把他在车里发现的一个纸杯注满咖啡。他只要把一根杆子压下就可以了,但他使尽了全身的力气却仍压不下去。
他气极了,于是向其他的顾客求助。当他们都没有反应时,他忍不住大声吼叫,吵得苏菲只好把耳朵遮起来:“我要喝咖啡!”
他的怒气很快就消失了,然后就开始大笑,笑得弯了腰。他们正要转身离去时,一个老妇人从她的椅子上站起来,向他们走过来。
她穿着一条鲜艳的红裙,冰蓝色的羊毛上衣,绑着白色的头巾。这些衣服的颜色和形状似乎比这家小餐馆内的任何东西都要鲜明。
她走到艾伯特身旁说:“乖乖,小男孩,你可真会叫呀!”
“对不起。”
“你说你想喝点咖啡是吗?”
“是的,不过……”
“我们在这附近有一家店。”
他们跟着老妇人走出餐馆,沿着屋后一条小路往前走。走着走着,她说:“你们是新来的?”
“我们不承认也不行。”艾伯特回答。
“没关系。欢迎你们来到永恒之乡,孩子们。”
“那你呢?”
“我是从格林童话故事来的。这已经是将近两百年前的事了。
你们是打哪儿来的呢?”
“我们是从一本哲学书里出来的。我是那个哲学老师,而这是我的学生苏菲。”
“嘻嘻!那可是一本新书哩!”
他们穿过树林,走到一小块林间空地。那儿有几栋看起来很舒适的棕色小屋。在小屋之间的院子里,有一座很大的仲夏节火堆正在燃烧,火堆旁有一群五颜六色的人正在跳舞。其中许多苏菲都认得,有白雪公主和几个小矮人、懒杰克、福尔摩斯和小飞侠。小红帽和灰姑娘也在那儿。许多不知名的熟悉的人物也围在火堆旁,有地精、山野小精灵、半人半羊的农牧神、巫婆、天使和小鬼。苏菲还看到一个活生生的巨人。
“多热闹呀!”艾伯特喊。
“这是因为仲夏节到了,”老妇人回答说。“自从瓦普几司之夜(编按:五月一日前夕,据传在这一夜,女妖们会聚在布罗肯山上跳舞)过后,我们就不曾像这样聚在一起了。那时我们还在德国呢。我只是到这里来住一阵子的。你要的是咖啡吗?”
“是的。麻烦你了。”
直到现在,苏菲才注意到所有的房子都是姜饼、糖果和糖霜做的。有几个人正直接吃着屋子前面的部分。一个女面包师正走来走去,忙着修补被吃掉的部分。苏菲大着胆子在屋角咬了一口,觉得比她从前所吃过的任何东西都更香甜美味。
过一会儿,老妇人就端着一杯咖啡走过来了。
“真的很谢谢你。”
“不知道你们打算用什么来支付这杯咖啡?”
“支付?”
“我们通常用故事来支付。一杯咖啡只要一个荒诞不经的故事就够了。”
“我们可以讲一整个关于人类的不可思议的故事,”艾伯特说,“可是很遗憾我们赶时间。我们可不可以改天再回来付?”
“当然可以。但你们为什么会这么赶时间呢?”
艾伯特解释了他们要做的事。老妇人听了以后便说:“我不得不说你们真是太嫩了。你们最好快点剪断你们和那凡人祖先之间的脐带吧,我们已经不需要他们的世界了。我们现在是一群隐形人。”
艾伯特和苏菲匆忙赶回灰姑娘餐馆去开他们那辆红色的敞篷车。这时车旁正有一位忙碌的母亲为她的小男孩把尿。
他们风驰电掣地开过树丛和荆棘,并不时走天然的捷径,很快地就到了黎乐桑。
从哥本哈根开来的SK八七六号班机二十一点三十五分在凯耶维克机场着陆。当飞机在哥本哈根的跑道上滑行时,艾勃特少校打开了那个贴在报到台上的信封。里面的字条写着:致:艾勃特少校,请在他于一九九O年仲夏节在卡斯楚普机场交出他的登机证时转交。
亲爱的爸爸:你可能以为我会在哥本哈根机场出现。可是我对你的行踪的控制要比这更复杂。爸,无论你在哪里,我都可以看到你。老实说,我曾经去拜访过许多许多年前卖一面魔镜给曾祖母的那个很有名的吉普赛家庭,并且买了一个水晶球。此时此刻,我可以看到你刚在你的位子上坐下。请客我提醒你系紧安全带,并把椅背竖直,直到“系紧安全带”的灯号熄灭为止。飞机一起飞,你就可以把椅背放低,好好地休息。在你回到家前,你需要有充分的休息。黎乐桑的天气非常好,但气温比黎巴嫩低了好几度。祝你旅途愉快。
你的巫婆女儿、镜里的皇后和反讽的最高守护神席德敬上艾勃特分不清自己究竟是生气,或者只是疲倦而无奈。然后他开始笑起来。他笑得如此大声,以至于别的乘客转过身来瞪着他,然后飞机就起飞了。
这是以其人之道还治其人之身了,但两者之间当然有很大的不同。他的做法只影响到苏菲和艾伯特,而他们毕竟只是虚构的人物。
他按照席德所建议的,把椅背放低,开始打瞌睡。一直到通关后,站在凯耶维克机场的入境大厅时,他才完全清醒。这时他看到有人在示威。
总共有八个或十个大约与席德一般大的年轻人。他们手里举的牌子上写着:“爸爸,欢迎回家!“席德正在花园里等候。”反讽万岁!”
最糟的是他不能就这样跳进一辆计程车,因为他还要等他的行李。这段时间,席德的同学一直在他旁边走来走去,使他不得不一而再、再而三地看到那些牌子。然后有一个女孩走上来,给了他一束玫瑰花,他就心软了。他在一个购物袋里摸索,给了每个示威者一条杏仁糖。这样一来只剩下两条给席德了。他领了行李后,一个年轻人走过来,说他是“镜子皇后”的属下,奉命要载他回柏客来山庄。其他的示威者就消失在人群里了。
他们的车子开在E一八号路上,沿途经过的每一座桥和每一条隧道都挂着布条,写着:“欢迎回家!”火鸡已经好了。…‘爸,我可以看见你!”
当他在柏客来山庄的门口下车时,艾勃特松了一口气,并给了那位开车送他的人一百块钱和三罐象牌啤酒表示感谢。
他的妻子玛丽特正在屋外等他。在一阵长长的拥抱之后,他问:“她在哪里?”
“坐在平台上面。”
艾伯特和苏菲把那辆红色的敞篷车停在黎乐桑诺芝(Norge)旅馆外的广场上时,已经是十点十五分了。他们可以看到远处的列岛有一座很大的火堆。
“我们怎样才能找到柏客来山庄呢?”苏菲问。
“我们只好到处碰运气了。你应该还记得少校的小木屋里的那幅画吧。”
“我们得赶快了。我想在他抵达前赶到那儿。”
他们开始沿着较小的路到处开,然后又开上岩堆和斜坡。有一个很有用的线索就是柏客来山庄位于海边。
突然间,苏菲喊:“到了!我们找到了!”
“我想你说得没错,可是你不要叫这么大声好吗?”
“为什么?又没有人会听到我们。”
“苏菲,在我们上完了一整门哲学课之后,你还是这么妄下结论,真是使我很失望。”
“我知道,可是……”
“你不会以为这整个地方都没有巨人、小妖精、山林女神和好仙女吧?”
“喔,对不起。”
他们开过大门口,循着石子路到房子那儿。艾伯特把车停在草坪上的秋千旁。在不远处放着一张有三个位子的桌子。
“我看见她了!”苏菲低声说。“她正坐在平台上,就像上次在我梦里一样。”
“你有没有注意到这座花园多么像你在苜蓿巷的园子呢?”
“嗯,真的很像。有秋千呀什么的。我可以去找她吗?”
“当然可以。你去吧,我留在这里。”
苏菲跑到平台那儿。她差点撞到席德的身上,但她很有礼貌地坐在她旁边。
席德坐在那儿,闲闲地玩弄着那条系小舟的绳索。她的左手拿着一小张纸,显然正在等待。她看了好几次表。
苏菲认为她满可爱的。她有一头金色的卷发和一双明亮的绿色眼睛,身穿一件黄色的夏装,样子有点像乔安。
虽然明知道没有用,但苏菲还是试着和她说话。
“席德,我是苏菲!”
席德显然没有听到。
苏菲跪坐着,试图在她耳朵旁边大喊:“你听得到我吗?席德,还是你既瞎又聋呢?”
她是否曾把她的眼睛稍微张大一点呢?不是已经有一点点迹象显示她听见了一些什么吗?她看看四周,然后突然转过头直视着苏菲的眼睛。她视线的焦点并没有放在苏菲身上,仿佛是穿透苏菲而看着某个东西一般。
“苏菲,不要叫这么大声。”艾伯特从车里向她说。“我可不希望这花园里到处都是美人鱼。”
于是苏菲坐着不动。只要能靠近席德她就心满意足了。
然后她听到一个男人用浑厚的声音在叫:“席德!”
是少校!穿着制服,戴着蓝扁帽,站在花园最高处。
席德跳起来,跑向他。他们在秋千和红色的敞篷车间会合了。
他把她举起来,转了又转。
席德坐在平台上等候她的父亲。自从他在卡斯楚普机场着陆后,她每隔十五分钟就会想到他一次,试着想象他在哪里,有什么反应。她把每一次的想法都记在一张纸上,整天都带着它。
万一他生气了怎么办?可是他该不会以为在他为她写了一本神秘的书以后,一切都会和从前一样吧?她再度看看表。已经十点十五分了。他随时可能会到家。
不过,那是什么声音?她好像听到了一种微弱的呼吸声,就像她梦见苏菲的情景一样。
她很快转过头。——定有个什么东西,她很确定。可是到底是什么呢?也许是夏夜的关系吧。
有几秒钟,她觉得好像又听见了什么声音。
“席德!”
她把头转到另外一边。是爸爸!他正站在花园的最高处。
席德跳起来跑向他。他们在秋千旁相遇。他把她举起来,转了又转。席德哭起来了,而她爸爸则忍住了眼泪。
“你已经变成一个女人了,席德!”
“而你真的变成了作家。”
席德用身上那件黄色的洋装擦了擦眼泪。
“怎样,我们现在是不是平手了?”
“对,平手了。”
他们在桌旁坐下。首先席德向爸爸一五一十地诉说如何安排卡斯楚普机场和他回家的路上那些事情。说着说着,他们俩不时爆出一阵又一阵响亮的笑声。
“你没有看见餐厅里的那封信吗?”
“我都没时间坐下来吃东西,你这个小坏蛋。现在我可是饿惨了。”
“可怜的爸爸。”
“你说的关于火鸡的事全是骗人的吧?”
“当然不是!我都弄好了。妈妈正在切呢。”
然后他们又谈了关于讲义夹和苏菲、艾伯特的故事,从头讲到尾,从尾又讲到头。
然后席德的妈妈就端着火鸡、沙拉、粉红葡萄酒和席德做的乡村面包来了。
当爸爸正说到有关柏拉图的事时,席德突然打断他:“嘘!”
“什么事?”
“你听到没有?好像有个东西在吱吱叫。”
“没有。”
“我确定我听到了。我猜大概只是一只地鼠。”
当妈妈去拿另外一瓶酒时,席德的爸爸说:“可是哲学课还没完全结束呢。”
“是吗?”
“今晚我要告诉你有关宇宙的事情。”
在他们开始用餐前,他说:“席德现在已经太大,不能再坐在我的膝盖上了。可是你不会。”
说完他便一把搂住玛丽特的腰,把她拉到他的怀中。过了好一会,她才开始吃东西。
“想想你就快四十岁了……”
当席德跳起来冲向她父亲时,苏菲觉得自己的眼泪不断涌出。
她永远没法与她沟通了……苏菲很羡慕席德,因为她生下来就是一个活生生、有血有肉的人。
当席德和少校坐在餐桌旁时,艾伯特按了一下汽车的喇叭。
苏菲抬起头看。席德不也做了同样的动作吗?她跑到艾伯特那儿,跳进他旁边的座位上。
“我们在这儿坐一下,看看会发生什么事。”他说。
苏菲点点头。
“你哭了吗?”
她再度点头。
“怎么回事?”
“她真幸运,可以做一个真正的人……她以后会长大,变成一个真正的女人……我敢说她一定也会生一些真正的小孩……”
“还有孙子,苏菲。可是任何事情都有两面。这就是我在哲学课开始时想要教你的事情。”
“这话怎么说呢?”
“她的确是很幸运,这点我同意。但是有生必然也会有死,因为生就是死。”
“可是,曾经活过不是比从来没有恰当地活要好些吗?”
“我们当然不能过像席德或少校那样的生活。可是从另一方面来说,我们也永远不会死。你不记得树林里那位老妇人说的话了吗?我们是一些隐形人。她还说她已经两百岁了。在他们那个仲夏节庆祝会上,我看到一些已经三千多岁的人……”
“也许我最羡慕席德的是……她的家庭生活。”
“可是你自己也有家呀。你还有一只猫、两只鸟和一只乌龟。”
“可是我们把那些东西都抛在身后了,不是吗?”
“绝不是这样,只有少校一个人把它抛在身后。他已经打上了最后一个句点了,孩子,他以后再也找不到我们了。”
“这是不是说我们可以回去了?”
“随时都可以,可是我们也要回到灰姑娘餐厅后面的树林里去交一些新朋友。”
艾勃特一家开始用餐。苏菲有一度很害怕他们的情况会像苜蓿巷哲学花园宴会一样,因为有一次少校似乎想把玛丽特按在桌上,可是后来他把她拉到了怀中。
艾伯特和苏菲那辆红色的敞篷车停的地方距少校一家人用餐之处有好一段距离。因此他们只能偶尔听见他们的对话。苏菲和艾伯特坐在那儿看着花园。他们有很多时间可以思索所有的细节和花园宴会那悲哀的结局。
少校一家人一直在餐桌旁坐到将近午夜才起身。席德和少校朝秋千的方向走去。他们向正走进他们那栋白屋的妈妈挥手。
“你去睡觉好了,妈。我们还有很多话要说呢。”
31
 楼主| 发表于 2019-2-4 10:24:23 | 只看该作者
Counterpoint

two or more melodies sounding together

Hilde sat up in bed. That was the end of the story of Sophie and Alberto. But what had actually happened?

Why had her father written that last chapter? Was it just to demonstrate his power over Sophie's world?

Deep in thought, she took a shower and got dressed. She ate a quick breakfast and then wandered down the garden and sat in the glider.

She agreed with Alberto that the only sensible thing that had happened at the garden party was his speech. Surely her father didn't think Hilde's world was as chaotic as Sophie's garden party? Or that her world would also dissolve eventually?

Then there was the matter of Sophie and Alberto. What had happened to the secret plan?

Was it up to Hilde herself to continue the story? Or had they really managed to sneak out of it?

And where were they now?

A thought suddenly struck her. If Alberto and Sophie really had managed to sneak out of the story, there wouldn't be anything about it in the ring binder. Everything that was there, unfortunately, was clear to her father.

Could there be anything written between the lines? There was more than a mere suggestion of it. Hilde realized that she would have to read the whole story again one or two more times.

*    *    *

As the white Mercedes drove into the garden, Alberto dragged Sophie with him into the den. Then they ran into the woods in the direction of the major's cabin.

"Quickly!" cried Alberto. "It's got to happen before he starts looking for us."

"Are we beyond the major's reach now?"

"We are in the borderland."

They rowed across the water and ran into the cabin. Alberto opened a trapdoor in the floor. He pushed Sophie down into the cellar. Then everything went black.

In the days that followed, Hilde worked on her plan. She sent several letters to Anne Kvamsdal in Copenhagen, and a couple of times she called her. She also enlisted the aid of friends and acquaintances, and recruited almost half of her class at school.

In between, she read Sophie's World. It was not a story one could be done with after a single reading. New thoughts about what could have happened to Sophie and Alberto when they left the garden party were constantly occurring to her.

On Saturday, June 23, she awoke with a start around nine o'clock. She knew her father had already left the camp in Lebanon. Now it was just a question of waiting. The last part of his day was planned down to the smallest detail.

Later in the morning she began the preparations for Midsummer Eve with her mother. Hilde could not help thinking of how Sophie and her mother had arranged their Midsummer Eve party. But that was something they had done. It was over, finished. Or was it? Were they going around right now, decorating everywhere?

Sophie and Alberto seated themselves on a lawn in front of two large buildings with ugly air vents and ventilation canals on the outside. A young couple came walking out of one of the buildings. He was carrying a brown briefcase and she had a red handbag slung over one shoulder. A car drove along a narrow road in the background.

"What happened?" asked Sophie.

"We made it!"

"But where are we?"

"This is Oslo."

"Are you quite sure?"

"Quite sure. One of these buildings is called Chateau Neuf, which means 'the new palace.' People study music there. The other is the Congregation Faculty. It's a school of theology. Further up the hill they study science and up at the top they study literature and philosophy."

"Are we out of Hilde's book and beyond the major's control?"

"Yes, both. He'll never find us here."

"But where were we when we ran through the woods?"

"While the major was busy crashing the financial adviser's car into an apple tree, we seized the chance to hide in the den. We were then at the embryo stage. We were of the old as well as of the new world. But concealing ourselves there was something the major cannot possibly have envisaged."

"Why not?"

"He would never have let us go so easily. As it was, it went like a dream. Of course, there's always the chance that he was in on it himself."

"What do you mean?"

"It was he who started the white Mercedes. He may have exerted himself to the utmost to lose sight of us. He was probably utterly exhausted after everything that had been going on . . ."

By now the young couple were only a few yards away. Sophie felt a bit awkward, sitting on the grass with a man so much older than herself. Besides, she wanted someone to confirm what Alberto had said.

She got up and went over to them"Excuse me, would you mind telling me the name of this street?"

But they ignored her completely.

Sophie was so provoked that she asked them again.

"It's customary to answer a person, isn't it?"

The young man was clearly engrossed in explaining something to his companion:

"Contrapuntal form operates on two dimensions, horizontally, or melodically, and vertically, or harmonically.

There will always be two or more melodies sounding together . . ."

"Excuse me for interrupting, but. . ."

"The melodies combine in such a way that they develop as much as possible, independently of how they sound against each other. But they have to be concordant. Actually it's note against note."

How rude! They were neither deaf nor blind. Sophie tried a third time, standing ahead of them on the path blocking their way,She was simply brushed aside.

"There's a wind coming up," said the woman.

Sophie rushed back to Alberto.

'They can't hear me!" she said desperately--and just as she said it, she recalled her dream about Hilde and the gold crucifix.

"It's the price we have to pay. Although we have sneaked out of a book, we can't expect to nave exactly the same status as its author. But we really are here. From now on, we will never be a day older than we were when we left the philosophical garden party."

"Does that mean we'll never have any real contact with me people around us?"

"A true philosopher never says 'never.' What time is it?"

"Eight o'clock."

"The same as when we left Captain's Bend, of course."

"This is the day Hilde's father gets back from Lebanon."

"That's why we must hurry."

"Why--what do you mean?"

"Aren't you anxious to know what happens when the major gets home to Bjerkely?"

"Naturally, but. . ."

"Come on, then!"

They began to walk down toward the city. Several people passed them on the way, but they all walked right on by as if Sophie and Alberto were invisible.

Cars were parked by the curbside all the way along the street. Alberto stopped by a small red convertible with the top down.

"This will do," he said. "We must just make sure it's ours."

"I have no idea what you mean."

"I'd better explain then. We can't just take an ordinary car that belongs to someone here in the city. What do you think would happen when people noticed the car driving along without a driver? And anyway, we probably wouldn't be able to start it."

"Then why the convertible?"

"I think I recognize it from an old movie."

"Look, I'm sorry, but I'm getting tired of all these cryptic remarks."

"It's a make-believe car, Sophie. It's just like us. People here only see a vacant space. That's all we have to confirm before we're on our way."

They stood by the car and waited. After a while, a boy came cycling along on the sidewalk. He turned suddenly and rode right through the red car and onto the road.

"There, you see? It's ours!"

Alberto opened the door to the passenger seat.

"Be my guest!" he said, and Sophie got in.

He got into the driver's seat. The key was in the ignition, he turned it, and the engine started.

They drove southward out of the city, past Lysaker, Sandvika, Drammen, and down toward Lillesand. As they drove they saw more and more Midsummer bonfires, especially after they had passed Drammen.

"It's Midsummer, Sophie. Isn't it wonderful?"

"And there's such a lovely fresh breeze in an open car. Is it true that no one can see us?"

"Only people of our own kind. We might meet some of them. What's the time now?"

"Half past eight."

"We'll have to take a few shortcuts. We can't stay behind this trailer, that's for sure."

They turned off into a large wheatfield. Sophie looked back and saw that they had left a broad trail of flattened stalks.

"Tomorrow they'll say a freak wind blew over the field," said Alberto.

*    *    *

Major Albert Knag had just landed at Kastrup Airport outside Copenhagen. It was half past four on Saturday, June 23. It had already been a long day. This penultimate lap had been by plane from Rome.

He went through passport control in his UN uniform, which he was proud to wear. He represented not only himself and his country. Albert Knag represented an international legal system--a century-old tradition that now embraced the entire planet.

He carried only a flight bag. He had checked the rest of his baggage through from Rome. He just needed to hold up his red passport.

"Nothing to declare."

Major Albert Knag had a nearly three-hour wait in the airport before his plane left for Kristiansand. He would have time to buy a few presents for his family. He had sent the present of his life to Hilde two weeks ago. Marit, his wife, had put it on her bedside table for her to discover when she woke up on her birthday. He had not spoken with Hilde since that late night birthday call.

Albert bought a couple of Norwegian newspapers, found himself a table in the bar, and ordered a cup of coffee. He had hardly had time to skim the headlines when he heard an announcement over the loudspeakers: "This is a personal call for Albert Knag. Albert Knag is requested to contact the SAS information desk."

What now? He felt a chill down his spine. Surely he was not being ordered back to Lebanon? Could something be wrong at home?

He quickly reached the SAS information desk.

"I'm Albert Knag."

"Here is a message for you. It is urgent."

He opened the envelope at once. Inside lay a smaller envelope. It was addressed to Major Albert Knag, c/o SAS Information, Kastrup Airport, Copenhagen.

Albert opened the little envelope nervously. It contained a short note:

Dear Dad, Welcome home from Lebanon. As you can imagine, I can't even wait till you get home. Forgive me for having you paged over the loud-speakers. It was the easiest way.

P.S. Unfortunately a claim for damages has arrived from financial adviser Ingebrigtsen regarding a stolen and wrecked Mercedes.

P.S. P.S. I may be sitting in the garden when you get here. But you might also be hearing from me before that.

P.S. P.S. P.S. I'm rather scared of staying in the garden too long at a time. It's so easy to sink into the ground in such places. Love from Hilde, who has had plenty of time to prepare your homecoming.

Major Albert Knag's first impulse was to smile. But he did not appreciate being manipulated in this manner. He had always liked to be in charge of his own life. Now this little vixen in Lillesand was directing his movements in Kastrup Airport! How had she managed that?

He put the envelope in his breast pocket and began to stroll toward the little shopping mall. He was just about to enter the Danish Food deli when he noticed a small envelope taped to the store window. It had MAJOR KNAG written on it with a thick marker pen. Albert took it down and opened it:

Personal message for Major Albert Knag, c/o Danish Food, Kastrup Airport. Dear Dad, please buy a large Danish salami, preferably a two-pound one, and Mom would probably like a cognac sausage. P. S. Danish caviar is not bad either. Love, Hilde.

Albert turned around. She wasn't here, was she? Had Mark given her a trip to Copenhagen so she could meet him here? It was Hilde's handwriting ...

Suddenly the UN observer began to feel himself observed. It was as if someone was in remote control of everything he did. He felt like a doll in the hands of a child.

He went into the shop and bought a two-pound salami, a cognac sausage, and three jars of Danish caviar. Then he continued down the row of stores. He had made up his mind to buy a proper present for Hilde. A calculator, maybe? Or a little radio--yes, that was what he would get.

When he got to the store that sold electrical appliances, he saw that there was an envelope taped to the window there too. This one was addressed to "Major Albert Knag, c/o the most interesting store in Kastrup." Inside was the following note:

Dear Dad, Sophie sends her greetings and thanks for the combined mini-TV and FM radio that she got for her birthday from her very generous father. It was great, but on the other hand it was a mere bagatelle. I must confess, though, that I share Sophie's liking for such bagatelles. P.S. In case you haven't been there yet, there are further instructions at the Danish Food store and the big Tax Free store that sells wines and tobacco. P.S. P.S. I got some money for my birthday, so I can contribute to the mini-TV with 350 crowns. Love, Hilde, who has already stuffed the turkey and made the Waldorf salad.

A mini-TV cost 985 Danish crowns. That could certainly be called a bagatelle in comparison with how Albert Knag felt about being directed hither and thither by his daughter's sneaky tricks. Was she here--or was she not?

From that moment on, he was constantly on guard wherever he went. He felt like a secret agent and a marionette rolled into one. Was he not being deprived of his basic human rights?

He felt obliged to go into the Tax Free store as well. There hung a new envelope with his name on it. The whole airport was becoming a computer game with him as the cursor. He read the message:

Major Knag, c/o the Tax Free store at Kastrup. All I need from here is a bag of gumdrops and some marzipan bars. Remember it's much more expensive in Norway. As far as I can recall, Mom is very fond of Campari. P.S. You must keep all your senses alert the whole way home. You wouldn't want to miss any important messages, would you? Love from your most teachable daughter, Hilde.

Albert sighed despairingly, but he went into the store and shopped as instructed. With three plastic carriers and his flight bag he walked toward Gate 28 to wait for his flight. If there were any more messages they would have to stay there.

However, at Gate 28 he caught sight of another white envelope taped to a pillar: "To Major Knag, c/o GATE 28, Kastrup Airport." This was also in Hilde's handwriting, but the gate number seemed to have been written by someone else. It was not easy to judge since there was no writing to compare it with, only block letters and digits. He took it down. This one said only "It won't be long now."

He sat down on a chair with his back against the wall. He kept the shopping bags on his knees. Thus the proud major sat stiffly, eyes straight ahead, like a small child traveling alone for the first time. If Hilde was here, she was certainly not going to have the satisfaction of dis-covering him first.

He glanced anxiously at each passenger that came in. For a while he felt like an enemy of the state under close surveillance. When the passengers were finally allowed to board the plane he breathed a sigh of relief. He was the last person to board. As he handed over his boarding pass he tore off another white envelope that had been taped to the check-in desk.

Sophie and Alberto had passed Brevik, and a little later the exit to Kragera.

"You're going awfully fasf," said Sophie.

"It's almost nine o'clock. He'll soon be landing at Kjevik. But we won't be stopped for speeding."

"Suppose we smash into another car?"

"It makes no difference if it's just an ordinary car. But if it's one of our own . . ."

"Then what?"

"Then we'll have to be very careful. Didn't you notice that we passed the Bat Mobile."

"No."

"It was parked somewhere up in Vestfold."

"This tourist bus won't be easy to pass. There are dense woods on each side of the road."

"It makes no difference, Sophie. Can't you get it into your head?"

So saying, he swung the car into the woods and drove straight through the trees.

Sophie breathed a sigh of relief.

"You scared me."

"We wouldn't feel it if we drove into a brick wall."

"That only means we're spirits of the air compared to our surroundings."

"No, now you're putting the cart before the horse. It is the reality around us that's an airy adventure to us."

"I don't get it."

"Listen carefully, then. It is a widespread misunderstanding that spirit is a thing that is more 'airy' than vapor. On the contrary. Spirit is more solid than ice."

"That never occurred to me."

"And now I'll tell you a story. Once upon a time there was a man who didn't believe in angels. One day, while he was out working in the woods, he was visited by an angel."

"And?"

"They walked together for a while. Then the man turned to the angel and said, 'All right, now I have to admit that angels exist. But you don't exist in reality, like us."What do you mean by that?' asked the angel. So the man answered, 'When we came to that big rock, I had to go around it, but I noticed that you just glided through it. And when we came to that huge log that lay across the path, I had to climb over it while you walked straight through it.' The angel was very surprised, and said 'Didn't you also notice that we took a path that led through a marsh? We both walked right through the mist. That was because we were more solid than the mist.'

"Ah."

"It's the same with us, Sophie. Spirit can pass through steel doors. No tanks or bombers can crush anything that is of spirit."

"That's a comfort."

"We'll soon be passing Ris0r, and it's no more than an hour since we left the major's cabin. I could really use a cup of coffee."

When they got to Fiane, just before S0ndeled, they passed a cafeteria on the lefthand side of the road. It was called Cinderella. Alberto swung the car around and parked on the grass in front of it.

Inside, Sophie tried to take a bottle of Coke from the cooler, but she couldn't lift it. It seemed to be stuck. Further down the counter, Alberto was trying to tap coffee into a paper cup he had found in the car. He only had to press a lever, but even by exerting all his strength he could not press it down.

This made him so mad that he turned to the cafeteria guests and asked for help. When no one reacted, he shouted so loudly that Sophie had to cover her ears: "I want some coffee!"

His anger soon evaporated, and he doubled up with laughter. They were about to turn around and leave when an old woman got up from her chair and came toward them.

She was wearing a garish red skirt, an ice-blue cardigan, and a white kerchief round her head. She seemed more sharply defined than anything else in the little cafeteria.

She went up to Alberto and said, "My my, how you do yell, my boy!"

"Excuse me."

"You want some coffee, you said?"

"Yes, but. . ."

"We have a small establishment close by."

They followed the old woman out of the cafeteria and down a path behind it. While they walked, she said, "You are new in these parts?"

"We might as well admit it," answered Alberto.

"That's all right. Welcome to eternity then, children."

"And you?"

"I'm out of one of Grimm's fairy tales. That was nearly two hundred years ago. And where are you from?"

"We're out of a book on philosophy. I am the philosophy teacher and this is my student, Sophie."

"Hee hee! That's a new one!"

They came through the trees to a small clearing where there were several cozy-looking brown cottages. A large Midsummer bonfire was burning in a yard between the cottages, and around the bonfire danced a crowd of colorful figures. Sophie recognized many of them. There were Snow White and some of the seven dwarfs, Mary Poppins and Sherlock Holmes, Peter Pan and Pippi Longstocking, Little Red Ridinghood and Cinderella. A lot of familiar figures without names had also gathered around the bonfire--there were gnomes and elves, fauns and witches, angels and imps. Sophie also caught sight of a real live troll.

"What a lot of noise!" exclaimed Alberto.

"That's because it's Midsummer," said the old woman. "We haven't had a gathering like this since Valborg's Eve. That was when we were in Germany. I'm only here on a short visit. Was it coffee you wanted?"

"Yes, please."

Not until now did Sophie notice that all the buildings were made out of gingerbread, candy, and sugar icing. Several of the figures were eating directly off the facades. A baker was going around repairing the damage as it occurred. Sophie ventured to take a little bite off one corner. It tasted sweeter and better than anything she had ever tasted before.

Presently the old woman returned with a cup of coffee.

"Thank you very much indeed."

"And what are the visitors going to pay for the coffee?"

"To pay?"

"We usually pay with a story. For coffee, an old wives' tale will suffice."

"We could tell the whole incredible story of humanity," said Alberto, "but unfortunately we are in a hurry. Can we come back and pay some other day?"

"Of course. And why are you in a hurry?"

Alberto explained their errand, and the old woman commented:

"I must say, you certainly are a pair of greenhorns. You'd better hurry up and cut the umbilical cord to your mortal progenitor. We no longer need their world. We belong to the invisible people."

Alberto and Sophie hurried back to the Cinderella cafeteria and the red convertible. Right next to the car a busy mother was helping her little boy to pee.

Racing along and taking shortcuts, they soon arrived in Lillesand.

SK 876 from Copenhagen touched down at Kjevik on schedule at 9:35 p.m. While the plane was taxied out to the runway in Copenhagen, the.major had opened the envelope hanging from the check-in desk. The note inside read:

To Major Knag, as he hands over his boarding pass at Kastrup on Midsummer Eve, 1990. Dear Dad, You probably thought I would turn up in Copenhagen. But my control over your movements is more ingenious than that. I can see you wherever you are, Dad. The fact is, I have been to visit a well-known Gypsy family which many, many years ago sold a magic brass mirror to Great-grandmother. I have also gotten myself a crystal ball. At this very moment, I can see that you have just sat down in your seat. May I remind you to fasten your seat belt and keep the back of your seat raised to an upright position until the Fasten Seat Belt sign has been switched off. As soon as the plane is in flight, you can lower the seat back and give yourself a well-earned rest. You will need to be rested when you get home. The weather in Lillesand is perfect, but the temperature is a few degrees lower than in Lebanon. I wish you a pleasant flight. Love, your own witch-daughter, Queen of the Mirror and the Highest Protector of Irony.

Albert could not quite make out whether he was angry or merely tired and resigned. Then he started laughing. He laughed so loudly that his fellow passengers turned to stare at him. Then the plane took off.

He had been given a taste of his own medicine. But with a significant difference, surely. His medicine had first and foremost affected Sophie and Alberto. And they--well, they were only imaginary.

He did what Hilde had suggested. He lowered the back of his seat and nodded off. He was not fully awake again until he had gone through passport control and was standing in the arrival hall at Kjevik Airport. A demonstration was there to greet him.

There were eight or ten young people of about Hilde's age. They were holding signs saying:

WELCOME HOME, DAD -- HILDE IS WAITING IN THE GARDEN -- IRONY LIVES.

The worst thing was that he could not just jump into a taxi. He had to wait for his baggage. And all the while, Hilde's classmates were swarming around him, forcing him to read the signs again and again. Then one of the girls came up and gave him a bunch of roses and he melted. He dug down into one of his shopping bags and gave each demonstrator a marzipan bar. Now there were only two left for Hilde. When he had reclaimed his baggage, a young man stepped forward and explained that he was under the command of the Queen of the Mirror, and that he had orders to drive him to Bjerkely. The other demonstrators dispersed into the crowd.

They drove out onto the E 18. Every bridge and tunnel they passed was draped with banners saying: "Welcome home!", "The turkey is ready," "I can see you, Dad!"

When he was dropped off outside the gate at Bjerkely, Albert Knag heaved a sigh of relief, and thanked the driver with a hundred crown note and three cans of Carlsberg Elephant beer.

His wife was waiting for him outside the house. After a long embrace, he asked: "Where is she?"

"She's sitting on the dock, Albert."

Alberto and Sophie stopped the red convertible on the square in Lillesand outside the Hotel Norge. It was a quarter past ten. They could see a large bonfire out in the archipelago.

"How do we find Bjerkely?" asked Sophie.

"We'll just have to hunt around for it. You remember the painting in the major's cabin."

"We'll have to hurry. I want to get there before he arrives."

They started to drive around the minor roads and then over rocky mounds and slopes. A useful clue was that Bjerkely lay by the water.

Suddenly Sophie shouted, "There it is! We've found it!"

"I do believe you're right, but don't shout so loud."

"Why? There's no one to hear us."

"My dear Sophie--after a whole course in philosophy, I'm very disappointed to find you still jumping to conclusions."

"Yes, but. . ."

"Surely you don't believe this place is entirely devoid of trolls, pixies, wood nymphs, and good fairies?"

"Oh, excuse me."

They drove through the gate and up the gravel path to the house. Alberto parked the car on the lawn beside the glider. A little way down the garden a table was set for three.

"I can see her!" whispered Sophie. "She's sitting down on the dock, just like in my dream."

"Have you noticed how much the garden looks like your own garden in Clover Close?"

"Yes, it does. With the glider and everything. Can I go down to her?"

"Naturally. I'll stay here."

Sophie ran down to the dock. She almost stumbled and fell over Hilde. But she sat down politely beside her.

Hilde sat idly playing with the line that the rowboat was made fast with. In her left hand she held a slip of paper. She was clearly waiting. She glanced at her watch several times.

Sophie thought she was very pretty. She had fair, curly hair and bright green eyes. She was wearing a yellow summer dress. She was not unlike Joanna.

Sophie tried to talk to her even though she knew it was useless.

"Hilde--it's Sophie!"

Hilde gave no sign that she had heard.

Sophie got onto her knees and tried to shout in her ear:

"Can you hear me, Hilde? Or are you both deaf and blind?"

Did she, or didn't she, open her eyes a little wider? Wasn't there a very slight sign that she had heard something--however faintly?

She looked around. Then she turned her head sharply and stared right into Sophie's eyes. She did not focus on her properly; it was as if she was looking right through her.

"Not so loud, Sophie," said Alberto from up in the car. "I don't want the garden filled with mermaids."

Sophie sat still now. It felt good just to be close to Hilde.

Then she heard the deep voice of a man: "Hilde!"

It was the major--in uniform, with a blue beret. He stood at the top of the garden.

Hilde jumped up and ran toward him. They met between the glider and the red convertible. He lifted her up in the air and swung her around and around.

Hilde had been sitting on the dock waiting for her father. Since he had landed at Kastrup, she had thought of him every fifteen minutes, trying to imagine where he was now, and how he was taking it. She had noted all the times down on a slip of paper and kept it with her all day.

What if it made him angry? But surely he couldn't expect that he would write a mysterious book for her-- and then everything would remain as before?

She looked at her watch again. Now it was a quarter past ten. He could be arriving any minute.

But what was that? She thought she heard a faint breath of something, exactly as in her dream about Sophie.

She turned around quickly. There was something, she was sure of it. But what?

Maybe it was only the summer night.

For a few seconds she was afraid she was hearing things.

"Hilde!"

Now she turned the other way. It was Dad! He was standing at the top of the garden.

Hilde jumped up and ran toward him. They met by the glider. He lifted her up in the air and swung her around and around.

Hilde was crying, and her father had to hold back his tears as well.

"You've become a grown woman, Hilde!"

"And you've become a real writer."

Hilde wiped away her tears.

"Shall we say we're quits?" she asked.

"We're quits."

They sat down at the table. First of all Hilde had to have an exact description of everything that had happened at Kastrup and on the way home. They kept bursting out laughing.

"Didn't you see the envelope in the cafeteria?"

"I didn't get a chance to sit down and eat anything, you villain. Now I'm ravenous."

"Poor Dad."

"The stuff about the turkey was all bluff, then?"

"It certainly was not! I have prepared everything. Mom's doing the serving."

Then they had to go over the ring binder and the story of Sophie and Alberto from one end to the other and backwards and forwards.

Mom brought out the turkey and the Waldorf salad, the rose wine and Hilde's homemade bread.

Her father was just saying something about Plato when Hilde suddenly interrupted him: "Shh!"

"What is it?"

"Didn't you hear it? Something squeaking?"

"No."

"I'm sure I heard something. I guess it was just a field mouse."

While her mother went to get another bottle of wine, her father said: "But the philosophy course isn't quite over."

"It isn't?"

"Tonight I'm going to tell you about the universe."

Before they began to eat, he said to his wife, "Hilde is too big to sit on my knee any more. But you're not!" With that he caught Marit round the waist and drew her onto his lap. It was quite a while before she got anything to eat.

"To think you'll soon be forty ..."

When Hilde jumped up and ran toward her father, Sophie felt her tears welling up. She would never be able to reach her . . .

Sophie was deeply envious of Hilde because she had been created a real person of flesh and blood.

When Hilde and the major had sat down at the table, Alberto honked the car horn.

Sophie looked up. Didn't Hilde do exactly the same?

She ran up to Alberto and jumped into the seat next to him.

"We'll sit for a while and watch what happens," he said.

Sophie nodded.

"Have you been crying?"

She nodded again.

"What is it?"

"She's so lucky to be a real person. Now she'll grow up and be a real woman. I'm sure she'll have real children too . . ."

"And grandchildren, Sophie. But there are two sides to everything. That was what I tried to teach you at the beginning of our course."

"How do you mean?"

"She is lucky, I agree. But she who wins the lot of life must also draw the lot of death, since the lot of life is death."

"But still, isn't it better to have had a life than never to have really lived?"

"We cannot live a life like Hilde--or like the major for that matter. On the other hand, we'll never die. Don't you remember what the old woman said back there in the woods? We are the invisible people. She was two hundred years old, she said. And at their Midsummer party I saw some creatures who were more than three thousand years old . . ."

"Perhaps what I envy most about Hilde is all this ... her family life."

"But you have a family yourself. And you have a cat, two birds, and a tortoise."

"But we left all that behind, didn't we?"

"By no means. It's only the major who left it behind. He has written the final word of his book, my dear, and he will never find us again."

"Does that mean we can go back?"

"Anytime we want. But we're also going to make new friends in the woods behind Cinderella's cafeteria."

The Knag family began their meal. For a moment Sophie was afraid it would turn out like the philosophical garden party in Clover Close. At one point it looked as though the major intended to lay Marit across the table. But then he drew her on to his knee instead.

The car was parked a good way away from where the family sat eating. Their conversation was only audible now and then. Sophie and Alberto sat gazing down over the garden. They had plenty of time to mull over all the details and the sorry ending of the garden party.

The family did not get up from the table until almost midnight. Hilde and the major strolled toward the glider. They waved to Marit as she walked up to the white-painted house.

"You might as well go to bed, Mom. We have so much to talk about."
30
 楼主| 发表于 2019-2-4 10:21:48 | 只看该作者
花园宴会

  ……一只白色的乌鸦……
席德坐在床上,动也不动。她可以感觉到她双臂与双手绷得紧紧的,拿着那本沉重的讲义夹,颤抖着。
已经快十一点。她坐在那儿读了两个多小时了。这期间她不时抬头大笑,有时笑得她不得不翻身喘气。还好屋里只有她一个人。
这两个小时内发生的事可真多呀。最先是苏菲在从林间小木屋回家的路上努力要引起少校的注意力。最后她爬到一棵树上,然后被大雁莫通给救了。那只雁是从黎巴嫩飞来的,仿佛是她的守护天使一般。
虽然已经过了很久,但席德永远不会忘记从前爸爸念《尼尔奇遇记》(TheWonderfulAdventureofNils)给她听的情景。因为那之后有许多年,她和爸爸之间发展出了一种与那本书有关的秘密语言。现在他又把那只老雁给揪出来了。
后来苏菲第一次体验到独自一人上咖啡厅的滋味。席德对艾伯特讲的萨特和存在主义的事特别感兴趣。他几乎让她变成了一个存在主义者。不过,话说回来,他过去也有好几次曾经这样过。
大约一年前,席德买了一本占星学的书,还有一次她拿了一组意大利纸牌回家,后来又有一次她买了一本有关招魂术的书。每一次,爸爸总是跟她说一些什么“迷信”呀、“批判的能力”呀等等道理,但他一直等到现在才来“绝地大反攻”。他的反击可说是正中要害。很明显的,他想在他的女儿长大之前彻彻底底警告她那些东西的害处。为了安全起见,他安排了他从电器商店的电视屏幕上对她挥手的场面。其实他大可不必这样的……她最感到好奇的还是那个女孩。
苏菲,苏菲——你在哪里?你从何处来?你为什么进入我的生命?最后,艾伯特给了苏菲一本有关她自己的书。那本书是否就是席德现在手上拿的这一本呢?当然,这只是一个讲义夹。但即使是这样,一个人怎么可能在一本有关他自己的书里面发现一本有关他自己的书呢?如果苏菲开始读这本书,会有什么事发生呢?席德用手指摸一摸讲义夹,只剩下几页了。
苏菲从镇上回家时在公车上碰到了她妈妈。该死J她如果看见她手上拿的这本书,不知道会说什么呢!苏菲想把那本书放在装着宴会用彩带和气球的袋子里,但并没有成功。
“嗨,苏菲j我们居然坐同一辆公车!真好尸“嗨,妈!”
“你买了一本书呀?”
“没有,不是买的。”
“《苏菲的世界》……多奇怪呀。”
苏菲知道这时她是骗不了妈妈的。
“是艾伯特给我的。”“嗯,我想一定是的。我说过了,我一直在等着见这个人呢。我可以看看吗?”
“可不可以等到我们回家以后?妈,这是我的书耶!”
“这当然是你的书啦。我只想看看第一页。好吗?……苏菲放学回家了。有一段路她和乔安同行,她们谈着有关机器人的问题......”
“书里真的这么写吗?”
“没错。是一个名叫艾勃特的人写的。他一定是刚出道的。喔,对了,你那位哲学家叫什么名字?”
“艾伯特。”
“也许这个怪人写了一本关于你的书呢,苏菲。他用的可能是笔名。”
“那不是他。妈,你就别再说了吧。反正你什么都不懂。”
“是呀,我是不懂。明天我们就举行花园宴会了,然后一切又会恢复正常。”
“艾伯特活在一个完全不同的世界里,所以这本书是一只白乌鸦。”
“你真的不能再这样下去了2以前你说的不是白兔吗?”
“好了,别说了。”
她们说到这里,苜蓿巷就到了。她们刚下车就遇上了一次示威游行。
“天哪!”苏菲的妈妈喊,“我还以为我们这个社区不会发生这样的事呢!”
示威的人顶多只有十到十二个。他们乎里拿的布条上写着:“少校快来了!”
“支持美味的仲夏节大餐!”
“加强联合国!”
苏菲几乎替妈妈感到难过。
“别理他们。”她说。
“可是这个示威好奇怪呀,挺荒谬的。”
“只不过是个小把戏罢了!”
“世界改变得愈来愈快了。其实,我一点也不感到惊讶。”
“不管怎样,你应该对你不感到惊讶这件事感到惊讶。”
“一点也不。他们并不暴力呀,是不是?我只希望他们还没有把我们的玫瑰花床踩坏。我想他们一定不会在一座花园里示威吧。
我们赶快回家看看。”
“妈,这是一次哲学性的示威。真正的哲学家是不会践踏玫瑰花床的。”
“我告诉你吧,苏菲。我不相信世上还有真正的哲学家了。这年头什么都是合成的。”
生日宴会那天下午和晚上,他们一直忙着准备。第二天早上,他们仍继续未完的工作,铺桌子、装饰餐桌。乔安也过来帮忙。
“这下可好了!”她说,“我爸妈也打算要来。都是你,苏菲!”
在客人预定到达前半小时,一切都准备好了。树上挂满了彩带和日本灯笼。花园的门上、小径两旁的树上和屋子的前面都挂满了气球。那天下午大部分时间,苏菲和乔安都忙着吹气球。
餐桌上摆了鸡、沙拉和各式各样的自制面包。厨房里还有葡萄面包和双层蛋糕、丹麦酥和巧克力蛋糕。可是打从一开始,餐桌上最中央的位置就保留给生日蛋糕。那是一个由杏仁圈饼做成的金字塔。在蛋糕的尖顶,有一个穿着坚信礼服装的小女孩图案。苏菲的妈妈曾向她保证那个图案也可以代表一个没有受坚信礼的十五岁女孩,可是苏菲相信妈妈之所以把它放在那儿,是因为苏菲说她不确定自己是不是想受坚信礼。而妈妈似乎认为那个蛋糕就象征坚信礼。
“我们是不惜工本。”在宴会开始前的半小时,这样的话她说了好几次。
客人们开始陆续抵达了。第一批来的是苏菲班上的三个女同学。她们穿着夏天的衬衫、浅色的羊毛背心、长裙子,涂了很淡很淡的眼影。过了一会儿,杰瑞米和罗瑞也缓缓地从大门口走进来了,看起来有点害羞,又有几分小男生的傲慢。
“生日快乐!”
“你长大了!”
苏菲注意到乔安和杰瑞米已经开始偷偷地眉来眼去了。空气里有一种让人说不上来的气息,也许是仲夏的缘故。
每一个人都带了生日礼物。由于这是一个哲学性的花园宴会,有几个客人曾经试着研究哲学到底是什么。虽然并不是每个人都找到了与哲学有关的礼物,但大多数人都绞尽脑汁想了一些富有哲学意味的话写在生日卡片上。苏菲收到了一本哲学字典和一本有锁的日记,上面写着“我个人的哲学思维”。客人一抵达,苏菲的妈妈便端上用深色玻璃杯装的苹果西打请他们喝。
“欢迎……这位年轻的男士贵姓大名?……以前好像从来没见过……你能来真是大好了,赛西莉……”
当所有较年轻的客人都已经端着杯子在树下闲逛时,乔安的父母开了一辆白色的宾士轿车,停在花园门口。乔安的爸爸穿了一身昂贵的灰色西装,全身上下无懈可击,妈妈则穿着一套红色裤装,上面贴着暗红色的亮片。苏菲敢说她一定是在玩具店里买了一个穿着这种套装的芭比娃娃,然后请裁缝按照她的尺寸做一套。还有一种可能就是:乔安的爸爸买了一个这样的芭比娃娃,然后请魔术师把它变成一个活生生的女人。可是这种可能性很小,因此苏菲就放弃了。
他们跨出宾士轿车,走进花园,园里所有年轻客人都,晾奇地瞪大了眼睛。乔安的爸爸亲自拿了一个长方形的包裹给苏菲。那是他们全家人送她的礼物。当苏菲发现里面是——没错,是一个芭比娃娃时,很努力地保持镇静。可是乔安就不了:“你疯了吗?苏菲从来不玩洋娃娃的!”
乔安的妈妈连忙走来,衣服上的亮片发出霹霹啪啪的声音。
“可是这只是当装饰用的呀。”
“真的很谢谢你,”苏菲想打圆场。“现在我可以开始搜集娃娃了。”
大家开始向餐桌的方向聚拢。
“现在就剩下艾伯特还没到了。”苏菲的妈妈用一种热切的声音向苏菲说,企图隐藏她愈来愈忧虑的心情。其他客人已经开始交换着有关这个特别来宾的小道消息了。
“他已经答应我了,所以他一定会来。”
“不过在他来之前我们可以让其他客人先就座吗?”
“当然可以。来吧!”
苏菲的妈妈开始请客人围着长桌子坐下。她特别在她自己和苏菲的位置间留了一个空位。她向大家说了一些话,内容不外是今天的菜、天气多好和苏菲已经是大人了等等。
他们在桌边坐了半小时后,就有一个蓄着黑色山羊胡子、戴着扁帽的中年男子走到苜蓿巷,并且进了花园的大门。他捧着一束由十五朵玫瑰做成的花束。
“艾伯特!”
苏菲离开餐桌,跑去迎接他。她用双手抱住他的脖子,并从他手里接过那束花。只见他在夹克的口袋里摸索一下,掏出两三个大—鞭炮,把它们点燃后就丢到各处。走到餐桌旁后,他点亮了一支烟火,放在杏仁塔上,然后便走过去,站在苏菲和妈妈中间的空位上。
“我很高兴能到这里来。”他说。
在座的宾客都愣住了。乔安的妈妈对她先生使了一个眼色。苏菲的妈妈看到艾伯特终于出现,在松了一口气之余,对他的一切行为都不计较了。苏菲自己则努力按捺她的笑意。
苏菲的妈妈用手敲了敲她的玻璃杯,说道:“让我们也欢迎艾伯特先生来到这个哲学的花园宴会。他不是我的新男友。因为,虽然我丈夫经常在海上,我目前并没有交男朋友。这位令人很意外的先生是苏菲的新哲学老师。他的本事不只是放鞭炮而已。他还能,比方说,从一顶礼帽里拉出一只活生生的兔子来。苏菲,你说是兔子还是乌鸦来着?”
“多谢。”艾伯特说,然后便坐下来。
“干杯!”苏菲说。于是在座客人便举起他们那装着深红色可乐的玻璃杯,向他致意。
他们坐了很久,吃着鸡和沙拉。突然间乔安站起来,毅然决然地走到杰瑞米身旁,在他的唇上大声地亲了一下。杰瑞米也试图把她向后扳倒在桌上,以便回吻她。
“我要昏倒了。”乔安的妈妈喊。
“孩子们,不要在桌上玩。”苏菲的妈妈只说了这么一句话。
“为什么不要呢?”艾伯特转身对着她问。
“这个问题很奇怪。”
“一个真正的哲学家问问题是从来没有错的。”
另外两三个没有被吻的男孩开始把鸡骨头扔到屋顶上。对于他们的举动,苏菲的妈妈也只温和地说了一句:“请你们不要这样好吗?檐沟里有鸡骨头清理起来挺麻烦的。”
“对不起,伯母。”其中一个男孩说,然后他们便改把鸡骨扔到花园里的树篱上。
“我想现在应该收拾盘于,开始切蛋糕了。”苏菲的妈妈终于说。“有几个人想喝咖啡?”
乔安一家、艾伯特和其他几个客人都举起了手。
“也许苏菲和乔安可以来帮我忙……”
他们趁走向厨房的空档,匆匆讲了几句悄悄话。
“你怎么会跑去亲他的?”
“我坐在那儿看着他的嘴,就是无法抗拒。他真的好可爱呀!”
“感觉怎样?”
“不完全像我想象的那样,不过……”
“那么这是你的第一次哼?”
“可是绝不是最后一次!”
很快的,咖啡与蛋糕就上桌了。艾伯特刚拿了一些鞭炮给那几个男孩,苏菲的妈妈便敲了敲她的咖啡杯。
“我只简短地说几句话。”她开始说,“我只有苏菲这个女儿。在一个星期又一天前,她满十五岁了。你们可以看出来,我们是不惜工本地办这次宴会。生日蛋糕上有二十四个杏仁圈饼,所以你们每人至少可以吃一个。那些先动手拿的人可以吃两个,因为我们要从上面开始拿,而愈往下的圈饼个愈大。人生也是这样。当苏菲还小时,她总是拿着很小的圈饼到处跑。几年过去了。圈饼愈来愈大。
现在它们可以绕到旧市区那儿再绕回来了。由于她爸爸经常出海,于是她常打电话到世界各地。祝你十五岁生日快乐,苏菲!”
“真好!”乔安的妈妈说。
苏菲不确定她指的是她妈妈、她妈妈讲的话、生日蛋糕还是苏菲自己。
宾客们一致鼓掌。有一个男孩把一串鞭炮扔到梨树上。乔安也离开座位,想把杰瑞米从椅子上拉起来。他任由她把他拉走,然后两人便滚到草地上不停地互相亲吻。过了一会儿后,他们滚进了红醋栗的树丛。“这年头都是女孩子采取主动了。”乔先生说。
然后他便站起来,走到红醋栗树丛那儿,就近观察着这个现象。结果,其他的客人也都跟过去了。只有苏菲和艾伯特仍然坐在位子上。其他的客人站在那儿,围着乔安和杰瑞米,成了一个半圆形。这时,乔安和杰瑞米已经从最初纯纯的吻进展到了热烈爱抚的阶段。
“谁也挡不住他们。”乔安的妈妈说,语气里有点自豪。
“嗯,有其父必有其女。”她丈夫说。
他看看四周,期待众人对他的妙语如珠报以掌声,但他们却只是默默地点点头。于是他又说:“我看是没办法了。”
这时苏菲在远处看到杰瑞米正试图解开乔安白衬衫上的扣子。那件白衬衫上早已染了一块块青苹的印渍。乔安也正摸索着杰瑞米的腰带。
“别着凉了!”乔安的妈妈说。
苏菲绝望地看着艾伯特。
“事情发生得比我预料中还快。”他说。“我们必须尽快离开这儿。不过我要先对大家讲几句话。”
苏菲大声地拍着手。
“大家可不可以回到这里来坐下?艾伯特要演讲了。”
除了乔安和杰瑞米外,每一个人都慢慢走回原位。
“你真的要演讲吗?”苏菲的妈妈问。“太美妙了!”
“谢谢你。”
“你喜欢散步,我知道。保持身材是很重要的。如果有一只狗陪伴那就更好了。它的名字是不是叫汉密士?”
艾伯特站起身,敲敲他的咖啡杯。“亲爱的苏菲,”他开始说,“我想提醒你这是一个哲学的花园宴会。因此我将发表一篇有关哲学的演讲。”
众人爆出热烈的掌声。
“在这样乱糟糟的地方,也许正适合谈谈理性。可是无论发生什么,我们都不要忘记祝苏菲十五岁生日快乐。”
他刚讲完,他们便听见一架小飞机嗡嗡地飞过来。它飞低到花园上方,尾部拉着一个长长的布条,上面写着:“十五岁生日快乐!”
又是一阵掌声,比前几次都大声。
哲学演讲“哪,你看到没有?”苏菲的妈妈高兴地说,“这个人的本事不只是放鞭炮而已!”
“谢谢。这不过是个小把戏罢了。过去这几个星期以来,苏菲和我进行了一项大规模的哲学调查。我们现在要在这里公布我们的调查结果,我们将揭开我们的存在最深处的秘密。”
现在,众人都安静下来了,只听见小鸟啁啾的声音和红醋栗树丛里偶尔传来的经过刻意压抑的声响。
“说下去呀!”苏菲说。
“在对最早的希腊哲学家一直到现代的哲学理论做过一番彻底的研究之后,我们发现我们是活在一个少校的心灵中,那位少校目前担任联合国驻黎巴嫩的观察员。他已经为他女儿写了一本关于我们的书。那个女孩住在黎乐桑,名叫席德,今年也是十五岁了,而且和苏菲同一天生日。在六月十五日清晨她醒来后,这本书就放在她床边的桌子上。说得更明确一点,那本书是装在一个讲义夹里的。现在,就在我们讲话的时候,她正用她的食指摸着讲义夹的最后几页。”
桌旁的众人脸上开始出现一种忧虑的神色。
“因此,我们的存在只不过是做为席德生日的娱乐罢了。少校创造我们,以我们为架构,以便对他的女儿进行哲学教育。这表示,(打个比方)大门口停的那辆宾士轿车是一文不值,那不过是个小把戏罢了。它只不过是在一位可怜的联合国少校的脑海里转来转去的白色宾士轿车。而那位少校此刻正坐在一棵棕榈树的树荫下,以免中暑呢。各位,黎巴嫩的天气是很炎热的。”
“胡说!”乔先生喊道。“这真是一派胡言。”
“你可以有你自己的看法,”艾伯特毫无怯意,继续说下去,“但事实上这次花园宴会才真正是一派胡言。整个宴会里唯一有理性的就是我这席演讲尸听到这话,乔先生便站起来说:“我们大家在这里,拚全力地做生意,并且买了各种保险,以防万一。可是这个无所事事的万事通先生却来这儿发表什么‘哲学’宣言,想破坏这一切哩尸艾伯特点头表示同意。
“的确没有保险公司会保这种哲学见解险,这种见解比什么天灾都还糟哩。可是我说,这位先生,你可能知道,保险公司也不保那些的。”
“现在哪来的天灾?”
“不,我说的是生存方面的天灾。比方说,你如果看看树丛底下发生的事,就会明白我的意思。你没法投保任何的险,以防止自己整个生命崩溃。你也不能防止太阳熄灭。”
“我们一定得听他胡扯吗?”乔安的爸爸问,眼睛向下看着他的妻子。
她摇摇头,苏菲的妈妈也摇摇头。
“太可惜了,”她说,“这次宴会我们可是不惜工本。”
但年轻人们却坐在那儿,眼睛瞪着艾伯特一直看。通常年轻人比年长的人要更容易接受新思想和新观念。
“请你说下去。”一个一头金色的卷发,戴着眼镜的男孩说。
“谢谢你。但我没有很多话好说了。当你已经发现自己只是某个人不清不楚的脑袋里的一个梦般的人物时,依我来看最明智的办法就是保持缄默。可是最后我可以建议你们年轻人修一门简短的哲学史课程。对于上一代的价值观抱持批判的态度是很重要。如果说我曾经教苏菲任何事的话,那就是:要有批判性的思考态度。
黑格尔称之为否定的思考。”
乔先生还没有坐下。他一直站在那儿,用手指敲击桌面。
“这个煽动家企图破坏学校、教会和我们努力灌输给下一代的所有健全的价值观。年轻人有他们的未来,他们终有一天会继承我们所有的成就。如果这个家伙不立刻离开这里,我就要叫我的家庭律师来。他知道该怎么处理这样的事情。”
“既然你只是一个影子,因此不管你想要处理的是什么事情,对他来说都没什么差别。还有,不管怎样,苏菲和我马上就要离开这个宴会了,因为,对我们而言,我们所上的哲学课不完全只谈理论,它也有实际的一面。当时机成熟时,我们会表演一个消失不见的把戏。那样我们就可以从少校的意识里偷偷溜走。”
消失苏菲的妈妈拉着苏菲的手。
“你不会离开我吧?苏菲。”
苏菲用双臂抱住妈妈,并抬头看着艾伯特。
“妈妈很难过……”
“不,这是很荒谬的。你不可以忘记你所学的。我们要挣脱的是这些胡言。你的妈妈就像那个带着一篮子食物要送给她祖母的小红帽一样的可爱、亲切。她当然会难过,可是那就像那架飞在我们头顶上祝你生日快乐,的飞机需要有燃料一样。”
“我明白你的意思了。”苏菲说,于是她转身背对着妈妈。“所以我必须照他的话做。早晚有一天,我是一定得离开你的。”
“我会想你的,”她妈妈说,“可是如果这上面有一个天堂,你得飞上去才行,我答应你我会好好照顾葛文达。它一天吃一片还是两片莴苣叶子?”
艾伯特把手放在她的肩膀上。
“在座没有一个人,包括你在内,会想念我们。理由很简单:因为你们并不存在。所以你们不会有什么器官可以用来想念我们。”
“这简直是太污辱人了。”乔安的妈妈大声说。
她的丈夫点点头。
“我们至少可以告他毁谤。他想要剥夺所有我们珍视的东西。
这人是个无赖,是个该死的蛮子!”
说完后,他和艾伯特都坐下来了。乔安的爸爸气得脸色发红。
此时,乔安和杰瑞米也过来坐下了。他们的衣服全都脏兮兮的,皱成一团。乔安的金发上也沾了一块块的泥巴。
“妈,我要生小孩了。”她宣布说。
“好吧,可是你得等到回家再生。”
乔先生也立刻表示支持。
“她得克制一下她自己。如果小孩今晚要受洗的话,她得自己设法安排。”
艾伯特用一种肃穆的神情看着苏菲。
“时候到了。”
“你走之前能不能给我们端几杯咖啡来呢?”苏菲的妈妈问。
“当然可以,马上来。”
她从桌上拿了保温瓶。她得把厨房里的咖啡机再加满水才行。
当她站在那儿等水煮开时,顺便喂了鸟和金鱼,并走进浴室,拿出一片莴苣叶给葛文达吃。她到处找不到雪儿,不过她还是开了一大罐猫食,倒在一只碗里,并把碗放在门前的台阶上。她的眼泪不断涌出来。
当她端着咖啡回到园里时,宴会中的情景像是一个儿童聚会,而不像是一个十五岁生日宴会。桌上有好几个打翻的汽水瓶,桌布上到处沾满了巧克力蛋糕,装葡萄干面包的盘子覆在苹坪上。苏菲来到时,有一个男孩正把一串鞭炮放在双层蛋糕上。鞭炮爆炸时,蛋糕上的奶油溅得桌上、客人的身上到处都是。受害最深的是乔安的妈妈那身红色的裤装。奇怪的是她和每一个人都一副若无其事的样子。这时,乔安拿了一大块巧克力蛋糕,涂在杰瑞米的脸上,然后开始用舌头把它舔掉。
苏菲的妈妈和艾伯特一起坐在秋千上,与其他人有一段距离。
他们向苏菲挥挥手。
“你们两个终于开始密谈了。”苏菲说。
“你说对了。”她妈妈说,一副兴高采烈的样子。“艾伯特是一个很体贴人的人。我可以放心地把你交给他了。”
苏菲坐在他们两人中间。
这时,有两个男孩爬上了屋顶。一个女孩走来走去,用发夹到处戳气球。然后有一个不请自来的客人骑了一辆摩托车到来,后座的架子上绑了一箱啤酒和几瓶白兰地。有几个人很高兴地欢迎他进来。
乔先生看到后便站起来,拍拍手说:“我们来玩游戏好吗?”
他抓了一瓶啤酒,一口喝尽,并把空瓶子放在草坪中央。然后他走到餐桌旁,拿了生日蛋糕上的最后五个杏仁圈,向其他客人示范如何把圈饼丢出去,套在啤酒瓶的瓶颈上。
“死亡的苦痛。”艾伯特说。“现在,在少校结束一切,在席德把讲义夹合上前,我们最好赶紧离开。”
“妈,你得一个人清理这些东西了!”
“没关系,孩子。这不是你应该过的生活。如果艾伯特能够让你过得比较好,我比谁都高兴。你不是告诉过我他有一匹白马吗?”
苏菲向花园望去,已经认不得这是哪里了。草地上到处都是瓶子、鸡骨头、面包和气球。
“这里曾经是我小小的伊甸园。”她说。
“现在你要被赶出来了。”艾伯特答道。
这时有一个男孩正坐在白色的宾士轿车里。他发动引擎,车子就飞快冲过大门口,开到石子路上,并开进花园。
苏菲感觉有人紧抓着她的手臂,把她拖进密洞内。然后她听见艾伯特的声音:“来吧!”
就在这时,白色的宾士车撞到了一棵苹果树。树上那些还没成熟的苹果像下雨般纷纷落在车盖上。
“简直太过分了尸乔安的爸爸大吼。“我要你赔!”
他大大全力支持他。
“都是那个无赖的错。咦,他跑到哪里去了?”
“他们在空气中消失了。”苏菲的妈妈说,语气里有点自豪。
她站起身,走向那张长餐桌,开始清理碗盘。
“还有没有人要喝咖啡?”
29
 楼主| 发表于 2019-2-2 11:54:22 | 只看该作者
我们这个时代

……人是注定要受自由之苦的……
闹钟显示时间已经是二十三点五十五分了。席德躺在床上,瞪着天花板,试着做一些自由联想。
每次她想完了一串事情之后,就问自己为什么会想这些?她可不可能正试图压抑什么事情?她要是能够解除所有的管制就好了,这样也许她就会在醒着时做梦。不过这种想法还真有点吓人,她想。
她愈放松,让自己胡思乱想,就愈觉得自己好像在林间小湖边的小木屋中。
艾伯特的计划会是什么呢?当然,艾伯特拟定计划这件事也是爸爸计划的。他是否已经知道艾伯特会用什么方式反击?也许他也一样试图放任自己的思想,以便制造一个连自己也料想不到的结局吧。
剩下的页数已经不多了。她该不该偷看最后一页呢?不,这样等于是作弊了。更何况,席德相信,到目前为止,最后一页会发生什么事都还不确定呢。
这不是一种很奇怪的想法吗?讲义夹就在这里,而爸爸毕竟不可能及时赶回来再增添任何东西,除非艾伯特做了什么事。一件令人惊奇的事……无论如何,席德自己也会想办法让爸爸吓一大跳。他管不到她,可是她又能完全管得住自己吗?意识是什么?它难道不是宇宙的一个大谜题吗?记忆又是什么?是什么东西使我们“记得”我们所看到、所经验到的每一件事情?是什么样的机转使我们日复一日地做一些奇妙的梦?她躺在那儿想着这些问题,并不时闭上眼睛,然后又睁开眼睛凝视着天花板。最后她就忘了睁开了。
她睡着了。
后来,她被海鸥尖锐的叫声吵醒。她起床走到房间的另一头,像往常一样站在窗前,俯瞰着窗外的海湾。这已经成了她的一个习惯,不管夏天冬天都是如此。
当她站在那儿时,她突然感觉到无数种颜色在她的脑海里爆炸。她想起了自己的梦境,可是感觉上那不只是一个普通的梦,因为梦中的颜色和形状都如此生动逼真……她梦见爸爸从黎巴嫩回到家,而这整个梦是苏菲所做的那个梦的延伸,也就是苏菲在平台上捡到金十字架的那个梦。
席德梦见自己正坐在平台的边缘,就像在苏菲梦中那样。然后她听到一个很轻柔的声音说:“我的名字叫苏菲尸席德仍旧动也不动地坐在那儿,试着分辨声音的来处。然后那轻得几乎听不见、宛如虫鸣的声音又说了:“你一定是既聋又盲!”就在那个时候,爸爸穿着联合国的制服进入花园。“席德!”他喊。席德冲向他,用双臂围着他的脖子。到这里,梦就结束了。
她记得几行欧佛兰(Arnulf&verland)所写的诗:深宵夜里因奇梦而惊醒,恍惚听见一低语的声音,宛如远处那地底的溪流,我起身相询:汝意有何求?当妈妈进来时,她仍旧站在窗前。
“嘿!你已经醒了吗?”
“我不确定……”
“我大约四点钟会回到家,像平常一样。”
“好。”
“那就祝你假日愉快啦!”
“你也是!”
一听到妈妈把前门关上的声音,她马上拿着讲义夹溜回床上。
“……我要潜进少校的潜意识,一直到下次我们再见面以前,我都会在那儿。”
是的,昨天她就看到这里。她用右手的食指摸摸,讲义夹只剩下几页了。
苏菲离开少校的小木屋时,仍然可以看到有些迪斯尼的卡通人物还在湖边。可是当她走近时,它们似乎就溶解了。等到她走到小船边时,它们已经完全消失了。
她划船到对岸,并把小船拉上岸,放在芦苇丛间。这一路上她一直努力扮鬼脸并挥舞着手臂,拚命地吸引少校的注意力,好让坐在小木屋里的艾伯特能够不受干扰。
她一路上不停地又蹦又跳,后来又学机器人走路。为了维持少校对她的兴趣,她甚至开始唱歌。有一次她停了下来,心想艾伯特的计划究竟是什么。可是不一会,她马上制止自己。在罪恶感的驱使下,她开始爬树。
她尽可能爬到最高的地方。当她快爬到树顶时,突然发现自己下不来。待会儿她会再试一下,但现在她不能就这样坐在树上不动。少校会感到厌烦,然后又会开始好奇艾伯特正在做什么。
于是苏菲挥舞着手臂,并学公鸡叫了两三次,最后开始用假嗓子唱歌,这是她活到十五岁以来第一次用假嗓子唱歌。大致上来说,她对自己的表现相当满意。
她再次试着爬下来,可是她真的是被卡住了。这时,突然有一只大雁飞来,停在苏菲攀住的一根树枝上。苏菲已经看了这么多的迪斯尼人物,因此当那只雁开口跟她说话时,她一点也不惊讶。
“我叫莫通,•”大雁说。“事实上我是一只家雁,可是由于情况特殊,我便和别的野雁一起从黎巴嫩飞到这里来。看起来你好像需要帮忙才能爬下来。”
“你太小了,帮不上忙。”苏菲说。
“小姐,你的结论下得大早了。应该说你自己太大才对。”
“这不是一样吗?”
“告诉你,我曾经载着一个年纪跟你一样大的乡下小男孩飞过全瑞典。他的名字叫尼尔•侯格森(NilsHo1gersson)。”
“我今年十五岁了。”
“尼尔十四岁。加减个一岁对体重不会有影响。”
“你怎么把他载起来的?”
“我打他一巴掌,他就昏过去了。当他醒来时,身体就跟一根拇指一样大。”
“也许你也可以轻轻地打我一巴掌,因为我不能一直坐在这里。星期六我就要办一场哲学花园宴会了。”
“这倒挺有意思的。那我猜这大概是一本有关哲学的书。当我载着尼尔飞在瑞典上空时,我们在法姆兰区(Varmland)的马贝卡(Marbacka)着陆。尼尔在那儿遇见一位老妇人。她正计划为学童写一本有关瑞典的书。她说,这本书既要真实又要有教育价值。当她听到尼尔的奇遇时,便决定写一本有关他在雁背上所见到的事物的书。”
“这很奇怪。”
“老实告诉你吧,这是很反讽的,因为我们已经在那本书里面了。”
突然间苏菲觉得某个东西在她的脸颊上掴了一下,她立刻变成像拇指一样小。那棵树变得像一座森林,而那只雁也变得像马一样大了。
“来吧广大雁说。
苏菲沿着树枝向前走,然后爬到大雁的背上。它的羽毛很柔软,可是由于她现在实在太小了,那些羽毛不时戳着她。
她一坐好,大雁就起飞了。他们飞到树林上方,苏菲向下看着小湖和少校的小木屋。艾伯特正坐在里面,拟定着他那秘密计划。
“今天我们小小地观光一下就好了。”大雁边说边拍着翅膀。
之后,它便向下飞,停在苏菲刚才爬的那棵树下。大雁着陆时,苏菲便滚到了地上。在石南丛里滚了几下后,她便坐起来,很惊讶地发现自己又回复原来的身高了。
大雁摇摇摆摆地在她的四周走了几圈。
“谢谢你帮我的忙。”苏菲说。
“小事一桩。你是不是说过这是一本有关哲学的书?”
“不,那是你说的。”
“好吧,反正都一样。如果我能作主的话,我会载着你飞过整部哲学史,就像我载尼尔飞过瑞典一样。我们可以在米雷特斯和雅典、耶路撒冷和亚力山卓、罗马和佛罗伦萨、伦敦和巴黎、耶纳和海德堡、柏林和哥本哈根这些城市的上空盘旋。”
“谢谢你,这样就够了。”
“可是飞越这么多世纪,即使对一只非常反讽的雁来说,也是很辛苦的。所以飞越瑞典各省要容易多了。”
说完后,大雁跑了几步,就拍拍翅膀飞到空中去了。
苏菲已经很累了。不久后当她爬出密洞时,心想艾伯特对她这些调虎离-山的计策必然很满意。在过去这个小时内,少校一定不可能花太多心思在艾伯特身上,否则他一定得了严重的人格分裂症。
苏菲刚从前门进屋,妈妈就下班回家了。还好是这样,否则她怎么解释她被一只家雁从一棵大树上救下来的事呢?吃过晚餐后,她们开始准备花园宴会的事情。她们从阁楼里拿出了一张四公尺长的桌面,并把它抬到花园里。然后她们又回到阁楼去拿桌脚。她们已经计划好要把那张长桌子放在果树下。上一次他们用到那张长桌是在苏菲的爸妈结婚十周年庆的时候。那时苏菲只有八岁,但她仍然很清楚地记得那次各方亲朋好友云集的盛大露天宴会。
气象报告说星期六将会是个好天气。自从苏菲生日前一天的可怕暴风雨后,她们那儿连一滴雨也没下。不过,她们还是决定等到时期六上午再来布置和装饰餐桌。可是妈妈认为目前至少可以先把桌子搬到花园里。
那天晚上她们烤了一些小圆面包和几条由两种面团做成的乡村面包。请客的菜是鸡和沙拉,还有汽水。苏菲很担心她班上的一些男孩子可能会带啤酒来。她天不怕地不怕,就是怕惹麻烦。
苏菲正要上床睡觉时,妈妈又问了一次艾伯特是否一定会来。
“他当然会来。他甚至答应我要玩一个哲学的小把戏。”
“一个哲学的小把戏?那是什么样的把戏?”
“我不知道……如果他是一个魔术师,他可能就会表演魔术。
也许他会从帽子里变出一只白兔来……”
“什么?又玩这一套呀?”
“……可是他是个哲学家,他要耍的是一个哲学的把戏,因为这毕竞是个哲学的花园宴会呀。”
“你这个顽皮鬼。”
“你有没有想过你自己要做什么呢?”
“老实说,我有。我想做点事。”
“发表一篇演讲吗?”
“我不告诉你。晚安!”
第二天一大早苏菲就被妈妈叫起床了。妈妈是来跟她说再见的,因为她要上班去了。她给了苏菲一张单子,上面列着所有花园宴会要用的物品,要她到镇上采买。
妈妈刚出门,电话就响了。是艾伯特打来的。他显然知道苏菲什么时候会一个人在家。
“你的秘密计划进行得如何了?”
“嘘]不要提。别让他有机会去想它。”
“我想我昨天已经很成功地让他一直注意我了。”
“很好。”
“我们还有哲学课要上吗?”
“我就是为了这个才打电话来的。我们已经讲到现代了,从现在起,你应该可以不需要老师了,因为打基础是最重要的。可是我们还得见个面,稍微谈一下我们这个时代的哲学。”
“可是我得到镇上去……”
“那好极了,我说过我们要谈的是我们这个时代。”
“真的吗?”
“所以我们在镇上见面是很恰当的。”
“你要我到你那儿去吗?”
“不,不要到这里来。我这里乱七八糟的,因为我到处搜寻,看有没有什么窃听装置。”
“啊尸“大广场上有一家新开的咖啡厅,叫做皮尔咖啡厅。你知道吗?”
“我知道。我要什么时候到呢?”
“十二点好吗?”
“那就十二点在咖啡厅碰面。”
“就这么说定了。”
“再见!”
十二点过两三分时,苏菲走进了皮尔咖啡厅。这是一家很时髦的咖啡厅,有小小的圆桌和黑色的椅子。贩卖机里摆着倒过来放的一瓶瓶艾酒,还有法国长条面包和三明治。
咖啡厅并不大。苏菲首先注意到的就是艾伯特并不在里面。老实说,这是她唯一注意到的地方。有许多人围着几张餐桌坐,可是苏菲只看到艾伯特不在这些人里面。
她并不习惯一个人上咖啡厅。她该不该转身走出去,稍后再回来看看他到了没有呢?她走到大理石吧台那儿,要了一杯柠檬茶。她端了茶杯走到一张空桌子坐下来,并注视着门口。这里不断有人来来去去,可是苏菲只注意到艾伯特还没有来。
她要是有一份报纸就好了!随着时间一分分过去,她忍不住看看四周的人,也有几个人回看她。有一段时间苏菲觉得自己像一个年轻的女郎。她今年只有十五岁,可是她自认看起来应该有十七岁,要不然至少也有十六岁半。
她心想,这些人对活着这件事不知道怎么想。他们看起来仿佛只是顺道经过,偶然进来坐坐似的。他们一个个都在比手画脚的谈话,可是看起来他们说得好像也不是什么重要的事。
她突然想到祁克果,他曾经说过群众最大的特色就是喜欢言不及义地闲扯。这些人是不是还活在美感阶段呢?有没有一件事是对他们的存在有意义的呢?艾伯特在初期写给她的一封信中曾经谈到儿童与哲学家之间的相似性。她又再一次有不想长大的念头。搞不好她也会变成一只爬到兔予毛皮深处的虱子!她一边想,一边注意看着门口。突然间艾伯特从外面的街上缓缓走进来了。虽然已经是仲夏天,但他还是戴着一顶黑扁帽,穿着一件灰色有人字形花纹的苏格兰呢短外套。他立刻看到苏菲,便急忙走过来。苏菲心想,他们以前好像从来没有在公开场合见过面。
“现在已经十二点十五分了,你这个烂人。”
“这十五分是有教育意义。我可以请你这位年轻的小姐吃些点心吗?”
他坐下来,看着她的眼睛。苏菲耸耸肩。
“随便,一个三明治好了。”
艾伯特走到吧台那儿。不久他便端着一杯咖啡和两个乳酪火腿三明治回来。
“贵不贵呢?”
“小事一桩。”
“你为什么迟到呢?”
“我是故意的。我很快就会告诉你为什么。”
他咬了一大口三明治。然后他说道:“我们今天要谈我们这个时代的哲学。”
“有什么重要的哲学事件发生吗?”
存在哲学“很多……各种潮流都有。我们要先讲一个非常重要的潮流,就是存在主义。这是一个集合名词,代表几股以人存在的情况为出发点的哲学潮流。我们通常谈的是二十世纪的存在哲学。这些存在主义哲学家中有几个是以祁克果,乃至黑格尔等人的学说为基础的。”
“嗯。”
“另外一个对二十世纪有很大影响的哲学家是德国的尼采(FriedrichNietzsche),生于一八四四到一九OO年间。他同样反对黑格尔的哲学以及德国的‘历史主义’,他认为我们应该重视生命本身,而不必对历史和他所谓的基督教的‘奴隶式道德’过于注意。
他希望能够造成‘对所有价值的重新评价’,使强者的生命力不会受到弱者的拖累。根据尼采的说法,基督教和传统哲学已经脱离了真实世界,朝向‘天堂’或‘观念世界’发展,而人们过去认为的‘真实’世界事实上是一个‘伪世界’。他说:‘要忠于这个世界。不要听信那些让你有超自然期望的人。”’“然后呢?”。
“祁克果和尼采两人同时又影响了德国的存在主义哲学家海德格(MartinHeidegger)。可是我们现在要专门来谈法国存在主义哲学家萨特(Jean—PaulSartre)。他生于一九O五到一九八O年间,是存在主义者(至少是信奉存在主义的一般大众)的领袖。他的存在主义在第二次世界大战后的一九四O年左右尤其风行。后来他与法国的马克思主义运动结盟,但他本人从来没有加入任何党派。”
“是因为这样我们才在一家法国咖啡厅见面吗?”
“我承认这是有目的的。萨特本人经常出入咖啡厅。他就是在这样的咖啡厅里遇见他终身的伴侣西蒙波娃(SimonedeBeauvoir)的。她也是一位存在主义的哲学家。”
“一位女哲学家?”
“对。”
“大好了,人类终于变得比较文明了。”
“可是我们这个时代也有很多新的问题。”
“你要讲的是存在主义。”
“萨特说:‘存在主义就是人文主义。’他的意思是存在主义者乃是以人类为出发点。必须说明的是:他的人文土义对于人类处境的观点要比文艺复兴时代的人丈主义者悲观得多。”
“为什么呢?”
“祁克果和本世纪的若干存在主义哲学家都是基督徒,但萨特所信仰的却是所谓的‘无神论的存在主义’。他的哲学可以说是在‘上帝已死’的情况下对人类处境所做的无情分析。‘上帝已死’这句话是尼采说的。”
“说下去。”
“萨特和祁克果的哲学中最主要的一个字眼就是‘存在’。但存在不等于活着。植物和动物也活着,它们虽然存在,但并不需要思考存在的意义。人是唯一意识到自己存在的生物。萨特表示,一个东西只是在己(initself)而人类却是为已(foritself)。因此人的存在并不等于东西的存在。”
“我同意。”
“萨特进一步宣称,人的存在比任何其他事情都重要。我存在的这个事实比我是谁要更加重要。他说:‘存在先于本质。,”
“这句话很复杂。”
“所谓的本质是指组成某些事物的东西,也就是说某些事物的本性。但根据萨特的说法,人并没有这种天生的‘本性’,因此人必须创造自我。他必须创造自己的本性或‘本质’,因为他的本性并非是一生下来就固定的。”
“我明白了。”
“在整部哲学史中,哲学家们一直想要探索人的本性。但萨特相信,人并没有一种不变的‘本性’。因此,追求广泛的生命的‘意识’是没有用的。换句话说,我们是注定要自己创造这种意义。我们就像是还没背好台词就被拉上舞台的演员,没有剧本,也没有提词人低声告诉我们应该怎么做。我们必须自己决定该怎么活。”
“事实上,真的是这样。如果我们能在圣经或哲学教科书中学到该怎么活,就很有用了。”
“你讲到要点了。但萨特说,当人领悟到他们活在世上,总有一天会死,而且没有什么意义可以攀附时,他们就会愈加恐惧。你可能还记得祁克果在形容人存在的处境时,也用过这个字眼。”
“嗯。”
“萨特又说,人在一个没有意义的世界中会感到疏离。当他描述人的‘疏离’时,乃是重复黑格尔的中心思想。人的这种疏离感会造成绝望、烦闷、厌恶和荒谬等感觉。”
“感觉沮丧或觉得一切都很无聊是很正常的。”
“的确如此。萨特所描述的乃是二十世纪的城市人。你也许还记得文艺复兴时期的人文主义者曾经兴高采烈地强调人的自由与独立。萨特则觉得人的自由是一种诅咒。他说:‘人是注定要受自由之苦的。因为他并没有创造自己,但却是自由的。因为一旦被扔进这个世界里来,他就必须为他所做的每一件事负责。”’“可是我们并没有要求被创造成自由的个体。”
“这正是萨特所要说的。可是我们仍然是自由的个体,而这种自由使我们注定一生中要不断地做选择。世上没有我们必须遵守的永恒价值或规范,这使得我们的选择更加有意义。因为我们要为自己所做的事负全责。萨特强调,人绝对不能放弃他对自己行动的责任,也不能以我们‘必须’上班、‘必须’符合中产阶级对我们生活方式的期望为理由。逃避为自己做选择的责任。如果我们逃避这项责任,就会沦为无名大众的一分子,将永远只是一个没有个性的群体之一,逃避自我并自我欺骗。从另外一方面来说,我们的自由迫使我们要成为某种人物,要‘真实’地活着。”
“嗯,我明白了。”
“在道德的抉择上也是如此。我们永远不能把错误归咎于‘人性’或‘人的软弱’等等。我们可以发现时常有成年男子做出种种令人厌恶的行为,却把这样的行为归咎于‘男人天生的坏毛病’。可是世上没有‘男人天生的坏毛病’这种东西,那只是我们用来避免为自己的行为负责的借口罢了。”
“总不能把样样事情都怪在它头上。”
“虽然萨特宣称生命并没有固有的意义,但他的意思并不是说什么事情都不重要。他不是我们所谓的‘虚无主义者’。”
“什么是虚无主义者?”
“就是那些认为没有一件事情有意义,怎样都可以的人。萨特认为生命应该有意义,这是一个命令。但我们生命中的意义必须由我们自己来创造,存在的意义就是要创造自己的生命。”
“你可以说得详细一点吗?”
“萨特想要证明意识本身在感知某件事物之前是不存在的。因为意识总是会意识到某件事物。这个‘事物’固然是由我们的环境提供的,但也是由我们自己提供的。我们可以选择对我们有意义的事物,借以决定我们所要感知的事物。”
“你可以举个例子吗?”
“例如同一个房间内的两个人对于这个房间的感受可能大不相同,这是因为当我们感知我们的环境时,会赋予它我们本身的意义(或我们的利益)。一个怀孕的女人也许会认为她走到哪里都可以看见别的孕妇,这并不是因为从前没有孕妇,而是因为她自己怀孕这件事使得每一件事在她眼中都有了新的意义。一个生病的人也许会认为到处都看得见救护车……”
“嗯,我明白了。”
“我们本身的生活会影响我们对这房间内事物的看法。如果某件事情与我无关,我就看不见它。所以我现在也许可以告诉你我今天为什么迟到了。”
“你是有目的的,对吧?”
“你先告诉我你进来时看到什么。”
“我注意到的第一件事就是你不在这里。”“你看到的第一件事物却是一件不在这里的事物,这不是很奇怪吗?”
“也许吧。可是我要见的人是你呀。”
“萨特就曾经用过一次这样的咖啡厅之行说明我们如何‘虚无化’与我们无关的事物。”
“你迟到就是为了要说明这点?”
“是的,我想让你了解这个萨特哲学中的主要重点。你可以说这是一次演习。”
“少来!”
“当你谈恋爱,正等着你的爱人打电话给你时,你可能整晚都会‘听见’他没有打电话给你。因为你整个晚上注意到的就是他没有打电话来。当你跟他约好在火车站见面时,月台上人来人往,而你没有看见他。这些人都在那儿,但他们对你却是不重要的。你甚至可能觉得他们很讨厌,因为他们占去大多空间了。你唯一注意到的事情就是他不在那儿。”
“多悲哀呀。”
“西蒙波娃曾试图将存在主义应用到女性主义上。萨特已经说过,人没有基本的‘本性’。我们必须创造自我。”
“真的吗?”
“我们对于两性的看法也是这样。西蒙波娃否认一般人所谓的‘女人的天性’或‘男人的天性’。举例来说,一般人都说男人有所谓的‘超越的’或‘追求成功’的天性,因此他们会在家庭以外的地方追求意义和方向。而女人则被认为具有与男人完全相反的生活哲学。她们是所谓‘内在的’,意思就是说她们希望留在原地。因此她们会做养育小孩、整理环境等比较与家庭有关的事。今天我们也许会说妇女要比男人关心‘女性的价值’。”
“她真的相信那些话吗?”
“你没有在听我说。事实上,西蒙波娃不相信有任何这种‘女人天性’或‘男人天性’存在。相反的,她相信女人和男人都必须挣脱这种内在偏见或理想的束缚。”
“我同意。”
“她主要的作品名叫《第二性》,一九四九年出版。”
“第二性是什么意思?”
“她指的是女人。在我们的文化里,妇女是被当成‘第二性’的。
男人好像把她们当做臣民,把女人当成是他们的所有物,因此剥夺了她们对自己生命的责任。”
“她的意思是只要我们愿意,我们就可以自由独立?”
“是的,可以这么说。存在主义对于四十年代到现在的文学也有很大的影响。其中包括戏剧在内。萨特本身除了写小说外,也写了一些剧本。其他几位重要的作家包括法国的卡缪、爱尔兰的贝克特、罗马尼亚的伊欧涅思柯和波兰的康布罗维区(Gombrowich)。
他们和其他许多现代作家的典型风格就是我们所说的‘荒谬主义’。这个名词专门用来指‘荒谬剧场’。”
“啊。”
“你知道‘荒谬’的意思吗?”
“不就是指没有意义或非理性的事物吗?”
“一点没错。‘荒谬剧场’是‘写实剧场’的相反。它的目的在显示生命的没有意义,以使观众起而反对。它的用意并不是鼓吹人生没有意义,其实正好相反。他们借着显示、揭发日常生活情境的荒谬,进而迫使旁观者追求较为真实而有意义的生命。”
“听起来挺有意思的。”
“荒谬剧场经常描绘一些非常琐碎的情境,因此我们也可以称之为一种‘超写实主义’。剧中描绘的就是人们原来的面貌。可是当你把发生在浴室的事情或一个普通家庭平日早晨的景象搬上舞台时,观众就会觉得很好笑。他们的笑声可以解释成为一种看见自己在舞台上被嘲弄时的防卫机转。”
“正是如此。”
“荒谬剧场也可能具有若干超现实的特色。其中的角色时常发现自己处在一个非常不真实、像梦一般的情境里。当他们毫不讶异地接受这种情境时,观众就不得不讶异这些角色为何不感到讶异。
这是卓别林在他的默片中惯用的手法。这些默片中的喜剧效果经常来自于卓别林默默地接受所有发生在他身上的荒谬事情。这使得观众不得不检讨自己,追求更真实的事物。”
“看到人们对于各种荒谬事件那种逆来顺受的态度,实在是让人觉得很惊讶。”
“有时我们会有‘我必须远离这样的事,虽然我不知道该到哪里去’的感受。这种感觉可能并没有什么不好。”
“如果房子着火了,你只好冲出去,虽然你没有其他地方可以住。”
“没错。你想不想再喝一杯茶或一瓶可乐?”
“好。不过我还是认为你是个烂人,因为你迟到了。”
“没关系。”
艾伯特回来时拿了一杯意大利浓咖啡和一瓶可乐。这时,苏菲已经开始喜欢上咖啡厅的气氛了。她也开始认为其他桌客人的谈话也许不像她想象的那样没有意义。艾伯特“砰!”一声把可乐瓶子往桌上放。有几个别桌的客人抬起头来看。
“我们就上到这里了。”他说。
“你是说哲学史到了萨特和存在主义就结束了?”
“不,这样讲就太夸张了。存在主义哲学后来对世界各地的许多人产生了重大的影响。正如我们说过的,它的根可以回溯到祁克果,甚至远及苏格拉底。因此二十世纪也是一个我们谈过的其他哲学潮流开花结果、重新复苏的年代。”
“比如说什么潮流?”
“其中有一个是所谓的新圣多玛斯主义(Neo—Thomism),也就是指那些属于圣多玛斯派的思想。另外一个就是所谓的‘分析哲学’或‘逻辑实验主义’。它的根源可追溯至休姆和英国的经验主义,甚至远及亚理斯多德的理则学。除此之外,二十世纪自然也曾受到所谓的新马克思主义的影响。至于新达尔文主义和精神分析的影响,我们已经谈过了。”
“是的。”
“最后还有一个是唯物主义。它同样有它历史上的根源。现代科学有一大部分源自苏格拉底之前的哲学家的努力,例如找寻组成所有物质的不可见的‘基础分子’。到目前为止还没有人能够对‘物质’是什么问题提出一个令人满意的答案。核子物理学与生物化学等现代科学对于这个问题极感兴趣,对许多人而言,这甚至是他们的生命哲学中很重要的一部分。”
“新旧学说杂陈并列……”
“对,因为我们开始这门课程时所提出的问题到现在还没有人能回答。在这方面,萨特说了一句很重要的话。他说:关于存在的问题是无法一次就回答清楚的。所谓哲学问题的定义就是每一个世代,甚至每一个人,都必须要一再的问自己的一些问题。”
“满悲观的。”
“我并不一定同意你的说法。因为,借着提出这些问题,我们才知道自己活着。当人们追寻这些根本问题的答案时,他们总是会发现许多其他问题因此而有了清楚明确的解决方法。科学、研究和科技都是我们哲学思考的副产品。我们最后之所以能登陆月球难道不是因为我们对于生命的好奇吗?”
“这倒是真的。”
“当阿姆斯壮踏上月球时,他说:‘这是个人的一小步,人类的一大步。’他用这些话来总结他身为第一位登陆月球者的感想,话中提到了所有我们的祖先,因为这显然不是他一个人的功劳。”
“当然。”
“在我们这个时代,我们有一些崭新的问题要去面对。其中最严重的就是环境问题。因此,二十世纪一个主要的哲学潮流就是‘生态哲学’(ecophilosophy),这是挪威哲学家那斯(ArneNaess)所给的名称,他也是这种哲学的奠立者之一。许多西方的生态哲学家已经提出警告,整个西方文明的走向根本就是错误的,长此下去,势必将会超出地球所能承受的范围。他们谈的不只是环境污染与破坏这些具体的问题。他们宣称,西方的思想形态根本上就有一些谬误。”
“我认为他们说得对。”
“举例来说,生态哲学家对于进化观念中以人为‘万物之首’的这个假设提出质疑。他们认为,人类这种自以为是大自然主宰的想法可能会对整个地球造成致命的伤害。”
“我每次一想到这个就很生气。”
“在批评这个假设时,许多生态哲学寥注意到印度等其他文化的观念与思想。他们并且研究了所谓‘原始民族’或美洲印第安人和爱斯基摩人(现已改称因纽特人——编者注)等‘原住民’的想法与习俗,以重新探索我们所失落的东西。”
“然后呢?”
“近年来科学界有二种说法是:我们整个科学思想的模式正面临一个‘典范移转’(paradigmshift),意思就是说科学家思考的方式有了一个根本上的转变,而且这个现象已经在若干领域内开花结果。我们可以看到许多所谓‘新生活运动’(alternativemove—ments)倡导整体主义(holism)和新的生活方式。”
“太好了。”
“不过,当一件事情牵涉到许多人时,我们必须要学会分辨好坏优劣。有些人宣称我们正进入一个‘新时代’,但并不是每一件新的东西都是好的。我们也不能把所有旧东西都抛弃。这是我为什么让你上这门哲学课的原因之一。你现在已经知道了古往今来的哲学理念了。接下来你应该能够为自己的人生找到一个方向。”
“非常谢谢你。”
“我想你会发现那些打着‘新时代’旗号的运动有一大部分都是骗人的玩意。这几十年来西方世界甚至受到所谓的‘新宗教’、‘新神秘主义’和各式各样现代迷信的影响。这些东西已经变成一种企业了。由于信奉基督教的人日益减少,哲学市场上就出现了许许多多的替代产品。”
“什么样的替代产品?”
“多得不胜枚举。无论如何,要描述我们本身所在的这个时代并不容易。现在我们可不可以到镇上去散散步?我想让你看一个东西。”苏菲耸耸肩。
“我没有多少时间了。你没有忘记明天的花园宴会吧?”
“当然没有。那个时候会发生一件很奇妙的事。不过我们先得让席德的哲学课程有一个圆满的结束。少校还没有想到那儿,你明白吗?因此他已经不再能够完全控制我们了。”
他再次举起现在已经空了的可乐瓶,往桌上“砰!”一声用力一敲。
他们走到街上,人们正像蚂蚁窝里精力充沛的蚂蚁一样熙来攘往。苏菲心想艾伯特不知道要让她看什么东西。他们经过一家很大的商店,里面贩卖各式各样的通讯器材,从电视、录影机、小耳朵到各种行动电话、电脑和传真机都有。
艾伯特指着橱窗里的东西说:“这就是二十世纪了。在文艺复兴时代,世界开始膨胀。自从那些伟大的探险航程展开后,欧洲人就开始走遍世界各地。今天情形正好相反。我们称之为反膨胀。”
“怎么说呢?”
“意思是说世界正逐渐凝聚成一个庞大的通讯网络。在不算很久以前,哲学家们还必须坐好几天的马车才能到其他的地方去探索这个世界,并会见其他的哲学家。今天我们不论在地球任何一个角落都可以透过电脑荧屏获得人类所有的经验。”
“想起来真是棒极了,甚至让人有点怕怕的,真的。”
“问题在于历史是否即将结束,或者刚好相反,我们正要迈入一个崭新的时代。我们已经不再只是一个城市的居民或某个国家的公民了。我们是生活在全球文明里的世界公民。”
“真的。”
“过去三四十年来,科技的发展,尤其是在通讯方面的进步,可能大过历史上各时期的总和。而目前我们所见到的可能只是开始而已…...”
“这就是你要让我看的东西吗?”
“不,那个东西在那边那座教堂的另外一边。”他们转身要走时,一架电视的荧屏上闪过了一幅几个联合国士兵的画面。
“你看广苏菲说。摄影机的镜头淡入,停在其中一个士兵的身上。他有一脸几乎和艾伯特一模一样的黑胡子。突然间他举起一块牌子,上面写着:“席德,我就快回来了!”他挥一挥另外一只手,然后就消失了。
“唉,真是个江湖郎中!”艾伯特叹道。
“那是少校吗?”,“我可不想回答这个问题。”他们穿过教堂前面的公园,走到另外一条大街上。艾伯特似乎有点烦躁。他们在一家名叫里伯瑞斯(Libris)的大型书店前停下来。这是镇上最大的一家书店。
“你是不是要让我看里面的某个东西?”
超自然“我们进去吧。”在书店里,艾伯特指着最长的那面书墙,其中的书分成三类,包括:“新时代”、“新生活”和“神秘主义”。这些书都有着很吸引人的标题,如:《死后的生命?》、《招魂术的秘密》、《意大利纸牌算命术》、《幽浮现象》、《治疗术》、《上帝重临》、《你曾来过这里》、《占星术是什么?》等等,一共有成千上百本。书架的下面并堆着一叠叠类似的书。
“这也是二十世纪的现象。这是我们这个时代的神庙。”
“这些东西你都不相信吗?”
“其中有一大部分是鬼话。但他们的销路和色情刊物一样好,事实上它们有许多可以算得上是一种色情刊物。年轻人可以来到这儿,购买他们认为最有趣的思想。但这些书和真正的哲学之间的差异就像色情和真爱之间的差异一样。”
“你这样说不是太粗鲁了吗?”
“我们到公园里去坐吧!”他们走出书店,在教堂前找了一张没有A坐的长椅。旁边树底下成群的鸽子正摇头摆尾地走来走去,一只孤零零的麻雀在他们中间过度热心地跳来跳去。
“那些东西叫做ESP或灵学超心理学,”他开始说。“或者也叫做精神感应术、超感应能力、灵视和心理动力学,有些也叫做招魂术、占星术和幽浮学。”
“老实说,你真的认为它们都是骗人的玩意吗?”
“当然一个真正的哲学家不应该说它们都不好。但我可以说所有这些学问加起来就像一张地图一样,虽然巨细靡遗,但问题是那块土地可能根本并不存在,而且其中有许多是‘想象的虚构物’。要是休姆的话,早就一把火把它们给烧了。那些书里面,有许多根本没有包含一丝一毫的真实经验。”
“那为什么会出现这么多这类的书呢?”
“这是全世界最大规模的营利企业,因为那就是大多数人想要的东西。”
“那你认为他们为什么想要这些呢?”
“他们显然是希望有一些‘神秘的’、‘不一样’的东西来打破日常生活的烦闷与单调。可是这简直是多此一举!”
“怎么说呢?”
“囚为我们已经置身在一场奇妙的探险旅程里。青天白日之下,在我们的眼前就有一件伟大的创作品。这不是很美妙吗?”
“我想是吧。”
“我们为什么还要跑到占卜术士的帐篷或从学院派的后门去找寻一些‘刺激’或‘超自然’东西呢?”
“你是说写这类书的人都是些江湖术士或骗子吗?”
“不,我并没有这样说。可是这当中也有一个达尔文系统。”
“请你解释一下好吗?”
“请你想想看一天里面能够发生多少事。你甚至可以挑选你生命中的一天,然后想一想那天里你所看到和经验到的一切事物。”
“然后呢?”
“有时你会碰到一些奇异的巧合。你可能会跑进一家店里,买了一个价值二十八块钱的东西。后来,在同一天,乔安又跑来还她欠你的二十八块钱。然后你们两个决定要去看电影,结果你的座位号码是二十八号。”
“嗯,这的确是一个很神秘的巧合。”
“不管怎样,这些事就是一种巧合。问题在于有些人就会搜集这类巧合,还有各种奇异的、无法解释的经验。当这类取自数十亿人生活中的经验被集结成书时,看起来就像是真实的数据。而它们的数量会愈来愈庞大。不过这也像是一场摸彩,只有中奖的号码才会被公布出来。”
“可是世上确实有天眼通和灵媒这些人,不是吗?他们不断地有这类经验呀。”
“确实是有。但撇开那些招摇撞骗的人不谈,我们仍然可以为这些所谓的神秘经验找到另外一种解释。”
“什么解释?”
“你还记得我们谈过佛洛伊德所说的潜意识理论吗?”
“当然记得啦。我不是一再告诉你我的记性很好吗?”
“佛洛伊德曾说我们可能时常是自己潜意识的‘灵媒’。我们可能会突然发现自己正在想着或做着某件事,连自己也不太明白原因。这是因为我们内心中有许多连自己也没有察觉的经验、想法或记忆。”
“所以说呢?”
“你知道有些人会梦游或说梦话,我们可以称之为一种‘精神上的无意识行动’。除此之外,人们在经过催眠之后,也可能会‘不由自主’地说一些话或做一些事。你也许还记得那些超现实主义者曾经试图要制造所谓的自动写作。事实上他们只是试图要做自己潜意识的灵媒罢了。”
“嗯,这个我也记得。”
“本世纪不时流行我们所称的‘通灵’现象。有些人相信灵媒可以和已逝者接触。这些灵媒或者用死者的声音来说话,或者透过自动写作,借此接收几百年前某个古人的信息。有人认为这种现象证明人死后会进入另外一个世界,或者世间确实有轮回。”
“嗯,我知道。”
“我的意思并不是说所有的灵媒都是江湖术士。他们有些确实不是骗人的。他们确实当过灵媒,但他们所当的只是自己潜意识的灵媒罢了。曾经有过好几个这样的例子:有人仔细观察一些灵媒在恍惚状态的反应,发现他们居然会显示出一些无论是他们自己或别人都不知道他们如何获得的知识或能力。在其中一个案例里,一个从来没有学过希伯来文的女人突然以希伯来文说出一些事情。
因此她必定是在前世学的,要不就是她曾经和某个死者的灵魂沟通。”
“你相信哪一种说法呢?”
“结果后来发现她小时候有一个奶妈是犹太人。”
“啊!”
“你很失望吗?这个现象显示有些人具有不可思议的能力,可以把从前的经验储存在他们的潜意识里。”
“我懂你的意思了。”
“有许多日常生活中不可思议的事件都可以用佛洛伊德的潜意识理论来解释。也许有一天我正要找一个多年没有联络的朋友的电话时,却刚好接到他打来的电话。”
“满诡异的。”
“可是事实上也许是我们两个同时听到收音机里播的一首老歌,而这首歌刚好是我们两个上一次见面时听到的。重要的是,我们都没有察觉到其中的关联。”
“所以这些事情要不就是道听途说,要不就是因为特别奇怪才众口相传,要不就是潜意识的作用,对吗?”。
“不管怎样,在进到这类书店时抱持相当的怀疑态度总是比较健康的,特别是对一个哲学家而言。英国有一个由怀疑论者组成的协会。许多年前他们重金悬赏第一个能够对那些超自然现象提供一点点证明的人。他们并不要求参加者展示什么奇迹,而只要他们表演一点点心电感应就可以了。但是到目前为止,没有一个人来参加。”
“嗯。”
“话说回来,有很多现象仍然是我们人类无法理解的。也许我们还不是真正了解自然的法则。在上一个世纪,许多人认为磁力与电力的现象是一种魔术。我敢打赌我的曾祖母如果听到我说关于电视和电脑的事,一定会惊讶得目瞪口呆。”
“这么说你并不相信所有超自然的现象哼?”
“我们已经谈过这点了。就连‘超自然’这个名词听起来也很奇怪。不,我相信世上只有一个自然。但从另外一方面来说,这也是很令人惊异的事。”
“可是你让我看的那些书里面记载了那么多神秘的事情……”
“所有真正的哲学家都应该睁大眼睛。即使我们从来没有见过白色的乌鸦,我们也不应该放弃寻找它。也许有一天,连我这样的怀疑论者也会不得不接受某种我从前并不相信的现象。如果我不承认有这种可能性,那我就是一个武断的人,而不是一个真正的哲学家。”艾伯特和苏菲继续坐在长椅上,两人都没有说话。那些鸽子伸长了脖子咕咕的叫着,不时被一辆路过的脚踏车或突然的动作吓着。
“我必须回家打点宴会的事了。”最后苏菲说。
“可是在我们分手以前,我要给你看一只白色的乌鸦。它比我们所想象的更接近我们。”他从长椅上站起来,示意苏菲再回到书店里去。
这次他们走过所有关于超自然现象的书,停在书店最里面一个看起来不甚牢固的架子前。架子的上方挂着一块很小的牌子,上面写着:哲学类。艾伯特指着架上的一本书。苏菲看到书名时不禁吓了一跳。上面写着:苏菲的世界。
“你要不要我买一本送给你?”
“我不太敢看耶!”
无论如何,过了没多久,她就走在回家的路上了,一手拿着那本书,另一手则拿着一个小袋子,里面装着她刚才买的花园宴会用品。
28
 楼主| 发表于 2019-2-2 11:53:40 | 只看该作者
Our Own Time

... man is condemned to be free

The alarm clock showed 11:55 p.m. Hilde lay staring at the ceiling. She tried to let her associations flow freely. Each time she finished a chain of thoughts, she tried to ask herself why.

Could there be something she was trying to repress?

If only she could have set aside all censorship, she might have slid into a waking dream. A bit scary, she thought.

The more she relaxed and opened herself to random thoughts and images, the more she felt as if she was in the major's cabin by the little lake in the woods.

What could Alberto be planning? Of course, it was Hilde's father planning that Alberto was planning something. Did he already know what Alberto would do? Perhaps he was trying to give himself free rein, so that whatever happened in the end would come as a surprise to him too.

There were not many pages left now. Should she take a peek at the last page? No, that would be cheating. And besides, Hilde was convinced that it was far from decided what was to happen on the last page.

Wasn't that a curious thought? The ring binder was right here and her father could not possibly get back in time to add anything to it. Not unless Alberto did something on his own. A surprise ...

Hilde had a few surprises up her own sleeve, in any case. Her father did not control her. But was she in full control of herself?

What was consciousness? Wasn't it one of the greatest riddles of the universe? What was memory? What made us "remember" everything we had seen and experienced?

What kind of mechanism made us create fabulous dreams night after night?

She closed her eyes from time to time. Then she opened them and stared at the ceiling again. At last she forgot to open them.

She was asleep.

When the raucous scream of a seagull woke her, Hilde got out of bed. As usual, she crossed the room to the window and stood looking out across the bay. It had gotten to be a habit, summer and winter.

As she stood there, she suddenly felt a myriad of colors exploding in her head. She remembered what she had dreamt. But it felt like more than an ordinary dream, with its vivid colors and shapes ...

She had dreamt that her father came home from Lebanon, and the whole dream was an extension of Sophie's dream when she found the gold crucifix on the dock.

Hilde was sitting on the edge of the dock--exactly as in Sophie's dream. Then she heard a very soft voice whispering, "My name is Sophie!" Hilde had stayed where she was, sitting very still, trying to hear where the voice was coming from. It continued, an almost inaudible rustling, as if an insect were speaking to her: "You must be both deaf and blind!" Just then her father had come into the garden in his UN uniform. "Hilde!" he shouted. Hilde ran up to him and threw her arms around his neck. That's where the dream ended.

She remembered some lines of a poem by Arnulf 0verland:

Wakened one night by a curious dreamand a voice that seemed to be speaking to melike a far-off subterranean stream,I rose and asked: What do you want of me?

She was still standing at the window when her mother came in.

"Hi there! Are you already awake?"

"I'm not sure..."

"I'll be home around four, as usual."

"Okay, Mom."

"Have a nice vacation day, Hilde!"

"You have a good day too."

When she heard her mother slam the front door, she slipped back into bed with the ring binder.

"I'm going to dive down into the major's unconscious. That's where I'll be until we meet again."

There, yes. Hilde started reading again. She could feel under her right index finger that there were only a few pages left.

When Sophie left the major's cabin, she could still see some of the Disney figures at the water's edge, but they seemed to dissolve as she approached them. By the time she reached the boat they had all disappeared.

While she was rowing she made faces, and after she had pulled the boat up into the reeds on the other side she waved her arms about. She was working desperately to hold the major's attention so that Alberto could sit undisturbed in the cabin.

She danced along the path, hopping and skipping. Then she tried walking like a mechanical doll. To keep the major interested she began to sing as well. At one point she stood still, pondering what Alberta's plan could be. Catching herself, she got such a bad conscience that she started to climb a tree.

Sophie climbed as high as she could. When she was nearly at the top, she realized she could not get down. She decided to wait a little before trying again. But meanwhile she could not just stay quietly where she was. Then the major would get tired of watching her and would begin to interest himself in what Alberto was doing.

Sophie waved her arms, tried to crow like a rooster a couple of times, and finally began to yodel. It was the first time in her fifteen-year-old life that Sophie had yodeled.

All things considered, she was quite pleased with the result.

She tried once more to climb down but she was truly stuck. Suddenly a huge goose landed on one of the branches Sophie was clinging to. Having recently seen a whole swarm of Disney figures, Sophie was not in the least surprised when the goose began to speak.

"My name is Morten," said the goose. "Actually, I'm a tame goose, but on this special occasion I have flown up from Lebanon with the wild geese. You look as if you could use some help getting down from this tree."

"You are much too small to help me," said Sophie.

"You are jumping to conclusions, young lady. It is you who are too big."

"It's the same thing, isn't it?"

"I would have you know I carried a peasant boy exactly your age all over Sweden. His name was Nils Hol-gersson."

"I am fifteen."

"And Nils was fourteen. A year one way or the other makes no difference to the freight."

"How did you manage to lift him?"

"I gave him a little slap and he passed out. When he woke up, he was no bigger than a thumb."

"Perhaps you could give me a little slap too, because I can't sit up here forever. And I'm giving a philosophical garden party on Saturday."

"That's interesting. I presume this is a philosophy book, then. When I was flying over Sweden with Nils Holgers-son, we touched down on Marbacka in Varmland, where Nils met an old woman who was planning to write a book about Sweden for schoolchildren. It was to be both instructive and true, she said. When she heard about Nils's adventures, she decided to write a book about all the things he had seen on gooseback."

"That was very strange."

"To tell you the truth it was rather ironic, because we were already in that book."

Suddenly Sophie felt something slap her cheek and the next minute she had become no bigger than a thumb. The tree was like a whole forest and the goose was as big as a horse.

"Come on, then," said the goose.

Sophie walked along the branch and climbed up on the goose's back. Its feathers were soft, but now that she was so small, they pricked her more than they tickled.

As soon as she had settled comfortably the goose took off. They flew high above the treetops. Sophie looked down at the lake and the major's cabin. Inside sat Al-berto, laying his devious plans.

"A short sightseeing tour will have to be sufficient today," said the goose, flapping its wings again and again.

With that, it flew in to land at the foot of the tree which Sophie had so recently begun to climb. As the goose touched down Sophie tumbled onto the ground. After rolling around in the heather a few times, she sat up. She realized with amazement that she was her full size again.

The goose waddled around her a few times.

"Thanks a lot for your help," said Sophie.

"It was a mere bagatelle. Did you say this was a philosophy book?"

"No, that's what you said."

"Oh well, it's all the same. If it had been up to me, I would have liked to fly you through the whole history of philosophy just as I flew Nils Holgersson through Sweden. We could have circled over Miletus and Athens, Jerusalem and Alexandria, Rome and Florence, London and Paris, Jena and Heidelberg, Berlin and Copenhagen . . ."

"Thanks, that's enough."

"But flying across the centuries would have been a hefty job even for a very ironic goose. Crossing the Swedish provinces is far easier."

So saying, the goose ran a few steps and flapped itself into the air.

Sophie was exhausted, but when she crawled out of the den into the garden a little later she thought Alberto would have been well pleased with her diversionary maneuvers. The major could not have thought much about Alberto during the past hour. If he did, he had to have a severe case of split personality.

Sophie had just walked in the front door when her mother came home from work. That saved her having to describe her rescue from a tall tree by a tame goose.

After dinner they began to get everything ready for the garden party. They brought a four-meter-long table top and trestles from the attic and carried it into the garden.

They had planned to set out the long table under the fruit trees. The last time they had used the trestle table had been on Sophie's parents' tenth anniversary. Sophie was only eight years old at the time, but she clearly remembered the big outdoor party with all their friends and relatives.

The weather report was as good as it could be. There had not been as much as a drop of rain since that horrid thunderstorm the day before Sophie's birthday. Nevertheless they decided to leave the actual table setting and decorating until Saturday morning.

Later that evening they baked two different kinds of bread. They were going to serve chicken and salad. And sodas. Sophie was worried that some of the boys in her class would bring beer. If there was one thing she was afraid of it was trouble.

As Sophie was going to bed, her mother asked her once again if Alberto was coming to the party.

"Of course he's coming. He has even promised to do a philosophical trick."

"A philosophical trick? What kind of trick is that?"

"No idea ... if he were a magician, he would have done a magic trick. He would probably have pulled a white rabbit out of a hat. . ."

"What, again?"

"But since he's a philosopher, he's going to do a philosophical trick instead. After all, it is a philosophical garden party. Are you planning to do something too?"

"Actually, I am."

"A speech?"

"I'm not telling. Good night, Sophie!"

Early the next morning Sophie was woken up by her mother, who came in to say goodbye before she went to work. She gave Sophie a list of last-minute things to buy in town for the garden party.

The minute her mother had left the house, the telephone rang. It was Alberto. He had obviously found out exactly when Sophie was home alone.

"How is your secret coming along?"

"Ssh! Not a word. Don't even give him the chance to think about it."

"I think I held his attention yesterday "

"Good."

"Is the philosophy course finished?"

"That's why I'm calling. We're already in our own century. From now on you should be able to orient yourself on your own. The foundations were the most important. But we must nevertheless meet for a short talk about our own time "

"But I have to go to town . .  "

"That's excellent. I said it was our own time we had to talk about."

"Really?"

"So it would be most practical to meet in town, I mean."

"Shall I come to your place?"

"No, no, not here Everything's a mess. I've been hunting for hidden microphones."

"Ah!"

"There's a cafe that's just opened at the Main Square. Cafe Pierre. Do you know it?"

"Yes. When shall I be there?"

"Can we meet at twelve?"

"Okay. Bye!"

At a couple of minutes past twelve Sophie walked into Cafe Pierre. It was one of those new fashionable places with little round tables and black chairs, upturned vermouth bottles in dispensers, baguettes, and sandwiches.

The room was small, and the first thing Sophie noticed was that Alberto was not there. A lot of other people were sitting at the round tables, but Sophie saw only that Alberto was not among them.

She was not in the habit of going into cafes on her own. Should she just turn around and leave, and come back later to see if he had arrived?

She ordered a cup of lemon tea at the marble bar and sat down at one of the vacant tables. She stared at the door. People came and went all the time, but there was still no Alberto.

If only she had a newspaper!

As time passed, she started to look around. She got a couple of glances in return. For a moment Sophie felt like a young woman. She was only fifteen, but she could certainly have passed for seventeen--or at least, sixteen and a half.

She wondered what all these people thought about being alive. They looked as though they had simply dropped in, as though they had just sat down here by chance. They were all talking away, gesticulating vehemently, but it didn't look as though they were talking about anything that mattered.

She suddenly came to think of Kierkegaard, who had said that what characterized the crowd most was their idle chatter. Were all these people living at the aesthetic stage? Or was there something that was existentially important to them?

In one of his early letters to her Alberto had talked about the similarity between children and philosophers. She realized again that she was afraid of becoming an adult. Suppose she too ended up crawling deep down into the fur of the white rabbit that was pulled out of the universe's top hat!

She kept her eyes on the door. Suddenly Alberto walked in. Although it was midsummer, he was wearing a black beret and a gray hip-length coat of herringbone tweed. He hurried over to her. It felt very strange to meet him in public.

"It's quarter past twelve!"

"It's what is known as the academic quarter of an hour. Would you like a snack?"

He sat down and looked into her eyes. Sophie shrugged.

"Sure. A sandwich, maybe."

Alberto went up to the counter. He soon returned with a cup of coffee and two baguette sandwiches with cheese and ham.

"Was it expensive?"

"A bagatelle, Sophie."

"Do you have any excuse at all for being late?"

"No. I did it on purpose. I'll explain why presently."

He took a few large bites of his sandwich. Then he said:

"Let's talk about our own century."

"Has anything of philosophical interest happened?"

"Lots ... movements are going off in all directions We'll start with one very important direction, and that is existentialism. This is a collective term for several philosophical currents that take man's existential situation as their point of departure. We generally talk of twentieth-century existential philosophy. Several of these existential philosophers, or existentialists, based their ideas not only on Kierkegaard, but on Hegel and Marx as well."

"Uh-huh."

"Another important philosopher who had a great influence on the twentieth century was the German Friedrich Nietzsche, who lived from 1844 to 1900. He, too, reacted against Hegel's philosophy and the German 'historicism.' He proposed life itself as a counterweight to the anemic interest in history and what he called the Christian 'slave morality.' He sought to effect a 'revaluation of all values,' so that the life force of the strongest should not be hampered by the weak. According to Nietzsche, both Christianity and traditional philosophy had turned away from the real world and pointed toward 'heaven' or 'the world of ideas.' But what had hitherto been considered the 'real' world was in fact a pseudo world. 'Be true to the world,' he said. 'Do not listen to those who offer you supernatural expectations.' "

"So ... ?"

"A man who was influenced by both Kierkegaard and Nietzsche was the German existential philosopher Martin Heidegger. But we are going to concentrate on the French existentialist Jean-Paul Sartre, who lived from 1905 to 1980. He was the leading light among the existentialists--at least, to the broader public. His existentialism became especially popular in the forties, just after the war. Later on he allied himself with the Marxist movement in France, but he never became a member of any party."

"Is that why we are meeting in a French cafe?"

"It was not quite accidental, I confess. Sartre himself spent a lot of time in cafes. He met his life-long companion Simone de Beauvoir in a cafe. She was also an existential philosopher."

"A woman philosopher?"

"That's right."

"What a relief that humanity is finally becoming civilized."

"Nevertheless, many new problems have arisen in our own time."

"You were going to talk about existentialism."

"Sartre said that 'existentialism is humanism.' By that he meant that the existentialists start from nothing but humanity itself. I might add that the humanism he was referring to took a far bleaker view of the human situation than the humanism we met in the Renaissance."

"Why was that?"

"Both Kierkegaard and some of this century's existential philosophers were Christian. But Sartre's allegiance was to what we might call an atheistic existentialism. His philosophy can be seen as a merciless analysis of the human situation when 'God is dead.' The expression 'God is dead' came from Nietzsche."

"Go on."

"The key word in Sartre's philosophy, as in Kierkegaard's, is 'existence.' But existence did not mean the same as being alive. Plants and animals are also alive, they exist, but they do not have to think about what it implies. Man is the only living creature that is conscious of its own existence. Sartre said that a material thing is simply 'in itself,' but mankind is 'for itself.' The being of man is therefore not the same as the being of things."

"I can't disagree with that."

"Sartre said that man's existence takes priority over whatever he might otherwise be. The fact that I exist takes priority over what I am. 'Existence takes priority over essence.' "

"That was a very complicated statement."

"By essence we mean that which something consists of--the nature, or being, of something. But according to Sartre, man has no such innate 'nature.' Man must therefore create himself. He must create his own nature or 'essence,' because it is not fixed in advance."

"I think I see what you mean."

"Throughout the entire history of philosophy, philosophers have sought to discover what man is--or what human nature is. But Sartre believed that man has no such eternal 'nature' to fall back on. It is therefore useless to search for the meaning of life in general. We are condemned to improvise. We are like actors dragged onto the stage without having learned our lines, with no script and no prompter to whisper stage directions to us. We must decide for ourselves how to live."

"That's true, actually. If one could just look in the Bible--or in a philosophy book--to find out how to live, it would be very practical."

"You've got the point. When people realize they are alive and will one day die--and there is no meaning to cling to--they experience angst, said Sartre. You may recall that angst, a sense of dread, was also characteristic of Kierkegaard's description of a person in an existential situation."

"Yes."

"Sartre says that man feels a//en in a world without meaning. When he describes man's 'alienation,' he is echoing the central ideas of Hegel and Marx. Man's feeling of alienation in the world creates a sense of despair, boredom, nausea, and absurdity."

"It is quite normal to feel depressed, or to feel that everything is just too boring."

"Yes, indeed. Sartre was describing the twentieth-century city dweller. You remember that the Renaissance humanists had drawn attention, almost triumphantly, to man's freedom and independence? Sartre experienced man's freedom as a curse. 'Man is condemned to be free,' he said. 'Condemned because he has not created himself--and is nevertheless free. Because having once been hurled into the world, he is responsible for everything he does.' "

"But we haven't asked to be created as free individuals."

"That was precisely Sartre's point. Nevertheless we are free individuals, and this freedom condemns us to make choices throughout our lives. There are no eternal values or norms we can adhere to, which makes our choices even more significant. Because we are totally responsible for everything we do. Sartre emphasized that man must never disclaim the responsibility for his actions. Nor can we avoid the responsibility of making our own choices on the grounds that we 'must' go to work, or we 'must' live up to certain middle-class expectations regarding how we should live. Those who thus slip into the anonymous masses will never be other than members of the impersonal flock, having fled from themselves into self-deception. On the other hand our freedom obliges us to make something of ourselves, to live 'authentically' or 'truly.' "

"Yes, I see."

"This is not least the case as regards our ethical choices. We can never lay the blame on 'human nature,' or 'human frailty' or anything like that. Now and then it happens that grown men behave like pigs and then blame it on 'the old Adam.' But there is no 'old Adam.' He is merely a figure we clutch at to avoid taking responsibility for our own actions."

"There ought to be a limit to what man can be blamed for."

"Although Sartre claimed there was no innate meaning to life, he did not mean that nothing mattered. He was not what we call a nihilist."

"What is that?"

"That is a person who thinks nothing means anything and everything is permissible. Sartre believed that life must have meaning. It is an imperative. But it is we ourselves who must create this meaning in our own lives. To exist is to create your own life."

"Could you elaborate on that?" /"Sartre tried to prove that consciousness in itself is nothing until it has perceived something. Because consciousness is always conscious of something. And this 'something' is provided just as much by ourselves as by our surroundings. We are partly instrumental in deciding what we perceive by selecting what is significant for us."

"Could you give me an example?"

"Two people can be present in the same room and yet experience it quite differently. This is because we contribute our own meaning--or our own interests--when we perceive our surroundings. A woman who is pregnant might think she sees other pregnant women everywhere she looks. That is not because there were no pregnant women before, but because now that she is pregnant she sees the world through different eyes. An escaped convict may see policemen everywhere ..."

"Mm, I see."

"Our own lives influence the way we perceive things in the room. If something is of no interest to me, I don't see it. So now I can perhaps explain why I was late to-day."

"It was on purpose, right?"

"Tell me first of all what you saw when you came in here."

"The first thing I saw was that you weren't here."

"Isn't it strange that the first thing you noticed was something that was absent?"

"Maybe, but it was you I was supposed to meet."

"Sartre uses just such a cafe visit to demonstrate the way we 'annihilate' whatever is irrelevant for us."

"You got here late just to demonstrate that?"

"To enable you to understand this central point in Sartre's philosophy, yes. Call it an exercise."

"Get out of here!"

"If you were in love, and were waiting for your loved one to call you, you might 'hear' him not calling you all evening. You arrange to meet him at the train; crowds of people are milling about on the platform and you can't see him anywhere. They are all in the way, they are unimportant to you. You might find them aggravating, un-pleasant even. They are taking up far too much room. The only thing you register is that he is not there."

"How sad."

"Simone de Beauvoir attempted to apply existentialism to feminism. Sartre had already said that man has no basic 'nature' to fall back on. We create ourselves."

"Really?"

"This is also true of the way we perceive the sexes. Simone de Beauvoir denied the existence of a basic 'female nature' or 'male nature.' For instance, it has been generally claimed that man has a 'transcending,' or achieving, nature. He will therefore seek meaning and direction outside the home. Woman has been said to have the opposite life philosophy. She is 'immanent,' which means she wishes to be where she is. She will therefore nurture her family, care for the environment and more homely things. Nowadays we might say that women are more concerned with 'feminine values' than men."

"Did she really believe that?"

"You weren't listening to me. Simone de Beauvoir in fact did not believe in the existence of any such 'female nature' or 'male nature.' On the contrary, she believed that women and men must liberate themselves from such ingrown prejudices or ideals."

"I agree."

"Her main work, published in 1949, was called The Second Sex."

"What did she mean by that?"

"She was talking about women. In our culture women are treated as the second sex. Men behave as if they are the subjects, treating women like their objects, thus depriving them of the responsibility for their own life."

"She meant we women are exactly as free and independent as we choose to be?"

"Yes, you could put it like that. Existentialism also had a great influence on literature, from the forties to the present day, especially on drama. Sartre himself wrote plays as well as novels. Other important writers were the Frenchman Albert Camus, the Irishman Samuel Beckett, Eugene lonesco, who was from Romania, and Witold Gombro-wicz from Poland. Their characteristic style, and that of many other modern writers, was what we call absurdism. The term is especially used about the 'theater of the absurd.' "

"Ah."

"Do you know what we mean by the 'absurd'?"

"Isn't it something that is meaningless or irrational?"

"Precisely. The theater of the absurd represented a contrast to realistic theater. Its aim was to show the lack of meaning in life in order to get the audience to disagree. The idea was not to cultivate the meaningless. On the contrary. But by showing and exposing the absurd in ordinary everyday situations, the onlookers are forced to seek a truer and more essential life for themselves."

"It sounds interesting."

"The theater of the absurd often portrays situations that are absolutely trivial. It can therefore also be called a kind of 'hyperrealism.' People are portrayed precisely as they are. But if you reproduce on stage exactly what goes on in the bathroom on a perfectly ordinary morning in a perfectly ordinary home, the audience would laugh. Their laughter could be interpreted as a defense mechanism against seeing themselves lampooned on stage."

"Yes, exactly."

"The absurd theater can also have certain surrealistic features. Its characters often find themselves in highly unrealistic and dreamlike situations. When they accept this without surprise, the audience is compelled to react in surprise at the characters' lack of surprise. This was how Charlie Chaplin worked in his silent movies. The comic effect in these silent movies was often Chaplin's laconic acceptance of all the absurd things that happen to him. That compelled the audience to look into themselves for something more genuine and true."

"It's certainly surprising to see what people put up with without protesting."

"At times it can be right to feel: This is something I must get away from--even though I don't have any idea where to go."

"If the house catches fire you just have to get out, even if you don't have any other place to live."

"That's true. Would you like another cup of tea? Or a Coke maybe?"

"Okay. But I still think you were silly to be late."

"I can live with that."

Alberto came back with a cup of espresso and a Coke. Meanwhile Sophie had begun to like the cafe ambience. She was also beginning to think that the conversations at the other tables might not be as trivial as she had supposed them to be.

Alberto banged the Coke bottle down on the table with a thud. Several people at the other tables looked up.

"And that brings us to the end of the road," he said.

"You mean the history of philosophy stops with Sartre and existentialism?"

"No, that would be an exaggeration. Existentialist philosophy has had radical significance for many people all over the world. As we saw, its roots reach far back in history through Kierkegaard and way back to Socrates. The twentieth century has also witnessed a blossoming and a renewal of the other philosophical currents we have discussed."

"Like what?"

"Well, one such current is Neo-Thomism, that is to say ideas which belong to the tradition of Thomas Aquinas. Another is the so-called analytical philosophy or logical empiricism, with roots reaching back to Hume and British empiricism, and even to the logic of Aristotle. Apart from these, the twentieth century has naturally also been influenced by what we might call Neo-Marxism in a myriad of various trends. We have already talked about Neo-Darwinism and the significance of psychoanalysis."

"Yes."

"We should just mention a final current, materialism, which also has historical roots. A lot of current science can be traced back to the efforts of the pre-Socratics. For example, the search for the indivisible 'elemental particle' of which all matter is composed. No one has yet been able to give a satisfactory explanation of what 'matter' is. Modern sciences such as nuclear physics and biochemistry are so fascinated by the problem that for many people it constitutes a vital part of their life's philosophy."

"The new and the old all jumbled together . . ."

"Yes. Because the very questions we started our course with are still unanswered. Sartre made an important observation when he said that existential questions cannot be answered once and for all. A philosophical question is by definition something that each generation, each individual even, must ask over and over again."

"A bleak thought."

"I'm not sure I agree. Surely it is by asking such questions that we know we are alive. And moreover, it has always been the case that while people were seeking answers to the ultimate questions, they have discovered clear and final solutions to many other problems. Science, research, and technology are all by-products of our philosophical reflection. Was it not our wonder about life that finally brought men to the moon?"

"Yes, that's true."

"When Neil Armstrong set foot on the moon, he said 'One small step for man, one giant leap for mankind.' With these words he summed up how it felt to be the first man to set foot on the moon, drawing with him all the people who had lived before him. It was not his merit alone, obviously.

"In our own time we also have completely new problems to face. The most serious are those of the environment. A central philosophical direction in the twentieth century is therefore ecophilosophy or ecosophy, as one of its founders the Norwegian philosopher Arne Naess has called if. Many ecophilosophers in the western world have warned that western civilization as a whole is on a fundamentally wrong track, racing toward a head-on collision with the limits of what our planet can tolerate. They have tried to take soundings that go deeper than the concrete effects of pollution and environmental destruction. There is something basically wrong with western thought, they claim."

"I think they are right."

"For example, ecophilosophy has questioned the very idea of evolution in its assumption that man is 'at the top'--as if we are masters of nature. This way of thinking could prove to be fatal for the whole living planet."

"It makes me mad when I think about it."

"In criticizing this assumption, many ecophilosophers have looked to the thinking and ideas in other cultures such as those of India. They have also studied the thoughts and customs of so-called primitive peoples--or 'native-peoples' such as the Native Americans--in order to rediscover what we have lost.

"In scientific circles in recent years it has been said that our whole mode of scientific thought is facing a 'paradigm shift.' That is to say, a fundamental shift in the way scientists think. This has already borne fruit in several fields. We have witnessed numerous examples of so-called 'alternative movements' advocating holism and a new lifestyle."

"Great."

"However, when there are many people involved, one must always distinguish between good and bad. Some proclaim that we are entering a new age. But everything new is not necessarily good, and not all the old should be thrown out. That is one of the reasons why I have given you this course in philosophy. Now you have the historical background, you can orient yourself in life."

"Thank you."

"I think you will find that much of what marches under the New Age banner is humbug. Even the so-called New Religion, New Occultism, and modern superstitions of all kinds have influenced the western world in recent decades. It has become an industry. Alternative offers on the philosophical market have mushroomed in the wake of the dwindling support for Christianity."

"What sort of offers?"

"The list is so long I wouldn't dare to begin. And anyway it's not easy to describe one's own age. But why don't we take a stroll through town? There's something I'd like you to see."

"I haven't got much time. I hope you haven't forgotten the garden party tomorrow?"

"Of course not. That's when something wonderful is going to happen. We just have to round off Hilde's philosophy course first. The major hasn't thought beyond that, you see. So he loses some of his mastery over us."

Once again he lifted the Coke bottle, which was now empty, and banged it down on the table.

They walked out into the street where people were hurrying by like energetic moles in a molehill. Sophie wondered what Alberto wanted to show her.

They walked past a big store that sold everything in communication technology, from televisions, VCRs, and satellite dishes to mobile phones, computers, and fax machines.

Alberto pointed to the window display and said:

"There you have the twentieth century, Sophie. In the Renaissance the world began to explode, so to speak. Beginning with the great voyages of discovery, Europeans started to travel all over the world. Today it's the opposite. We could call it an explosion in reverse."

"In what sense?"

"In the sense that the world is becoming drawn together into one great communications network. Not so long ago philosophers had to travel for days by horse and carriage in order to investigate the world around them and meet other philosophers. Today we can sit anywhere at all on this planet and access the whole of human experience on a computer screen."

"It's a fantastic thought. And a little scary."

"The question is whether history is coming to an end-- or whether on the contrary we are on the threshold of a completely new age. We are no longer simply citizens of a city--or of a particular country. We live in a planetary civilization."

"That's true."

"Technological developments, especially in the field of communications, have possibly been more dramatic in the last thirty to forty years than in the whole of history put together. And still we have probably only witnessed the beginning . . ."

"Was this what you wanted me to see?"

"No, it's on the other side of the church over there."

As they were turning to leave, a picture of some UN soldiers flashed onto a TV screen.

"Look!" said Sophie.

The camera zoomed in on one of the UN soldiers. He had a black beard almost identical to Alberto's. Suddenly he held up a piece of card on which was written: "Back soon, Hilde!" He waved and was gone.

"Charlatan!" exclaimed Alberto.

"Was that the major?"

"I'm not even going to answer that."

They walked across the park in front of the church and came out onto another main street. Alberto seemed slightly irritable. They stopped in front of LIBRIS, the biggest bookstore in town.

"Let's go in," said Alberto.

Inside the -store he pointed to the longest wall. It had three sections: NEW AGE, ALTERNATIVE LIFESTYLES, and MYSTICISM.

The books had intriguing titles such as Life after Death?, The Secrets of Spiritism, Tarot, The UFO Phenomenon, Healing, The Return of the Gods, You Have Been Here Before, and What Is Astrology? There were hundreds of books. Under the shelves even more books were stacked up.

"This is also the twentieth century, Sophie. This is the temple of our age."

"You don't believe in any of this stuff?"

"Much of it is humbug. But it sells as well as pornography. A lot of it is a kind of pornography. Young people can come here and purchase the ideas that fascinate them most. But the difference between real philosophy and these books is more or less the same as the difference between real love and pornography."

"Aren't you being rather crass?"

"Let's go and sit in the park."

They marched out of the store and found a vacant bench in front of the church. Pigeons were strutting around under the trees, the odd overeager sparrow hopping about amongst them.

"It's called ESP or parapsychology," said Alberto. "Or it's called telepathy, clairvoyance, and psychokinetics. It's called spiritism, astrology, and urology."

"But quite honestly, do you really think it's all hum-bug?"

"Obviously it would not be very appropriate for a real philosopher to say they are all equally bad. But I don't mind saying that all these subjects together possibly chart a fairly detailed map of a landscape that does not exist. And there are many 'figments of the imagination' here that Hume would have committed to the flames. Many of those books do not contain so much as one iota of genuine experience."

"Why are there such incredible numbers of books on such subjects?"

"Publishing such books is a big commercial enterprise. It's what most people want."

"Why, do you think?"

"They obviously desire something mystical, something different to break the dreary monotony of everyday life. But it is like carrying coals to Newcastle."

"How do you mean?"

"Here we are, wandering around in a wonderful adventure. A work of creation is emerging in front of our very eyes. In broad daylight, Sophie! Isn't it marvelous!"

"I guess so."

"Why should we enter the fortune-teller's tent or the backyards of academe in search of something exciting or transcendental?"

"Are you saying that the people who write these books are just phonies and liars?"

"No, that's not what I'm saying. But here, too, we are talking about a Darwinian system."

"You'll have to explain that."

"Think of all the different things that can happen in a single day. You can even take a day in your own life. Think of all the things you see and experience."

"Yes?"

"Now and then you experience a strange coincidence. You might go into a store and buy something for 28 crowns. Later on that day Joanna comes along and gives you the 28 crowns she owes you. You both decide to go to the movies--and you get seat number 28."

"Yes, that would be a mysterious coincidence."

"It would be a coincidence, anyway. The point is, people collect coincidences like these. They collect strange-- or inexplicable--experiences When such experiences-- taken from the lives of billions of people--are assembled into books, it begins to look like genuine data. And the amount of it increases all the time. But once again we are looking at a lottery in which only the winning numbers are visible."

"But there are clairvoyants and mediums, aren't there, who are constantly experiencing things like that?"

"Indeed there are, and if we exclude the phonies, we find another explanation for these so-called mysterious experiences."

"And that is?"

"You remember we talked about Freud's theory of the unconscious . . ."

"Of course."

"Freud showed that we can often serve as 'mediums' for our own unconscious. We might suddenly find ourselves thinking or doing something without really knowing why. The reason is that we have a whole lot of experiences, thoughts, and memories inside us that we are not aware of."

"So?"

"People sometimes talk or walk in their sleep. We could call this a sort of 'mental automatism.' Also under hypnosis, people can say and do things 'not of their own volition.' And remember the surrealists trying to produce so-called automatic writing. They were just trying to serve as mediums for their own unconscious."

"I remember."

"From time to time during this century there have been what are called 'spiritualist revivals,' the idea being that a medium could get into contact with a deceased person. Either by speaking in the voice of the deceased, or by using automatic writing, the medium would receive a message from someone who had lived five or fifty or many hundreds of years ago. This has been taken as evidence either that there is life after death or that we live many lives."

"Yes, I know."

"I'm not saying that all mediums have been fakes. Some have clearly been in good faith. They really have been mediums, but they have only been mediums for their own unconscious. There have been several cases of mediums being closely studied while in a trance, and revealing knowledge and abilities that neither they nor others understand how they can have acquired. In one case, a woman who had no knowledge of Hebrew passed on messages in that language. So she must have either lived before or been in contact with a deceased spirit."

"Which do you think?"

"It turned out that she had had a Jewish nanny when she was little."

"Ah."

"Does that disappoint you? It just shows what an incredible capacity some people have to store experience in their unconscious."

"I see what you mean."

"A lot of curious everyday happenings can be explained by Freud's theory of the unconscious. I might suddenly get a call from a friend I haven't heard from for many years just as I had begun to look for his telephone number "

"It gives me goose bumps."

"But the explanation could be that we both heard the same old song on the radio, a song we heard the last time we were together. The point is, we are not aware of the underlying connection."

"So it's either humbug, or the winning number effect, or else it's the unconscious. Right?"

"Well, in any case, it's healthier to approach such books with a decent portion of skepticism. Not least if one is a philosopher. There is an association in England for skeptics. Many years ago they offered a large reward to the first person who could provide even the slightest proof of something supernatural. It didn't need to be a great miracle, a tiny example of telepathy would do. So far, nobody has come forward "

"Hmm."

"On the other hand, there is a lot we humans don't understand. Maybe we don't understand the laws of nature either. During the last century there were a lot of peo-ple who thought that phenomena such as magnetism and electricity were a kind of magic. I'll bet my own great-grandmother would have been wide-eyed with amaze-ment if I told her about TV or computers."

"So you don't believe in anything supernatural then."

"We've already talked about that. Even the term 'supernatural' is a curious one. No, I suppose I believe that there is only one nature. But that, on the other hand, is absolutely astonishing."

"But the sort of mysterious things in those books you just showed me?"

"All true philosophers should keep their eyes open. Even if we have never seen a white crow, we should never stop looking for it. And one day, even a skeptic like me could be obliged to accept a phenomenon I did not believe in before. If I did not keep this possibility open I would be dogmatic, and not a true philosopher."

Alberto and Sophie remained seated on the bench without saying anything. The pigeons craned their necks and cooed, now and then being startled by a bicycle or a sudden movement.

"I have to go home and prepare for the party," said Sophie at last.

"But before we part, I'll show you a white crow. It is nearer than we think, you see."

Alberto got up and led the way back into the bookstore. This time they walked past all the books on supernatural phenomena and stopped by a flimsy shelf at the very back of the store. Above the shelf hung a very small card. PHILOSOPHY, it read.

Alberto pointed down at a particular book, and Sophie gasped as she read the title: Sophie's World.

"Would you like me to buy it for you?"

"I don't know if I dare."

Shortly afterward, however, she was on her way home with the book in one hand and a little bag of things for the garden party in the other.
27
 楼主| 发表于 2019-2-2 11:52:54 | 只看该作者
佛洛伊德

……他内心出现那股令人讨厌的自大的冲动……
席德夹着那本厚重的讲义夹从床上跳起来。她“砰”一声把它扔到书桌上,抓起衣服,冲进浴室,在莲蓬头下站了两分钟,然后就火速穿好衣服,跑到楼下。
“席德,早餐已经好了。”
“我得先去划船。”
“可是,席德……!”
她出了门,穿过花园,跑到小小的平台那儿。她把系船的绳索解开,跳进船里,在海湾里愤怒而快速地划着,直到她平静下来为止。
苏菲,我们就是这个活的星球。地球是航行在宇宙中燃烧的大阳四周的一艘大船。而我们每一个人则是满载基因航行过生命的一条小船。当我们安全地把船上的货品运到下一个港口时,我们就没有白活了……她记得这段话的每一个字。这是为她而写的,不是为了苏菲,而是为她。讲义夹里的每一个字都是爸爸为她而写的。
她把桨靠在桨架上,把它们收进来。这时船微微的在水面上摇晃,激起的涟漪轻轻拍击着船头。
她就像浮在黎乐桑海湾水面上的这条小船一样,也只不过是生命表面一个微不足道的东西。
但在这里面,苏菲和艾伯特又在哪里呢?是呀,他们会在哪里呢?她不太能够了解他们怎么可能只是她父亲脑子里的一些“电磁波”。她不能了解——当然也不愿接受——他们为何只是由一些白纸和她父亲的手提式打字机色带上的油墨所形成的东西。果真如此,那也可以说她自己只不过是一个由某一天在‘那一小摊热热的水’里突然有了生命的蛋白质复合物的集合体。可是她不止于是这样而已。她是席德。她不得不承认那个讲义夹是一份很棒的礼物,也不得不承认爸爸的确碰触到了她内心某种永恒事物的核心。
可是她不喜欢他对苏菲和艾伯特的强硬姿态。
她一定要给他一个教训,在他还没回到家之前。她觉得这是她应该为他们两人做的事。席德已经可以想象父亲在卡斯楚普机场的模样,他会像发疯似的跑来跑去。
席德现在又恢复正常了。她把船划回平台那儿,然后把它系紧。吃完早餐后她陪妈妈坐了很久,能够和别人聊聊诸如蛋是否有点太软这类平常的话题的感觉真好。
一直到那天晚上她才开始继续读下去。现在剩下已经没有几页了。
现在,又有人敲门了。
“我们把耳朵掩起来吧,”艾伯特说,“说不定敲门声就停了。”
“不,我想看看是谁。”
艾伯特跟着她走到门口。
门前的台阶上站着一个光着身子的男人。他的姿态一本正经,但除了头上戴着一顶王冠以外,全身上下什么也没穿。
“如何?”他说,“你们这些人觉得朕的新衣好看吗?”
艾伯特和苏菲都惊讶得目瞪口呆,这使得那个光着身子的男人有点着急。
“怎么回事?你们居然都不向我鞠躬!”他喊道。
艾伯特鼓起勇气向他说:“确实如此。可是陛下您什么都没穿呀!”
那男人仍旧是一本正经的模样。艾伯特弯下身子在苏菲的耳朵旁悄悄说:“他以为自己很体面。”
听到这话,那男人气得吹胡子瞪眼睛。
“这里难道没有什么言论管制吗?”
“很抱歉,”艾伯特说,“我们这里的人脑筋都很清醒,神智也很健全。国王陛下的穿着如此有失体面,恕我们无法让你进门。”
苏菲觉得这个光着身子的男人那副正经八百的神气模样实在荒谬,便忍不住笑了出来。她的笑声仿佛是一种事先安排好的信号一般,这时,那个头上戴着王冠的男人突然意识到自己一丝不挂,便赶紧用双手把他的重要部位遮起来,大步跑向离他最近的树丛,然后就消失无踪了,也许已经加入亚当、夏娃、诺亚、小红帽和波波熊的行列。
艾伯特和苏菲仍然站在台阶上,笑弯了腰。
最后艾伯特说:“我们还是进屋里,坐在刚才的位子上好了。我要和你谈佛洛伊德和他的潜意识理论。”
他们在窗户旁坐下来。苏菲看了看她的腕表说:“已经两点半了。在举行花园宴会前我还有很多事要做呢。”
“我也是。我们再大略谈一下佛洛伊德(SigmundFreud)就好了。”
“他是一个哲学家吗?”
佛洛伊德“至少我们可以说他是一个文化哲学家。佛洛伊德出生于一八五六年,在维也纳大学攻读医学。他一生中大部分时间都住在维也纳,当时那里的文化气息非常浓厚。他很早就决定专攻神经学。在十九世纪末、二十世纪初,他发展了所谓的‘深度心理学’,或称‘精神分析’。”
“请你说明这些名词好吗?”
“精神分析是描述一般人的内心,并治疗神经和心理失调现象的一门学问。我不想细谈佛洛伊德本人或他的著作,不过他的潜意识理论可以使我们了解人是什么。”
“你把我的兴趣勾起来了。说下去。”
“佛洛伊德主张人和他的环境之间不断有一种紧张关系存在。
这种紧张关系(也就是冲突)尤其存在于他的驱策力、需要和社会的要求之间。我们可以说佛洛伊德发现了人类的驱策力。这使得他成为十九世纪末明显的自然主义潮流中一个很重要的代表性人物。”
“所谓人类的驱策力是什么意思?”
“我们的行动并不一定是根据理性的。人其实并不像十八世纪的理性主义者所想的那么理性。非理性的冲动经常左右我们的思想、梦境和行动。这种不理性的冲动可能是反映我们的基本需求。
例如,人类的性冲动就像婴儿吸奶的本能一样是一种基本的驱策力。”
“然后呢?”
“这并不是什么新发现,但佛洛伊德指出这些基本需求可能会被‘伪装’或‘升华’,并在我们无从察觉的情况下主宰我们的行动。
他并且指出,婴儿也会有某种性反应。但维也纳那些高尚的中产阶级人士极为排斥这个‘婴儿性反应’的说法,佛洛伊德也因此成为一个很不受欢迎的人。”
“我一点也不惊讶。”
“我们称这种反应为‘维多利亚心态’,就是把每一件与性有关的事视为禁忌的一种态度。佛洛伊德在从事心理治疗时发现婴儿也会有性反应,因此他的说法是有实验根据的。他也发现有许多形式的精神失调或心理失调可以追溯到童年时期的冲突。后来他逐渐发展出一种我们称之为‘灵魂溯源学’的治疗方式。”
“什么叫灵魂溯源学?”
“考古学家借着挖掘古老的历史文物以找寻远古时代的遗迹。
首先他可能会找到一把十八世纪的刀子。再往地下更深处挖掘时,他可能会发现一把十四世纪的梳子,再向下挖时,可能又会找到一个第五世纪的瓮。”
“然后呢?”
“同样的,精神分析学家在病人的配合下,可以在病人的心灵深处挖掘,并找出那些造成病人心理失调的经验。因为根据佛洛伊德的说法,我们都会把所有经验的记忆储藏在内心深处。”
“喔,我懂了。”
“精神分析医师也许可以追溯病人以往的一个不幸经验。这个经验虽然被病人压抑多年,但仍然埋藏在他的内心,咬啮着他的身心。医师可以使病人再度意识到这个‘伤痛经验’,让他或她可以‘解决它’,心病自然就可以痊愈。”
“听起来很有道理。”
“可是我讲得大快了。我们还是先看看佛洛伊德如何形容人的心灵吧。你有没有看过刚出生的婴儿?”
“我有一个呀岁大的表弟。”“当我们刚来到这世界时,我们会用一种直接而毫不感到羞耻的方式来满足我们身体与心灵的需求。如果我们没有奶喝或尿布湿了,我们就会大哭。我们也会直接表达我们对身体上的接触或温暖拥抱的需求。佛洛伊德称我们这种‘快乐原则’为‘本我’。我们在还是婴儿时,几乎就只有一个‘本我’。”
“然后呢?”
“我们带着我们内心的这个‘本我’或‘快乐原则’长大成人,度过一生。但逐渐地我们学会如何调整自己的需求以适应环境;我们学到如何调整这个‘快乐原则’以迁就‘现实原则’。用佛洛伊德的术语来说,我们发展出了一个具有这种调节功能的‘自我’。这时,即使我们想要或需要某个东西,我们也不能躺下来一直哭到我们得到那件东西为止。”
“当然哼。”
“我们可能会很想要某样外界无法接受的东西,因此我们会压抑我们的欲望。这表示我们努力要赶走这个欲望,并且将它忘记。”
“喔。”
“然而,佛洛伊德还提出人类心灵中的第三因素。从婴儿时期起,我们就不断面对我们的父母和社会的道德要求。当我们做错事时,我们的父母会说:‘不要那样!’或‘别调皮了,这样不好’!即使长大成人以后,我们在脑海中仍可以听到这类道德要求和价值判断的回声。似乎这世界的道德规范已经进入我们的内心,成为我们’的一部分。佛洛伊德称这部分为‘超我’。”
“是否就是良心呢?”
“良心是‘超我’的一部分。但佛洛伊德指出,当我们有一些‘坏的’或‘不恰当’的欲望,如色情或性的念头时,这个‘超我’会告诉我们。而就像我说过的,佛洛伊德宣称这些‘不恰当’的欲望已经在我们童年的初期就出现过了。”
“怎么会呢?”
“我们现在知道婴儿喜欢抚摸他们的性器官。我们在沙滩上经常可以看到这个现象。在佛洛伊德那个时代,两三岁的婴儿如果这样做,马上就会被父母打一下手,这时也许妈妈还会说:‘调皮!’或‘不要这样’!或‘把你的手放在床单上’!”
“多病态呀j”
“我们因此对每一件与性和性器官有关的事情有了一种罪恶感。由于这种罪恶感一直停留在超我之中,因此许多人——佛洛伊德甚至认为是大多数人——终其一生都对性有一种罪恶感。而根据佛洛伊德的说法,性的欲望和需求事实上是人类天性中很自然而且很重要的一部分。就这样,人的一生都充满了欲望与罪恶感之间的冲突。”
“你难道不认为自从佛洛伊德的时代以来,这种冲突已经减少了很多?”
潜意识“确实如此。但许多佛洛伊德的病人面临非常强烈的冲突,以至于得到了佛洛伊德所谓的‘精神官能症’。举例来说,他有一个女病人偷偷爱上她的姊夫,当她的姊姊因病而死时,她心想:‘他终于可以娶我了!’可是这种想法与她的超我有了正面冲突。于是她立刻压抑这种可怕的念头。换句话说,她将这个念头埋藏在她的潜意识深处。佛洛伊德写道:‘这个年轻的女孩于是生病了,并有严重的歇斯底里的症状。当我开始治疗她时,她似乎完全忘记了她姊姊临终的情景以及她心里出现过的那个可恨的自私欲望。但经过我的分析治疗后,她记起来了,并在一种非常激动不安的状态下将那个使她致病的时刻重新演练一次。经过这种治疗,后来她就痊愈了。’”
“现在我比较了解你为何说它是‘灵魂溯源学’了。”
“所以我们可以了解人类一般的心理状态。在有了多年治疗病人的经验后,佛洛伊德得出一个结论:人类的意识只是他的心灵中的一小部分而已。意识就像是露在海面上的冰山顶端,在海面下,也就是在人意识之外,还有‘潜意识’的存在。”
“这么说潜意识就是存在于我们的内心,但已经被我们遗忘,想不起来的事物哼?”
“我们并不一定能够意识到我们曾经有过的各种经验。但那些只要我们‘用心想’便可以记起来的想法或经验,佛洛伊德称之为‘潜意识’。他所说的‘潜意识’指的是那些被我们‘压抑’的经验或想法,也就是那些我们努力要忘掉的‘不愉快’、‘不恰当’或‘丑陋’的经验。如果我们有一些不为我们的意识(或超我)所容忍的欲望或冲动,我们便会将它们埋藏起来,去掉它们。”
“我懂了。”
“这样的作用在所有健康的人身上都会发生。但有些人因为过度努力要把这些不愉快或禁忌的想法从意识中排除,以至于罹患了心理方面的疾病。被我们压抑的想法或经验会试图重新进入我们的意识。对于某些人来说,要把这类冲动排除在敏锐的意识之外,需要费很大的力气。一九O九年佛洛伊德在美国发表有关精神分析的演讲时,举了一个例子说明这种压抑的机转是如何作用的。”
“我倒是很想听一听。”
“他提到:假设在这个演讲厅这么多安安静静、专心听讲的观众里面,有一个人很不安分。他毫无礼貌地大笑,又喋喋不休,并把脚动来动去,使我无法专心演讲。后来我只好宣布我讲不下去了。
这时,你们当中有三四个大汉站起来,在一阵扭打后,把那个搅局的人架了出去。于是这个搅局者就被‘压抑’了,我因此可以继续讲下去。可是为了避免那个被赶走的人再度进来捣乱,那几位执行我的意志的先生便把他们的椅子搬到门口并坐在那儿‘防御’,以继续压抑的动作。现在,如果你们将这个场景转移到心理,把这个大厅称为‘意识’,而把大厅外面称为‘潜意识’,那么你们就可以明白‘压抑’作用的过程了。”
“我同意。”
“可是这个捣乱者坚持要再进来。至少那些被我们压抑的想法和冲动是这样的。这些想法不断从我们的潜意识浮现,使我们经常处于一种压力之下。这是我们为什么常常会说一些本来不想说的话或做一些本来不想做的事的缘故。因为我们的感觉和行动会受到潜意识的鼓动。”
“你能不能单一个例子呢?”
“佛洛伊德指出这类机转有好几种。一个是他所谓的‘说溜了嘴’,也就是我们无意中说出或做出一些我们原本想要压抑的事情。佛洛伊德举了一个例子。有一个工厂的工头有一次在宴会中要向他的老板敬酒。问题是这个老板很不受人欢迎,简直就是人家所说的‘一只猪’。”
“然后呢。”
“这个工头站起来,举起他的酒杯说:让我们来敬这只猪吧!”
“真是不可思议。”
“这个工头也吓呆了。其实他说的只是他内心的真话,但他原本没打算把它说出来的。你想不想听听另外一个例子?”
“请讲。”
“一位主教应邀到当地牧师家里喝茶。这位牧师有好几个乖巧有礼貌的女儿,年纪都很小。而这位主教刚好有一个超乎寻常的大鼻子。于是牧师就事先告诫他的女儿无论如何不能提到主教的鼻子,因为孩童的压抑机转还没有发展出来,因此往往会脱口而出,说一些不该说的话。后来,主教到了,这些可爱的小女孩极力克制自己不要提到他的鼻子。她们甚至不敢看它,想要忘掉它的存在。
可是她们从头到尾都想着那个鼻子。后来主教请其中一个女孩把糖递过去,于是她看着这位可敬的主教,并说:你的鼻子里放糖吗?”
“真是太糟糕了!”
“另外一件我们可能会做的事就是‘合理化’。意思就是说,我们自己不愿意承认,也不愿意告诉别人我们做某一件事的真正动机,因为这个动机是让人无法接受的。”
“譬如说什么?”
“我可以为你催眠,叫你去把窗户打开。当你被我催眠时,我告诉你当我用手指敲桌子时,你就要起来把窗户打开。接着,我开始敲打桌面,你也就跑去开窗子。事后,我问你为何要开窗户,你也许会说因为房间里大热了。可是这并不是真正的理由,只是你不愿意承认自己是因为受到了我催眠时的指令而去做那件事。这就是所谓的‘合理化’。”
“嗯,我明白了。”
“我们几乎每天都有这种‘两面式沟通’的经验。”
“我那个四岁的表弟可能没有什么人陪他玩,所以每次我去,他总是很高兴。有一天我告诉他我得赶快回家去找我妈。你知道他说什么吗?”
“他说什么?”
“他说,她是笨蛋。”
“嗯,这确实是一个合理化的例子。你的表弟所说的话并不是他真正的意思。他真正想说的是要你不要走,可是他太害羞了,不敢这样说。除了‘说溜嘴’和‘合理化’之外,还有一种现象叫做‘投射,。”
“这是什么意思。”
“就是把我们内心试图压抑的特点转移到别人身上。譬如说一个很吝啬的人会说别人斤斤计较,而一个不愿承认自己满脑子想着性的人可能愈容易对别人成天想着性的样子感到愤怒。”
“嗯。”
“佛洛伊德宣称,我们每天的生活里面都充满了这类潜意识的机转。我们时常会忘记某个人的名字,在说话时摸弄自己的衣服,或移动房间里随意放置的物品。我们也时常结结巴巴或看似无辜地说错话,写错字。但佛洛伊德指出,这些举动事实上并不像我们所想的那样是意外的或无心的。这些错误事实上可能正泄漏我们内心最深处的秘密。”
“从现在起,我可要很小心地注意自己说的话。”
“就算你真的这样做,你也无法逃避你潜意识的冲动。我们应该做的其实是不要太过努力把不愉快的记忆埋藏在潜意识中。因为那就像是试图把水鼠巢穴的入口堵住一样。水鼠一定会从其他的洞口进入花园。因此,让意识与潜意识之间的门半遮半掩事实上是一件很健康的事。”
“如果你把门锁住了,可能就会得精神病,是不是这样?”
“没错。精神病患就是一种大努力把‘不愉快’的记忆排除在意识之外的人。这种人往往拚命要压抑某种经验。不过他也可能很希望医生能够帮助他回到那些伤痛的记忆。”
“那医生会怎么做呢?”
“佛洛伊德发展出一个他称为‘自由联想’的技巧。他让病人用一种很放松的姿势躺着,并说出他脑海里想到的任何事情,无论这些事情听起来有多么不相干、漫无目的、不愉快或令人难为情。他的用意是要突破病人在伤痛记忆上所加的管制,因为这些伤痛记忆正是让病人焦虑的因素。它们一直都活跃在病人的心中,只不过不在意识当中罢了。”
“是不是你愈努力去忘掉一件事情,你在潜意识里就愈容易想起这件事?”
解梦“正是如此。所以我们必须能察觉潜意识所发出的信号。根据佛洛伊德的说法,洞悉我们的潜意识的最佳途径就是透过我们的梦境。他的主要作品所讨论的就是这个题目,书名叫《梦的解析》,出版于一九OO年。他在书中指出,我们做的梦并不是偶然的。我们的潜意识试图透过梦和我们的意识沟通。”
“真的呀?”
“在治疗病患多年,并且多次分析他自己的梦境之后,佛洛伊德断言所有的梦都反映我们本身的愿望。他说,这在孩童身上非常明显。他们会梦见冰淇淋和樱桃。可是在大人身上,这些想要在梦中实现的愿望都会经过伪装。这是因为即使在睡梦中,我们仍然会管制自己的想法。虽然这种管制(就是压抑的机转)在我们睡着时会减弱很多,但仍然足以使我们不愿承认的愿望在梦中受到扭曲。”
“所以梦才有必要加以解析。”
“佛洛伊德指出,我们必须了解我们梦中的情节并不代表梦的真正意义。他把实际的梦境——也就是我们所梦见的‘影片’或‘录影带’——称为‘显梦’(manifestdream)。梦中的情景总是与前一天发生的事有关。但这个梦也有一个更深层的意义是我们的意识无法察觉的。佛洛伊德称之为潜梦意念。这些真正表现于梦境的隐藏意念可能来自很久很久以前,也许是从童年最早的时期。”
“所以我们要先分析梦,才能了解梦。”
“没错。若是精神病患,则必须和治疗师一起做这件工作。不过,医师并不负责解析病患的梦,他只能在病人的配合之下做这件事。在这种情况下,医师扮演的角色正像苏格拉底所说的‘助产士’一般,协助病人解析自己的梦。”
“我明白了。”
“把潜梦意念转换成显梦的面向的工作,佛洛伊德称之为‘梦的运作’(dreamwork)。我们可以说显梦‘遮掩’或‘密隐’了做梦人真正的意念。在解释梦境时,我们必须经由相反的程序来‘揭开’或‘解密’梦的‘主题’,以便找出它的要旨。”
“你可以举个例子吗?”
“佛洛伊德在书中举了许多例子。不过我们可以自己单一个简单的、非常佛洛伊德式的例子。假设有一个年轻人梦见他的表妹给他两个气球……”
“然后呢?”
“该你啦,你试试看能不能解这个梦。”
“唔……就像你说的,这里的显梦是:一个年轻人的表妹给他两个气球。”
“然后呢?”
“你说梦中的情境总是与前一天所发生的事有关。因此他前一天可能去参加了一个展览会,或者他可能在报纸上看了一张有关气球的照片。”
“有可能是这样,不过他也可能只是看了‘气球’这个字,或一件使他想起气球的事物。”
“可是这个梦的‘潜梦意念’到底是什么?”
“你是解梦人呀]”
“也许他只是想要两三个气球。”
“不,不是这样。当然在梦中人往往可以实现自己的愿望,这点你说对了。可是一个年轻人很少会热切的想要几个气球。就算他想要,他也不需要靠做梦的方式。”
“我想我懂了:他真正想要的是他的表妹,而那两个气球就是她的胸部。”
“对了,这样的解释比较有可能。而且这一定是在他对自己的愿望觉得很难为情的情况下才会做这种梦。”
“所以说我们的梦经常是迂回曲折的?”
“对。佛洛伊德相信梦境乃是‘以伪装的方式满足人被压抑的愿望’。不过佛洛伊德只是当年维也纳的一个医生,因此到了现在我们实际压抑的事情可能已经改变了很多。不过他所说的梦中情节会经过伪装的机转可能仍然成立。”
“嗯,我懂了。”
“佛洛伊德的精神分析在一九二O年极为重要,尤其是在精神病患的治疗方面。他的潜意识理论对于艺术与文学也有很大的影响。”
“艺术家是不是开始对人们潜意识的精神生活有兴趣了?”
“没错,虽然在十九世纪最后十年,佛洛伊德还没有发表他的精神分析理论时,所谓的意识流就已经成为主要的文学潮流。这显示佛洛伊德在一八九O午开始使用精神分析方法并不是偶然的。”
“你的意思是那是当时的时代风气吗?”
“佛洛伊德本人并未宣称‘压抑’、‘防卫机转’和‘合理化’这些现象是他‘发明’的。他只是第一个把人类的这些经验应用在精神病学上的人罢了。他也是一个擅用文学的例子来说明他的理论的大师。不过我说过了,从一九二O年开始,佛洛伊德的精神分析对艺术和文学产生了更直接的影响。”
“怎么说呢?”
“诗人与画家,尤其是那些超现实主义者,开始试图将潜意识的力量用在他们的作品中。”
“什么是超现实主义者?”
“超现实主义这个名词是从法文而来,意思是‘超越现实’。一九二四年时,布烈顿(AndreBreton)发表了一篇《超现实主义者宣言》,主张艺术应该来自潜意识,艺术家应该从他的梦境中自由撷取灵感,并努力迈向‘超越现实’的境界,以跨越梦与现实之间的界限。同时艺术家也有必要挣脱意识的管制,尽情挥洒文字和意象。”
“嗯。”
“就某方面来说,佛洛伊德已经告诉我们其实每一个人都是艺术家。毕竟,梦也可以算是艺术作品,而每天晚上我们都会做新的梦。为了要解释病人的梦,佛洛伊德经常必须解释许多象征符号的意义,就像我们诠释一幅画或一篇文学作品一样。”
“我们每天晚上都会做梦吗?”
“最近的研究显示,我们睡着后,有百分之二十的时间都在做梦,也就是说每晚做梦两到三个小时。如果我们在睡眠的各个阶段受到打扰,我们就会变得烦躁易怒。这正表示每一个人内心都需要以艺术的形式来表达他或她存在的情况。毕竟我们的梦是与自己有关的。我们既是导演,也是编剧和演员。一个说他不了解艺术的人显然并不十分了解自己。”
“我懂了。”
“佛洛伊德并且提出了令人印象深刻的证据,说明人心的奥妙。他治疗病人的经验使他相信,我们将我们所见、所经验的一切事物都贮存在我们意识深处的某个地方,而这些印象可能会再度浮现。有时我们会突然‘脑中一片空白’,然后过了一会,‘差点就想起来了’,然后再度‘猛然想起’。这就是原本存在于潜意识的东西突然经由那扇半开半掩的门溜进我们意识的例子。”
“可是有时需要花好久的时间。”
灵感“所有的艺术家都有这种经验。可是后来突然间好像所有的门、所有的抽屉都打开了,每个东西都自己滚了出来,这时我们就可以发现所有我们原本苦思不得的字句和意象。这就是潜意识的‘盖子’被揭开了。我们也可以称之为灵感。感觉上好像我们所画的、所写的东西是来自于某种外在的泉源似的。”
“这种感觉一定很美妙。”
“可是你一定也有过这样的经验。这种现象经常出现于那些过度疲累的儿童身上。他们有时玩得太累了,因此在睡觉时似平是完全清醒的。突然间他们开始说故事,而且所说的话仿佛是他们还没有学过的。事实上,他们已经学过了。只是这些字眼和意念‘潜藏’在他们的潜意识中,而当所有的防备和管制都放松时,它们就浮现出来了。对于艺术家而言,不要让理性或思维压制潜意识的表达是很重要的。有一个小故事可以说明这点,你要不要听?”
“当然要啦。”
“这是一个非常严肃、非常哀伤的故事。”
“说吧。”
“从前有一只蜈蚣,可以用它那一百只脚跳出非常美妙的舞蹈。每次它跳舞,森林中所有的动物都会跑来观赏。大家对它那美妙的舞姿都印象深刻。可是有一只动物并不喜欢看蜈蚣跳舞,那就是乌龟。”
“它大概是嫉妒吧。”
“乌龟心想,我要怎样才能阻止蜈蚣跳舞呢?它不能明说它不喜欢看蜈蚣跳舞,也不能说自己跳得比较好,因为那是不可能的。
因此它想了一个很恶毒的计划。”
“什么计划?”
“它坐下来写了一封信给蜈蚣,说:‘喔,伟大的蜈蚣呀,我对你精湛的舞艺真是佩服极了。我很想知道你是怎么跳的。你是不是先举起你的第二十八号左脚再举起你的第三十号右脚?还是你先举起你的第十七号右脚,再举起你的第四十四号右脚?我热切地期待你的回信。崇拜你的乌龟敬上。,”
“真是鬼话!”
“蜈蚣读了信以后,马上开始思索自己是怎么跳的。它到底先举起哪一只脚?然后又举起哪一只脚?你猜后来发生了什么事?”
“蜈蚣从此不再跳舞了?”
“正是如此。这就是理性的思考扼杀想象力的例子。”
“这真是一个悲哀的故事。”
“所以一个艺术家一定要能够‘放得开’。超现实主义者就利用这点,而让事情自己发生。他们在自己的前面放了一张白纸,然后开始不假思索地写下一些东西。他们称之为‘自动写作’。这个名词源自招魂术,因为实施招魂术的灵媒相信已逝者的灵魂会指引她手上的笔。不过这些事情我们还是等到明天再说好了。”
“好吧。”
“从某个角度来说,超现实主义者也是一个灵媒,也就是说他是一个媒介。我们可以说他是他自己的潜意识的灵媒。事实上也许每一种创作都带有潜意识的成分。因为,我们所谓的创作究竟是什么意思?”
“我不知道。创作不就是你创造出某个东西吗?”
“差不多。创作的过程就是想象与理性的细密交织的时刻,只是人的理性常常阻塞了想象力。这可不是一件小事,因为如果没有想象力,我们就永远不可能创造出什么新的事物。我认为想象力就像是一个达尔文的系统。”
“很抱歉,我实在不懂你的意思。”
“达尔文主义主张,大自然的突变物相继出现,但其中只有一些能用。只有一些能够活下去。”
“然后呢?”
“我们透过灵感所得到的许许多多新想法也是一样。如果我们不过分管制自己,这些‘思想的突变物’就会在我们的意识中接二连三地发生。但其中只有一些想法是可行的。这时,理智就派上用场了。因为它有一个重要的功能。打个比方,当我们把一天的收获摊在桌上时,我们必须加以挑选。”
“这个比喻挺不赖的。”
“你可以想象如果我们任由自己说出或写出那些我们所想到(进入我们的脑波)的事,情况会变得怎么样呢?这世界会因为这许多偶然的冲动而毁灭,因为所有的想法都没有经过拣选。”
“那么我们是靠理智来加以拣选啰?”
“对。你不认为是这样吗?想象力也许可以创造新的事物,但却不能加以拣选。想象力是不会‘创作’的。一个创作(每一个艺术作品都是创作)乃是想象力和理智或心灵与思想)之间互相奇妙作用的结果。因为,创造的过程总是会有一些偶然的成分。你必须要先‘放羊’,然后才能‘牧羊’。”
艾伯特静静地坐在那儿,凝视着窗外。这时苏菲看到湖边有一群人正在互相推挤。那是迪斯尼乐园里各种五颜六色的卡通人物。
“那是高飞狗,”她大喊,“还有唐老鸭和它的侄子们……嘿,艾伯特,你有没有在听我说话呀?还有米老鼠……”
艾伯特转向她:“是的,孩子,这是很可悲的。”
“你是什么意思?”
“我们已经变成少校的羊群中两个无助的受害者。当然,这是我自己的错。是我自己开始谈论自由联想的概念的。”
“你一点都不需要责怪自己呀……”
“我刚才正要说想象力对于我们哲学家的重要性。为了产生新的思想,我们必须大胆地放开自己。可是现在,情况已经有点过火了。”
“别担心。”
“我刚才也正要提到思维的重要性,但他却在这里玩这些愚蠢之至的把戏。他真应该觉得惭愧。”
“你又在反讽了吗?”
“反讽的是他,不是我。可是有一点使我感到安慰,而这一点正是我的计划的基础。”
“你真的把我弄糊涂了。”
“我们已经谈过了梦,梦也有一些反讽的意味。因为,我们除了是少校的梦里的意象之外,什么也不是了呀。”
“啊!”
“可是有一件事是他没有想到的。”
“什么事?”
“也许他已经很难为情地意识到了自己的梦。他知道我们所说、所做的每一件事,就像做梦的人记得梦里的情节一样,因为舞动笔杆的人是他。但就算他记得我们之间所说的每一句话,他也不是完全清醒的。”
“这话怎么说呢?”
“他并不知道他的潜梦意念,他忘记了这也是一个经过伪装的梦。”
“你说的话好奇怪呀。”
“少校也是这么想,这是因为他不明白自己梦的语言。我们应该感到庆幸,因为这样我们才能有一些发挥的空间。有了这样的空间以后,我们不久就能够冲出他那混乱的意识,就像水鼠在夏日的阳光下欢快地跳跃一样。”
“你认为我们会成功吗?”
“我们非这样做不可。过两三天会让你大开眼界。到时候少校就不会知道那些水鼠在哪里,或者他们下次什么时候会冒出来了。”
“可是就算我们只是梦中的人物,我还是我妈的女儿。现在已经五点了,我得回家去筹备花园宴会了。”
“嗯……你在回家的路上可不可以帮我一个小忙?”
“什么忙?”
“请你试着吸引别人的注意力,让少校的眼睛一路盯着你回家。当你到家时,请你努力想着他,这样他也会想着你。”
“这有什么好处呢?”
“这样我就可以不受干扰地进行我的秘密计划。我要潜进少校的潜意识,一直到下次我们再见面以前,我都会在那儿。”
26
 楼主| 发表于 2019-2-2 11:52:12 | 只看该作者
Freud

... the odious egoistic impulse that had emerged in her...

Hilde Moller Knag jumped out of bed with the bulky ring binder in her arms. She plonked it down on her writing desk, grabbed her clothes, and dashed into the bathroom. She stood under the shower for two minutes, dressed herself quickly, and ran downstairs.

"Breakfast is ready, Hilde!"

"I just have to go and row first."

"But Hilde... !"

She ran out of the house, down the garden, and out onto the little dock. She untied the boat and jumped down into it. She rowed around the bay with short angry strokes until she had calmed down.

"We are the living planet, Sophie! We are the great vessel sailing around a burning sun in the universe. But each and every of us is also a ship sailing through life with a cargo of genes. When we have carried this cargo safely to the next harbor--we have not lived in vain..."

She knew the passage by heart. It had been written for her. Not for Sophie, for her. Every word in the ring binder was written by Dad to Hilde.

She rested the oars in the oarlocks and drew them in. The boat rocked gently on the water, the ripples slapping softly against the prow.

And like the little rowboat floating on the surface in the bay at Lillesand, she herself was just a nutshell on the surface of life.

Where were Sophie and Alberto in this picture? Yes, where were Alberto and Sophie?

She could not fathom that they were no more than "electromagnetic impulses" in her father's brain. She could not fathom, and certainly not accept, that they were only paper and printer's ink from a ribbon in her father's portable typewriter. One might just as well say that she herself was nothing but a conglomeration of protein compounds that had suddenly come to life one day in a "hot little pool." But she was more than that. She was Hilde Moller Knag.

She had to admit that the ring binder was a fantastic present, and that her father had touched the core of something eternal in her. But she didn't care for the way he was dealing with Sophie and Alberto.

She would certainly teach him a lesson, even before he got home. She felt she owed it to the two of them. Hilde could already imagine her father at Kastrup Airport, in Copenhagen. She could just see him running around like mad.

Hilde was now quite herself again. She rowed the boat back to the dock, where she was careful to make it fast. After breakfast she sat at the table for a long time with her mother. It felt good to be able to talk about something as ordinary as whether the egg was a trifle too soft.

She did not start to read again until the evening. There were not many pages left now.

Once again there was a knocking on the door.

"Let's just put our hands over our ears," said Alberto, "and perhaps it'll go away."

"No, I want to see who it is."

Alberto followed her to the door.

On the step stood a naked man. He had adopted a very ceremonial posture, but the only thing he had with him was the crown on his head.

"Well?" he said. "What do you good people think of the Emperor's new clothes?"

Alberto and Sophie were utterly dumbfounded. This caused the naked man some consternation.

"What? You are not bowing!" he cried.

"Indeed, that is true," said Alberto, "but the Emperor is stark naked."

The naked man maintained his ceremonial posture. Alberto bent over and whispered in Sophie's ear:

"He thinks he is respectable."

At this, the man scowled.

"Is some kind of censorship being exercised on these premises?" he asked.

"Regrettably," said Alberto. "In here we are both alert and of sound mind in every way. In the Emperor's shameless condition he can therefore not cross the threshold of this house."

Sophie found the naked man's pomposity so absurd that she burst out laughing. As if her laughter had been a prearranged signal, the man with the crown on his head suddenly became aware that he was naked. Covering his private parts with both hands, he bounded toward the nearest clump of trees and disappeared, probably to join company with Adam and Eve, Noah, Little Red Riding-hood, and Winnie-the-Pooh.

Alberto and Sophie remained standing on the step, laughing.

At last Alberto said, "It might be a good idea if we went inside. I'm going to tell you about Freud and his theory of the unconscious."

They seated themselves by the window again. Sophie looked at her watch and said: "It's already half past two and I have a lot to do before the garden party."

"So have I. We'll just say a few words about Sigmund Freud."

"Was he a philosopher?"

"We could describe him as a cultural philosopher, at least. Freud was born in 1 856 and he studied medicine at the University of Vienna. He lived in Vienna for the greater part of his life at a period when the cultural life of the city was flourishing. He specialized early on in neurology. Toward the close of the last century, and far into our own, he developed his 'depth psychology' or psychoanalysis."

"You're going to explain this, right?"

"Psychoanalysis is a description of the human mind in general as well as a therapy for nervous and mental disorders. I do not intend to give you a complete picture either of Freud or of his work. But his theory of the unconscious is necessary to an understanding of what a human being is."

"You intrigue me. Go on."

"Freud held that there is a constant tension between man and his surroundings. In particular, a tension--or conflict--between his drives and needs and the demands of society. It is no exaggeration to say that Freud discovered human drives. This makes him an important exponent of the naturalistic currents that were so prominent toward the end of the nineteenth century."

"What do you mean by human drives?"

"Our actions are not always guided by reason. Man is not really such a rational creature as the eighteenth-century rationalists liked to think. Irrational impulses often determine what we think, what we dream, and what we do. Such irrational impulses can be an expression of basic drives or needs. The human sexual drive, for example, is just as basic as the baby's instinct to suckle."

"Yes?"

"This in itself was no new discovery. But Freud showed that these basic needs can be disguised or 'sublimated,' thereby steering our actions without our being aware of it. He also showed that infants have some sort of sexuality. The respectable middle-class Viennese reacted with abhorrence to this suggestion of the 'sexuality of the child' and made him very unpopular."

"I'm not surprised."

"We call it Victorianism, when everything to do with sexuality is taboo. Freud first became aware of children's sexuality during his practice of psychotherapy. So he had an empirical basis for his claims. He had also seen how numerous forms of neurosis or psychological disorders could be traced back to conflicts during childhood. He gradually developed a type of therapy that we could call the archeology of the soul."

"What do you mean by that?"

"An archeologist searches for traces of the distant past by digging through layers of cultural history. He may find a knife from the eighteenth century. Deeper in the ground he may find a comb from the fourteenth century--and even deeper down perhaps an urn from the fifth centuryB.C."

"Yes?"

"In a similar way, the psychoanalyst, with the patient's help, can dig deep into the patient's mind and bring to light the experiences that have caused the patient's psychological disorder, since according to Freud, we store the memory of all our experiences deep inside us."

"Yes, I see."

"The analyst can perhaps discover an unhappy experience that the patient has tried to suppress for many years, but which has nevertheless lain buried, gnawing away at the patient's resources. By bringing a 'traumatic experience' into the conscious mind--and holding it up to the patient, so to speak--he or she can help the patient 'be done with it,' and get well again."

"That sounds logical."

"But I am jumping too far ahead. Let us first take a look at Freud's description of the human mind. Have you ever seen a newborn baby?"

"I have a cousin who is four."

"When we come into the world, we live out our physical and mental needs quite directly and unashamedly. If we do not get milk, we cry, or maybe we cry if we have a wet diaper. We also give direct expression to our desire for physical contact and body warmth. Freud called this 'pleasure principle' in us the id. As newborn babies we are hardly anything but id."

"Go on."

"We carry the id, or pleasure principle, with us into adulthood and throughout life. But gradually we learn to regulate our desires and adjust to our surroundings. We learn to regulate the pleasure principle in relation to the 'reality principle.' In Freud's terms, we develop an ego which has this regulative function. Even though we want or need something, we cannot just lie down and scream until we get what we want or need."

"No, obviously."

"We may desire something very badly that the outside world will not accept. We may repress our desires. That means we try to push them away and forget about them."

"I see."

"However, Freud proposed, and worked with, a third element in the human mind. From infancy we are constantly faced with the moral demands of our parents and of society. When we do anything wrong, our parents say 'Don't do that!' or 'Naughty naughty, that's bad!' Even when we are grown up, we retain the echo of such moral demands and judgments. It seems as though the world's moral expectations have become part of us. Freud called this the superego."

"Is that another word for conscience?"

"Conscience is a component of the superego. But Freud claimed that the superego tells us when our desires themselves are 'bad' or 'improper/ not least in the case of erotic or sexual desire. And as I said, Freud claimed that these 'improper' desires already manifest themselves at an early stage of childhood."

"How?"

"Nowadays we know that infants like touching their sex organs. We can observe this on any beach. In Freud's time, this behavior could result in a slap over the fingers of the two- or three-year-old, perhaps accompanied by the mother saying, 'Naughty!' or 'Don't do that!' or 'Keep your hands on top of the covers!'"

"How sick!"

"That's the beginning of guilt feelings about everything connected with the sex organs and sexuality. Because this guilt feeling remains in the superego, many people--according to Freud, most people--feel guilty about sex all their lives. At the same time he showed that sexual desires and needs are natural and vital for human beings. And thus, my dear Sophie, the stage is set for a lifelong conflict between desire and guilt."

"Don't you think the conflict has died down a lot since Freud's time?"

"Most certainly. But many of Freud's patients experienced the conflict so acutely that they developed what Freud called neuroses. One of his many women patients, for example, was secretly in love with her brother-in-law. When her sister died of an illness, she thought: 'Now he is free to marry me!' This thought was on course for a frontal collision with her superego, and was so monstrous an idea that she immediately repressed it, Freud tells us. In other words, she buried it deep in her unconscious. Freud wrote: 'The young girl was ill and displaying severe hysterical symptoms. When I began treating her it appeared that she had thoroughly forgotten about the scene at her sister's bedside and the odious egoistic impulse that had emerged in her. But during analysis she remembered it, and in a state of great agitation she reproduced the pathogenic moment and through this treatment became cured.' "

"Now I better understand what you meant by an archeology of the soul."

"So we can give a general description of the human psyche. After many years of experience in treating patients, Freud concluded that the conscious constitutes only a small part of the human mind. The conscious is like the tip of the iceberg above sea level. Below sea level--or below the threshold of the conscious--is the 'subconscious,' or the unconscious."

"So the unconscious is everything that's inside us that we have forgotten and don't remember?"

"We don't have all our experiences consciously present all the time. But the kinds of things we have thought or experienced, and which we can recall if we 'put our mind to it,' Freud termed the preconscious. He reserved the term 'unconscious' for things we have repressed. That is, the sort of thing we have made an effort to forget because it was either 'unpleasant','improper,' or 'nasty.' If we have desires and urges that are not tolerable to the conscious, the superego shoves them downstairs. Away with them!"

"I get it."

"This mechanism is at work in all healthy people. But it can be such a tremendous strain for some people to keep the unpleasant or forbidden thoughts away from consciousness that it leads to mental illness. Whatever is repressed in this way will try of its own accord to reenter consciousness. For some people it takes a great effort to keep such impulses under the critical eye of the conscious. When Freud was in America in 1909 lecturing on psychoanalysis, he gave an example of the way this repression mechanism functions."

"I'd like to hear that!"

"He said: 'Suppose that here in this hall and in this audience, whose exemplary stillness and attention I cannot sufficiently commend, there is an individual who is creating a disturbance, and, by his ill-bred laughing, talking, by scraping his feet, distracts my attention from my task. I explain that I cannot go on with my lecture under these conditions, and thereupon several strong men among you get up and, after a short struggle, eject the disturber of the peace from the hall. He is now repressed, and I can continue my lecture. But in order that the disturbance may not be repeated, in case the man who has just been thrown out attempts to force his way back into the room, the gentlemen who have executed my suggestion take their chairs to the door and establish themselves there as a resistance, to keep up the repression. Now, if you transfer both locations to the psyche, calling this con-sciousness, and the outside the unconscious, you have a tolerably good illustration of the process of repression.' "

"I agree."

"But the disturber of the peace insists on reentering, Sophie. At least, that's the way it is with repressed thoughts and urges. We live under the constant pressure of repressed thoughts that are trying to fight their way up from the unconscious. That's why we often say or do things without intending to. Unconscious reactions thus prompt our feelings and actions."

"Can you give me an example?"

"Freud operates with several of these mechanisms. One is what he called parapraxes--slips of the tongue or pen. In other words, we accidentally say or do things that we once tried to repress. Freud gives the example of the shop foreman who was to propose a toast to the boss. The trouble was that this boss was terribly unpopular. In plain words, he was what one might call a swine."

"Yes?"

"The foreman stood up, raised his glass, and said 'Here's to the swine!' "

"I'm speechless!"

"So was the foreman. He had actually only said what he really meant. But he didn't mean to say it. Do you want to hear another example?"

"Yes, please."

"A bishop was coming to tea with the local minister, who had a large family of nice well-behaved little daughters. This bishop happened to have an unusually big nose. The little girls were duly instructed that on no account were they to refer to the bishop's nose, since children often blurt out spontaneous remarks about people because their repressive mechanism is not yet developed. The bishop arrived, and the delightful daughters strained themselves to the utmost not to comment on his nose. They tried to not even look at it and to forget about it. But they were thinking about it the whole time. And then one of them was asked to pass the sugar around. She looked at the distinguished bishop and said, 'Do you take sugar in your nose?' "

"How awful!"

"Another thing we can do is to rationalize. That means that we do not give the real reason for what we are doing either to ourselves or to other people because the real reason is unacceptable."

"Like what?"

"I could hypnotize you to open a window. While you are under hypnosis I tell you that when I begin to drum my fingers on the table you will get up and open the window. I drum on the table--and you open the window. Afterward I ask you why you opened the window and you might say you did it because it was too hot. But that is not the real reason. You are reluctant to admit to yourself that you did something under my hypnotic orders. So you rationalize."

"Yes, I see."

"We all encounter that sort of thing practically every day."

"This four-year-old cousin of mine, I don't think he has a lot of playmates, so he's always happy when I visit. One day I told him I had to hurry home to my mom. Do you know what he said?"

"What did he say?"

"He said, she's stupid!"

"Yes, that was definitely a case of rationalizing. The boy didn't mean what he actually said. He meant it was stupid you had to go, but he was too shy to say so. Another thing we do is project."

"What's that?"

"When we project, we transfer the characteristics we are trying to repress in ourselves onto other people. A person who is very miserly, for example, will characterize others as penny-pinchers. And someone who will not admit to being preoccupied with sex can be the first to be incensed at other people's sex-fixation."

"Hmm."

"Freud claimed that our everyday life was filled with unconscious mechanisms like these. We forget a particular person's name, we fumble with our clothes while we talk, or we shift what appear to be random objects around in the room. We also stumble over words and make various slips of the tongue or pen that can seem completely innocent. Freud's point was that these slips are neither as accidental nor as innocent as we think. These bungled actions can in fact reveal the most intimate secrets."

"From now on I'll watch all my words very carefully."

"Even if you do, you won't be able to escape from your unconscious impulses. The art is precisely not to expend too much effort on burying unpleasant things in the unconscious. It's like trying to block up the entrance to a water vole's nest. You can be sure the water vole will pop up in another part of the garden. It is actually quite healthy to leave the door ajar between the conscious and the unconscious."

"If you lock that door you can get mentally sick, right?"

"Yes. A neurotic is just such a person, who uses too much energy trying to keep the 'unpleasant' out of his consciousness. Frequently there is a particular experience which the person is desperately trying to repress. He can nonetheless be anxious for the doctor to help him to find his way back to the hidden traumas."

"How does the doctor do that?"

"Freud developed a technique which he called free association. In other words, he let the patient lie in a relaxed position and just talk about whatever came into his or her mind--however irrelevant, random, unpleasant, or embarrassing it might sound. The idea was to break through the 'lid' or 'control' that had grown over the traumas, because it was these traumas that were causing the patient concern. They are active all the time, just not consciously."

"The harder you try to forget something, the more you think about it unconsciously?"

"Exactly. That is why it is so important to be aware of the signals from the unconscious. According to Freud, the royal road to the unconscious is our dreams. His main work was written on this subject--The Interpretation of Dreams, published in 1900, in which he showed that our dreams are not random. Our unconscious tries to communicate with our conscious through dreams."

"Go on."

"After many years of experience with patients--and not least after having analyzed his own dreams--Freud determined that all dreams are wish fulfillments. This is clearly observable in children, he said. They dream about ice cream and cherries. But in adults, the wishes that are to be fulfilled in dreams are disguised. That is because even when we sleep, censorship is at work on what we will permit ourselves. And although this censorship, or repression mechanism, is considerably weaker when we are asleep than when we are awake, it is still strong enough to cause our dreams to distort the wishes we cannot acknowledge."

"Which is why dreams have to be interpreted "

"Freud showed that we must distinguish between the actual dream as we recall it in the morning and the real meaning of the dream. He termed the actual dream image--that is, the 'film' or 'video' we dream--the manifest dream. This 'apparent' dream content always takes its material or scenario from the previous day. But the dream also contains a deeper meaning which is hidden from consciousness. Freud called this the latent dream thoughts, and these hidden thoughts which the dream is really about may stem from the distant past, from earliest childhood, for instance."

"So we have to analyze the dream before we can understand it."

"Yes, and for the mentally ill, this must be done in conjunction with the therapist. But it is not the doctor who interprets the dream. He can only do it with the help of the patient. In this situation, the doctor simply fulfills the function of a Socratic 'midwife,' assisting during the interpretation."

"I see."

"The actual process of converting the latent dream thoughts to the manifest dream aspect was termed by Freud the dream work. We might call it 'masking' or 'coding' what the dream is actually about. In interpreting the dream, we must go through the reverse process and unmask or decode the motif to arrive at its theme."

"Can you give me an example?"

"Freud's book teems with examples. But we can construct a simple and very Freudian example for ourselves. Let us say a young man dreams that he is given two balloons by his female cousin . . ."

"Yes?"

"Go on, try to interpret the dream yourself."

"Hmm ... there is a manifest dream, just like you said: a young man gets two balloons from his female cousin."

"Carry on."

"You said the scenario is always from the previous day. So he had been to the fair the day before--or maybe he saw a picture of balloons in the newspaper."

"It's possible, but he need only have seen the word 'balloon,' or something that reminded him of a balloon."

"But what are the latent dream thoughts that the dream is really about?"

"You're the interpreter."

"Maybe he just wanted a couple of balloons."

"No, that won't work. You're right about the dream being a wish fulfillment. But a young man would hardly have an ardent wish for a couple of balloons. And if he had, he wouldn't need to dream about them."

"I think I've got it: he really wants his cousin--and the two balloons are her breasts."

"Yes, that's a much more likely explanation. And it presupposes that he experienced his wish as an embarrassment."

"In a way, our dreams make a lot of detours?"

"Yes. Freud believed that the dream was a 'disguised fulfillment of a repressed wish.' But exactly what we have repressed can have changed considerably since Freud was a doctor in Vienna. However, the mechanism of dis-guised dream content can still be intact."

"Yes, I see."

"Freud's psychoanalysis was extremely important in the 1920s, especially for the treatment of certain psychiatric patients. His theory of the unconscious was also very significant for art and literature."

"Artists became interested in people's unconscious mental life?"

"Exactly so, although this had already become a predominant aspect of literature in the last decade of the nineteenth century--before Freud's psychoanalysis was known. It merely shows that the appearance of Freud's psychoanalysis at that particular time, the 1890s, was no coincidence."

"You mean it was in the spirit of the times?"

"Freud himself did not claim to have discovered phenomena such as repression, defense mechanisms, or rationalizing. He was simply the first to apply these human experiences to psychiatry. He was also a master at illustrating his theories with literary examples. But as I mentioned, from the 1920s, Freud's psychoanalysis had a more direct influence on art and literature "

"In what sense?"

"Poets and painters, especially the surrealists, attempted to exploit the power of the unconscious in their work."

"What are surrealists?"

"The word surrealism comes from the French, and means 'super realism.' In 1924 Andre Breton published a 'surrealistic manifesto,' claiming that art should come from the unconscious. The artist should thus derive the freest possible inspiration from his dream images and strive toward a 'super realism,' in which the boundaries between dream and reality were dissolved. For an artist too it can be necessary to break the censorship of the conscious and let words and images have free play."

"I can see that."

"In a sense, Freud demonstrated that there is an artist in everyone. A dream is, after all, a little work of art, and there are new dreams every night. In order to interpret his patients' dreams, Freud often had to work his way through a dense language of symbols--rather in the way we interpret a picture or a literary text."

"And we dream every single night?"

"Recent research shows that we dream for about twenty percent of our sleeping hours, that is, between one and two hours each- night. If we are disturbed during our dream phases we become nervous and irritable. This means nothing less than that everybody has an innate need to give artistic expression to his or her existential situation. After all, it is ourselves that our dreams are about We are the directors, we set up the scenario and play all the roles. A person who says he doesn't understand art doesn't know himself very well."

"I see that."

"Freud also delivered impressive evidence of the wonders of the human mind. His work with patients convinced him that we retain everything we have seen and experienced somewhere deep in our consciousness, and all these impressions can be brought to light again. When we experience a memory lapse, and a bit later 'have it on the tip of our tongue' and then later still 'suddenly remember it,' we are talking about something which has lain in the unconscious and suddenly slips through the half-open door to consciousness."

"But it takes a while sometimes."

"All artists are aware of that. But then suddenly it's as if all doors and all drawers fly open. Everything comes tumbling out by itself, and we can find all the words and images we need. This is when we have 'lifted the lid' of the unconscious. We can call it inspiration, Sophie. It feels as if what we are drawing or writing is coming from some outside source."

"It must be a wonderful feeling."

"But you must have experienced it yourself. You can frequently observe inspiration at work in children who are overtired. They are sometimes so extremely overtired that they seem to be wide awake. Suddenly they start telling a story--as if they are finding words they haven't yet learned. They have, though; the words and the ideas have lain 'latent' in their consciousness, but now, when all caution and all censorship have let go, they are surfacing. It can also be important for an artist not to let reason and reflection control a more or less unconscious expression. Shall I tell you a little story to illustrate this?"

"Sure."

"It's a very serious and a very sad story."

"Okay."

"Once upon a time there was a centipede that was amazingly good at dancing with all hundred legs. All the creatures of the forest gathered to watch every time the centipede danced, and they were all duly impressed by the exquisite dance. But there was one creature that didn't like watching the centipede dance--that was a tortoise."

"It was probably just envious."

"How can I get the centipede to stop dancing? thought the tortoise. He couldn't just say he didn't like the dance. Neither could he say he danced better himself, that would obviously be untrue. So he devised a fiendish plan."

"Let's hear it."

"He sat down and wrote a letter to the centipede. 'O incomparable centipede,' he wrote, 'I am a devoted admirer of your exquisite dancing. I must know how you go about it when you dance. Is it that you lift your left leg number 28 and then your right leg number 39? Or do you begin by lifting your right leg number 17 before you lift your left leg number 44? I await your answer in breathless anticipation. Yours truly, Tortoise."

"How mean!"

"When the centipede read the letter, she immediately began to think about what she actually did when she danced. Which leg did she lift first? And which leg next? What do you think happened in the end?"

"The centipede never danced again?"

"That's exactly what happened. And that's the way it goes when imagination gets strangled by reasoned deliberation."

"That was a sad story."

"It is important for an artist to be able to 'let go.' The surrealists tried to exploit this by putting themselves into a state where things just happened by themselves. They had a sheet of white paper in front of them and they began to write without thinking about what they wrote. They called it automatic writing. The expression originally comes from spiritualism, where a medium believed that a departed spirit was guiding the pen. But I thought we would talk more about that kind of thing tomorrow."

"I'd like that."

"In one sense, the surrealist artist is also a medium, that is to say, a means or a link. He is a medium of his own unconscious. But perhaps there is an element of the unconscious in every creative process, for what do we actually mean by creativity?"

"I've no idea. Isn't it when you create something?"

"Fair enough, and that happens in a delicate interplay between imagination and reason. But all too frequently, reason throttles the imagination, and that's serious because without imagination, nothing really new will ever be created. I believe imagination is like a Darwinian system."

"I'm sorry, but that I didn't get."

"Well, Darwinism holds that nature's mutants arise one after the other, but only a few of them can be used. Only some of them get the right to live."

"So?"

"That's how it is when we have an inspiration and get masses of new ideas. Thought-mutants occur in the consciousness one after the other, at least if we refrain from censoring ourselves too much. But only some of these thoughts can be used. Here, reason comes into its own.

It, too, has a vital function. When the day's catch is laid on the table we must not forget to be selective."

"That's not a bad comparison."

"Imagine if everything that 'strikes us' were allowed to pass our lips! Not to speak of jumping off our notepads out of our desk drawers! The world would sink under the weight of casual impulses and no selection would have taken place."

"So it's reason that chooses between all these ideas?"

"Yes, don't you think so? Maybe the imagination creates what is new, but the imagination does not make the actual selection. The imagination does not 'compose.' A composition--and every work of art is one--is created in a wondrous interplay between imagination and reason, or between mind and reflection. For there will always be an element of chance in the creative process. You have to turn the sheep loose before you can start to herd them."

Alberto sat quite still, staring out of the window. While he sat there, Sophie suddenly noticed a crowd of brightly colored Disney figures down by the lake.

"There's Goofy," she exclaimed, "and Donald Duck and his nephews ... Look, Alberto. There's Mickey Mouse and . . ."

He turned toward her: "Yes, it's very sad, child."

"What do you mean?"

"Here we are being made the helpless victims of the major's flock of sheep. But it's my own fault, of course. I was the one who started talking about free association of ideas."

"You certainly don't have to blame yourself..."

"I was going to say something about the importance of imagination to us philosophers. In order to think new thoughts, we must be bold enough to let ourselves go. But right now, he's going a bit far."

"Don't worry about it."

"I was about to mention the importance of reflection, and here we are, presented with this lurid imbecility. He should be ashamed of himself!"

"Are you being ironic now?"

"It's he who is ironic, not me. But I have one comfort--and that is the whole cornerstone of my plan."

"Now I'm really confused."

"We have talked about dreams. There's a touch of irony about that too. For what are we but the major's dream images?"

"Ah!"

"But there is still one thing he hasn't counted on."

"What's that?"

"Maybe he is embarrassingly aware of his own dream. He is aware of everything we say and do--just as the dreamer remembers the dream's manifest dream aspect. It is he who wields it with his pen. But even if he remembers everything we say to each other, he is still not quite awake."

"What do you mean?"

"He does not know the latent dream thoughts, Sophie. He forgets that this too is a disguised dream."

"You are talking so strangely."

"The major thinks so too. That is because he does not understand his own dream language. Let us be thankful for that. That gives us a tiny bit of elbow room, you see. And with this elbow room we shall soon fight our way out of his muddy consciousness like water voles frisking about in the sun on a summer's day."

"Do you think we'll make it?"

"We must. Within a couple of days I shall give you a new horizon. Then the major will no longer know where the water voles are or where they will pop up next time."

"But even if we are only dream images, I am still my mother's daughter. And it's five o'clock. I have to go home to Captain's Bend and prepare for the garden party."

"Hmm ... can you do me a small favor on the way home?"

"What?"

"Try to attract a little extra attention. Try to get the major to keep his eye on you all the way home. Try and think about him when you get home--and he'll think about you too."

"What good will that do?"

"Then I can carry on undisturbed with my work on the secret plan. I'm going to dive down into the major's unconscious. That's where I'll be until we meet again."
25
 楼主| 发表于 2019-2-2 11:51:40 | 只看该作者
达尔文

  ……满载基因航行过生命的一艘小船……
星期天上午,席德被一声响亮的碰撞声惊醒,原来是讲义夹落地的声音。昨晚她一直躺在床上看苏菲与艾伯特有关马克思的对话,后来就仰躺着睡着了,讲义夹放在棉被上,床边的台灯整晚都亮着。
她书桌上的闹钟现在正显示着8:59这几个绿色的发光数字。
昨晚她梦见了巨大的工厂和受到污染的城市,一个小女孩坐在街角卖火柴,而穿着体面、披着长大衣的人们来来去去,连看都不看她一眼。
席德在床上坐起来时,突然想到那些将会在他们自己所创造的社会中醒来的立法委员,她很高兴自己醒来时还在柏客来山庄。
万一她醒来时身在挪威另一个陌生的地方,那她会不会害怕呢?不过,这还不只是在哪里醒来的问题而已。她会不会醒来时发现自己是在另外一个年代呢?譬如说中世纪之类的,或一两万年前的石器时代?席德想象自己坐在山洞口,制作兽皮的模样。
在世上还没有一种叫做文化的东西以前,当一个十五岁的女孩会是什么滋味呢?那时的她会有什么想法呢?席德穿上一件毛衣,使劲把讲义夹拿到床上,然后便安坐床上,开始读下一章。
艾伯特刚说完“下一章”,便有人敲少校小木屋的门。
“我们没有其他选择吧?”苏菲说。
“我想是没有。”艾伯特嘀咕道。
门外的台阶上站着一位年纪很大的老人,有着长长的白发和一脸白胡子。他一手拿了根拐杖,另一手则拿了一块板子,上面画了一艘船,船上载满了各种动物。
“老先生贵姓大名?”
“我名叫诺亚。”
“我猜也是。”
“孩子,我是你的老祖宗。不过现代人大概不流行认识自(J的祖先了。”
“你手上拿着什么?”苏菲问。
“这上面画的是所有从大洪水里获救的动物。拿去,孩子,这是给你的。”
苏菲接过那块大板子。老人又说道:“我得回家去照管那些葡萄藤了。”说着他便跳了起来,双脚在空中啪答互敲了一下,然后便以轻快的步伐跳进树林中。只有年纪很大的老人家在一种很不寻常的情绪下才会有那种步法。
苏菲和艾伯特走进屋里再度坐下。苏菲开始看那幅图画。可是在她还没来得及细看之前,艾伯特便很权威地一把将它拿了过去。
“我们首先要谈谈大纲。”
“好,好,先生!”
“我刚才忘了提到马克思一生的最后三十四年是在伦敦度过的。他在一八四九年迁居到那儿,并在一八八三年去世。这段时间达尔文就住在伦敦近郊,在一八八二年去世,在一场隆重盛大的典礼中下葬于西敏寺,成为英国最杰出的人士之一。就这样,马克思和达尔文在人生的旅途上曾经交错。达尔文死后一年,马克思也去世了。当时他的友人恩格斯说:达尔文创立了有机物进化的理论,而马克思则创立了人类历史进化的理论。”
“喔,原来如此。”
“另外一个在作品上也与达尔文有关联的大思想家是心理学家佛洛伊德。他最后几年也是在伦敦度过的。佛洛伊德说,达尔文的进化论和他自己的精神分析理论对于人类以自我为中心的天真无知态度构成了挑衅。”
“你一下子提太多名字了。我们现在要谈的究竟是马克思、达尔文还是佛洛伊德?”
自然主义“我们可以更广泛地谈到从十九世纪中到我们这个时代所流行的一股自然主义风潮。所谓‘自然主义’指的是一种认为除了大自然和感官世界之外,别无其他真实事物的态度。因此,自然主义者也认为人是大自然的一部分。一个自然主义的科学家只相信自然现象,而不相信任何理性假设或圣灵的启示。”
“马克思、达尔文和佛洛伊德都是这样的人吗?”
“一点也没错。从上一世纪中期开始,最流行的几个字眼就是自然、环境、历史、进化与成长。当时马克思已经指出人类的意识形态是社会基础的产物,达尔文则证明人类是生物逐渐演化的结果,而佛洛伊德对潜意识的研究则发现人们的行动多半是受到‘动物’本能驱策的结果。”
“我想我多少了解你所说的‘自然主义’的意思。可是我们是不是最好一次只谈一个人呢?”
“我们要先谈达尔文。苏菲,你可能还记得苏格拉底之前的哲学家曾试图为大自然的变化寻找合乎自然的解释,因为他们不接受那些古老神话中的说法。同样的,达尔文也不接受教会对人与动物如何创造出来的说法。”
“不过他算是哲学家吗?”
“达尔文是一个生物学家和自然科学家,不过他也是近代唯一一个公开质疑圣经中对人在万物中的地位的说法的科学家。”
“那么你得说说达尔文的进化论到底是怎么回事?”
达尔文“我们先来谈谈达尔文这个人吧。他在一八O九年生于休斯柏瑞(Shrewsbury)这个小镇。他的父亲罗伯特•达尔文博士是当地一位很有名望的医生,对儿子的管教非常严格。达尔文在当地的小学上学时,他的校长说他总是到处乱跑,把玩东西,不知所云,从不做些有用的事。这位校长所谓的‘有用的事’是指勤念希腊文和拉丁文的动词。所谓‘到处乱跑’,则是说达尔文到处去搜集各式各样的甲虫。”
“我敢打赌他后来一定会后悔自己说过那些话。”
“达尔文后来开始研究神学,可是他对赏鸟和搜集昆虫等事更有兴趣,因此他在神学方面的成绩从来不顶好。不过,他在大学时就已经有了自然科学家的名声,一部分是因为他对地质学有兴趣的缘故。地质学也许是当时最大的一门学科。一八三一年他从剑桥大学神学院毕业后,随即前往北威尔斯研究岩石的形成并搜寻化石。同一年八月(当时他还不到二十二岁),他接到了一封从此改变他一生的信……”
“那是一封什么样的信呢?”
“是他的朋友兼老师韩斯洛(JohnStevenHenslow)写的。他在信里说:有人请我……推荐一位自然科学家陪同受政府委派的费兹罗伊(Fitzroy)船长前往南美洲南部的海岸从事调查研究工作。
我向他们说我认为你是最有资格且很可能会接受这类工作的人。
至于其中牵涉的经费问题,我并不清楚。这次航程将花两年的时间......”
“你怎么会记得这么多东西?”
“小事一桩。”“那达尔文怎么答复呢?”
“他迫不及待要抓住这次机会,可是在那个时代,一个年轻人做任何事都必须得到父母,的许可。经过他一番游说之后,他的父亲终于同意了,并且答应资助旅费。因为在所谓的‘经费问题’上,他显然并没有得到任何补助。”
“喔。”
“那艘船是海军舰艇小猎犬号。它在一八三一年十二月二十七日从普利茅斯航向南美洲,一直到一八三六年十月才返航。原本只有两年的航程变成五年,而航行的范围也从原定的南美洲扩展到世界各地。这是近代史上最重要的一次调查航行之一。”
“他们就一路环绕世界吗?”
“是的,差不多就是这样,他们从南美继续航行,经过太平洋到纽西兰、澳洲和南非,然后又开回南美洲,最后才回到英国。达尔文写道,在猎犬号上的这次航行无疑是他生命中最有意义的事件。”
“在海上做自然科学研究可不容易呀!”
“最初几年,小猎犬号在南美海岸来回行驶。这使得达尔文有很多机会可以熟悉这块大陆,包括内陆地区。他们多次进入南美洲西边大平洋上的加拉帕哥斯(Galapagos)群岛,而这几次探险对他们的发现也有决定性的影响。他在那儿搜集到大量的材料并将它们寄回英国。可是当时他并没有透露他本人对于自然与生命进化的看法。当他回到英国(那时他才二十七岁)时,发现自己成了一位著名的科学家。在那个时候,他内心关于进化论的概念已经很清晰了。可是直到许多午后他才发表他的主要作品,因为他是一个很谨慎的人,而这也是一个科学家应有的态度。”
“他的主要作品是什么?”
“事实上他写了好几本书。但其中在英国引起了最热烈的辩论的是《物种起源论》。这本书出版于一八五九年。它的全名是《物竞天择,适者生存之物种起源论》。这样长的书名事实上就是达尔文进化论的完整摘要。”
“他确实是把好多东西放在一个书名里。”
进化论“我们还是一样一样地谈。达尔文在《物种起源论》一书中提出两个理论。首先他认为,既存的所有动植物样式都是依照生物进化的法则,从较早期、较原始的形式演变而来。其次,他认为生物进化乃是自然淘汰的结果。”
“适者生存,对吗?”
“对。不过我们还是先来谈进化的概念好了,这个观念其实并不很新鲜。早在一八OO午时,某些领域内的人士就已经开始普遍接受生物进化的观念。最主要的倡导人是法国的动物学家拉马克(Lamarck)。甚至在他之前,达尔文的祖父伊拉斯穆斯•达尔文(ErasmusDarwin)就已经提出动植物是由某些少数原始物种进化而来的观念。可是他们当中没有一个人提出一个合理的解释,说明进化的过程是如何发生的,因此教会也就不认为他们是很大的威胁。”
“但达尔文就是了吗?”
“是的,而这也不是没有原因的。在当时,无论教会还是科学界都坚决相信圣经中所说的所有动植物种类都不会改变的说法。他们相信上帝一次就造出了所有的生物。而基督教的这种看法也与柏拉图和亚理斯多德的学说一致。”
“怎么说呢?”
“柏拉图的概念理论主张各种动物都是不可改变的,因为他们是根据永恒的概念或形式造的。这也是亚理斯多德哲学的基础之一。但在达尔文的时代,一些新的发现促使这种传统的观念受到考验。”
“什么样的新发现呢?”
“首先,愈来愈多的化石被挖掘出来。此外也有人发现一些绝种动物的大型骨头化石。达尔文本人也在一些深入内陆的地方发现海洋生物的遗迹,使他感到很困惑。在南美洲高耸的安第斯山山顶上他也发现了类似的现象。苏菲,你说说看,海洋生物跑到安第斯山做什么呢?”
“我不知道。”
“有人认为他们是被人类或动物扔在那儿的,也有人相信那些化石和海洋生物的遗迹是上帝故意安排的,目的在让那些不信神的人走入迷途。”
“那科学家们怎么说呢?”
“大多数地质学家相信一种‘大灾难理论’,认为地球曾经遭遇大洪水、地震等等大灾难,导致所有的生物都被毁灭。我们在圣经诺亚方舟的故事中也读过类似的记载。他们相信,在每次天灾后,上帝会重新再创造更新、更完美的动植物,以延续地球的生命。”
“所以他们认为那些化石就是古时的大天灾所毁灭的生物的印记?”
“没错。举个例子,他们认为化石里的那些动物就是当年没有登上诺亚方舟的动物。不过,当年达尔文搭乘猎犬号启航时,身边曾带着英国生物学家莱尔(CharlesLyell)所著的《地质学原理》第一册。莱尔认为目前地球的地质——包括山脉和河谷等等——都是长期不断逐渐演化的结果。他的论点是:在这千万年的过程中,即使一些小小的变化也会造成地质上的大变动。”
“他所说的变化是指哪一种?”
“他指的是那些直到今天仍然在作用的一些力量,如风力、天气、冰层的融解、地震和地平面的隆起。你应该听说过‘滴水穿石’的故事,它凭的不是力量,而是不断的侵蚀。莱尔相信这类微小而逐渐发生的变化,持续千百年后就可以完全改变大自然的形貌。
虽然这种理论并不能够完全解释,为何达尔文会在安第斯山山顶这样高的地方发现海洋生物的遗迹。不过达尔文本人也一直相信,只要时间足够,逐渐发生的微小改变就可以造成巨大的变化。”
“我猜他一定想同样的现象也可以用来解释动物的进化。”
“是的,他正是这么想。但我曾经说过,达尔文是一个很谨慎的人。他先提出问题,等到过了很久之后才加以回答。从这个角度来看,他用的方法正和所有真正的哲学家一样,也就是说:重要的是提出问题,而毋需急着解答问题。”
“嗯,我懂了。”
“莱尔的理论中有一个决定性的因素就是地球的年纪。在达尔文那个时代,人们普遍相信上帝创造世界大约已有六千年。这个数字是由计算亚当与夏娃以后的世代得出来的。”
“真是大天真了!”
“说到这点,后见之明当然是比较容易。达尔文推算地球的年纪大约在三亿年左右。因为很明显的,除非地球存在的时间确实很长很长,否则无论莱尔的地质逐渐演进论或达尔文自己的进化论都无法获得证实。”
“那么地球存在到底有多久了?”
“据我们今天所知,应该有四十六亿年了。”
“哇!”
“我们刚才已经谈到达尔文提出的生物进化的证据,就是那些在岩石各层结构中发现的一层层化石矿床。另外一个证据则是各现存物种的地理分布情况。在这方面,达尔文的科学之旅提供了许多完整的新资料。他亲眼看到同一个地区内的同一种动物彼此之间有极细微的差异。此外,他在加拉帕哥斯群岛,尤其是在厄瓜多尔西部,也发现了一些很有趣的现象。”
物竞天择“是什么现象?”
“加拉帕哥斯群岛是一小群火山岛,因此那儿的动植物并没有很大的差异。但使达尔文感到兴趣的是它们之间的细微差异。他发现,他在每个岛屿上看到的大海龟都和其他岛屿有些不同。难道上帝为每个岛屿各创造了一种海龟吗?”
“嗯,这确实是一个问题。”
“达尔文在加拉帕哥斯群岛上观察到的鸟类生态更令人惊讶。
他发现每个岛屿上的雀鸟都各有特色,尤其是在鸟喙的形状上。达尔文指出,这些差异与雀鸟在各个岛屿上觅食的方式有很密切的关系。鸟喙又尖又长的地雀是以松子为食,小鸣雀是以昆虫为食,树雀则以树皮和树枝里的白蚁为食……每一种雀的鸟喙形状都完女迁就它摄取的食物种类。于是他想,这些雀可不可能有共同的祖先呢?它们是不是因为千百年来不断适应各个岛屿不同的环境之后才变成新的品种呢?”
“这就是他得到的结论,不是吗?”
“是的。达尔文可能就是在加拉帕哥斯群岛上变成一位‘达尔文主义者’的。他还发现当地的动物与他在南美洲见到的许多种类非常相似。于是他问:上帝真的一次就创造了这些各有细微差异的动物吗?还是它们是进化而来的?他开始愈来愈怀疑物种不会改变的说法。不过,对于进化现象发生的过程,他还是提不出合理的解释。不过,后来他又发现了一个现象,显示地球上所有的动物可能是互相关联的。”
“什么现象?”
“就是哺乳动物胚胎发育的情况。如果你把狗、蝙蝠、兔子和人类早期的胚胎拿来比较,你会发现它们非常相似,几乎难以分辨。
一直要到非常晚期之后,你才能分别人类的胚胎与兔子的胚胎。这不正显示我们和这些动物是远亲吗?”
“可是这时他仍然无法解释进化的现象是如何发生的。”
“他时常想到莱尔所说的细微的变化经过长时间作用后可以造成很大效果的理论。不过他仍然找不到一个可以解释各种现象的通则。此外,他对法国动物学家拉马克的理论也很熟悉。拉马克指出,各个物种会逐渐发现自己所需的特征。例如长颈鹿之所以长了一个长脖子就是因为它们世世代代都伸长了脖子去吃树上的叶子。拉马克认为每一种动物透过自己的努力获取的特征会遗传给下一代。可是达尔文并不接受这种‘后天特征’遗传论,因为拉马克并没有任何证据证明他这项大胆的说法。不过这时达尔文开始往另外一个较为明显的方向思考。我们几乎可以说物种进化现象后面的实际机转恰恰就在他的眼前。”
“是什么呢?”
“我宁愿让你自己想出来。所以我要问你:如果你有三只母牛,但你所有的饲料只够养两只,那你会怎样办呢?”
“我想我只好把其中一只杀了。”
“好……那么你要杀哪一只呢?”
“我想我会杀那只产奶最少的。”
“是吗?”
“是的,这不是很合理吗?”
“这正是人类千百年来所做的事,可是我们还没讲完那两只牛的事。假设你希望其中一只能生小牛,你会选哪一只?”
“最会产奶的那一只。这样它生的小牛以后可能比较会产奶。”
“这么说,你比较喜欢产奶多的母牛。那么现在还有一个问题:如果你去打猎,而你有两条猎狗,可是必须放弃其中一只。那么你会留下哪一只?”
“我当然会留下比较能够找到猎物的那只。”
“对,你会选择那只比较好的猎狗。这正是一万多年来人们豢养牲,的方式。从前的母鸡不一定每周下五个蛋,羊也不一定会产那么多羊毛,马儿也不一定像现在这么强壮敏捷。在这方面,饲主做了人为的选择。同样的道理也适用于植物。如果有品种比较好的马铃薯,你一定不会种那比较差的,你也不会浪费时间去砍那些不会结穗的玉米。达尔文指出,没有一只母牛、一株玉米、一只狗或一只雀是完全一样的。大自然造成了许多差异。即使是同一品种,也没有两个个体会一模一样。你喝下蓝色瓶子的水时,可能有过这种经验。”
“可不是嘛!”
“所以达尔文开始问:大自然是否也有同样的机转?大自然是否也可能选择哪些物种可以存活?而这种选择淘汰的过程在历经很长的时间之后是否可能形成新的植物或动物品种?”
“我猜答案是肯定的。”
“这时达尔文仍然无法确知这种‘天择’的过程是如何发生的。
但在一八三八年十月,也就是他乘猎犬号返航整整两午后,他偶然读到了一本由一位人口研究专家马尔萨斯(ThomasMalthus)所写的一本小书,书名叫《人口论》。马尔萨斯撰写此书的灵感是得自那位发明避雷针等东西的美国人富兰克林。富兰克林曾经指出,如果没有受到大自然的限制,一种植物或动物将会遍布全球。但是由于世上有许多物种,因此这些物种会彼此制衡。”
“这点我可以了解。”
“马尔萨斯将这个观念加以发展,并应用于全球人口上。他相信人类的生殖力很强,因此世界上出生的儿童人数永远多过能够存活的人数。他认为既然粮食的生产永远无法赶得上人口的增加,因此有一大部分人口注定要在求生存的竞争中落败。那些能够存活、长大并延续种族生命的人一定是那些在生存竞争中表现最好的人。”
“听起来很有道理。”
“这正是达尔文一直在寻找的普遍性机转。他以此来解释进化发生的过程:进化是生存竞争中自然淘汰的结果。在这个过程中,那些最能够适应环境的人就存活下来,继续繁衍种族。这是他在《物种起源论》一书中所提的第二个理论。他在书中写道:在所有动物中,大象是生育速度最慢的一种。但如果所有的幼象都得以存活,则在七百五十年之后,一对大象将可有一千九百万个后代。”
“那么一只可以产下几千个卵的鳕鱼就更不用说了。”
“达尔文进一步指出,生存竞争在那些彼此最为相似的物种之间往往也最激烈,因为它们必须争夺同样一些食物。在这种情况下,纵使只比别人多占一点点优势——也就是说与别人有一点点差异——也会使情况大不相同。生存竞争愈激烈,进化到新物种的速度也愈快,到最后只剩下最能适应环境的品种可以生存下来,其他的则会灭绝。”
“那么食物愈少,生育数量愈多的种类进化的速度也就愈快哼?”
“没错。可是这不只是食物多寡的问题而已。如何避免被其他动物吃掉也是很重要的。举例来说,动物有没有保护色、是否能跑得很快、是否能辨识有敌意的动物或(在最糟的情况下)是否能闻出驱虫剂的味道,都可能攸关它是否能生存。如果能分泌一种毒液杀死敌人也很有用。这也是为什么这么多仙人掌都有毒的原因。由于沙漠中几乎没有其他植物生长,因此仙人掌特别容易受到那些草食类动物的伤害。”
“所以它们多半也都有刺。”
“除此之外,生物繁衍能力的强弱显然也是很重要的。达尔文非常仔细地研究了植物巧妙的传粉方式。植物借着色彩美丽的花朵和迷人的香味来吸引昆虫为它传粉。鸟儿唱出美妙的歌声也是为了同样的目的。一只安静、忧郁、对母牛没有兴趣的公牛对于传宗接代可是一点用处也没有,因为这样的公牛会立刻绝种。公牛生命中唯一的目的,就是长到发育成熟后与母牛交配以繁衍种族。这就像是一场接力赛一样。那些因为某种原因不能将它们的基因传给下一代的动物会不断被淘汰,整个种族也就因此愈来愈进步。而那些存活下来的品种所不断累积井保存的最重要特征之一就是抵抗疾病的能力。”
“所以一切的物种都愈来愈进步哼?”
“这种不断淘汰的结果就是那些最能够适应某种环境或某种生态体系的品种就能够在那个环境中长期繁衍种族。可是在这个环境中占优势的特征不见得能在另一个环境中占到便宜。例如,对某些加拉帕哥斯群岛上的雀儿来说,飞翔能力很重要。可是在一个必须从土里挖出食物而且没有敌人的地方,会不会飞就不重要了。
千百年来之所以有这么多不同的动物品种出现,就是因为自然环境中有这么多种不同的情况。”
“可是即使这样,人类还是只有一种呀!”
“这是因为人有一种独特的能力可以适应生活中不同的情况。
达尔文最感到惊讶的事情之一就是提耶拉德傅耶哥(TierradelFuego)的印第安人居然可以在当地如此恶劣的气候下生活。可是这并不表示所有的人类都是一样的。那些住在赤道附近的人皮肤的颜色就要比住在北方的人要黑,因为黑皮肤可以使他们免于受到日照的伤害。白种人如果长期暴露在阳光下比较容易得皮肤癌。”
“住在北方国家的人有白皮肤是否也是一种优点呢?”
“是的,要不然地球上的每一个人皮肤都是黑的了。白皮肤在日晒后比较容易制造维他命,这在日照很少的地方是很重要的。当然,到了今天这点就没有那么重要了,因为我们可以透过饮食得到足够的阳光维他命。可是在大自然中没有一件事是偶然的。每一件事都是一些微小的改变在无数个世代的过程中产生作用的结果。”
“想起来还真有趣!”
“确实如此。说到这里,我们可以用下面这些话来总结达尔文的进化论……”
“请说。”
“我们可以说地球生物进化的‘原料’就是同一种生物之间不断出现的个体差异,再加上子孙的数量庞大,以致只有一小部分能够存活。而进化的实际‘机转’(或驱动力)则是生存竞争中的自然淘汰作用。这种淘汰过程可以确保最强者或‘最适者’能够生存下泉。”
“听起来跟算术题目一样合理。当时人对《物种起源论》这本书的反应如何?”
“它引起了激烈的争辩。教会提出强烈抗议,科学界则反应不一。其实这并不令人惊讶。毕竟,达尔文的理论把上帝与世界之间的距离拉远了很多。不过,也有人宣称,创造一些具有进化能力的生物要比创造一些固定不变的生物更伟大。”
突然间,苏菲从椅子上跳起来。
“你看那里1”她喊。
她指着窗外。只见湖边有一对男女手牵着手在走路。两人都是一丝不挂。
“那是亚当和夏娃。”艾伯特说。“他们逐渐被迫与小红帽和梦游奇境的爱丽丝等人为伍了。所以他们才会在这里出现。”
苏菲走到窗前去看他们,可是他们很快就消失在林间。
“这是因为达尔文相信人类也是从动物进化而来的吗?”
“一八七一年,达尔文发表了《人的由来》(TheDescentofMan)这本书。他在书中提醒大家注意人与动物之间许多极为相似之处,并提出一个理论,认为人与类人猿必定是在某段时间由同一祖先进化而来的。这时,科学家已经相继在直布罗陀岩(RockofGibraltar)和德国的尼安德(Neanderthal)等地发现了第一批某种绝种人类的头骨化石。奇怪的是,一八七一年这次引起的反对声浪反而比一八五九年达尔文发表《物种起源论》那一次要小。不过,他的第一本书事实上已经隐约指出人是从动物进化而来的。我曾经说过,达尔文在一八八二年去世时,以科学先驱的身份被隆重地葬在西敏寺。”
“这么说他最后还是得到了应有的荣耀和地位?”
“是的,最后是这样。不过在那之前他曾经被形容成英国最危险的人物。”
“天哪!”
“当时有一位上流社会的女士曾经写道:让我们希望这不是真的。如果是真的;希望不会有太多人知道。另一位很杰出的科学家也表示了类似的看法,他说:这真是一个令人很难为情的发现,愈少人谈论它愈好。”
“这几乎可以证明人和鸵鸟有血缘关系!”
“说得好。不过我们现在说这种话当然是比较容易了。达尔文的理论提出后,当时的人们突然不得不重新调整他们对于《创世记》的看法。年轻的作家罗斯金(JohnRuskin)如此形容他的感觉:‘真希望这些地质学家能够放过我。如今在圣经的每一个章节后面,我都可以听到他们的锤子敲打的声音。’”
“这些锤子敲打的声音是指他自己对上帝话语的怀疑吗?”
“应该是这样,因为当时被推翻的不仅是上帝造人的说法。达尔文理论的重点也在于人是由一些偶然发生的变化所形成的。更糟的是,达尔文使得人变成生存竞争这种冷酷事实下的产物。”
遗传与突变“达尔文有没有解释这种偶然的差异是如何发生的?”
“这是他理论中最弱的一环。达尔文对于遗传没有什么概念,他只知道在交配的过程中发生了某些事情。因为一对父母从来不会有两个完全一样的子女,每个子女之间总是会有些微的差异。此外,这种方式很难产生新的特征。更何况有些植物和动物是靠插枝或单细胞分裂等方式来繁衍的。关于那些差异如何发生的问题,达尔文主义如今已经被所谓的‘新达尔丈主义’取代。”
“什么是新达尔文主义?”
“就是说所有的生命和所有的繁殖过程基本上都与细胞分裂有关。当一个细胞分裂成两个时,就产生了两个一模一样、具有相同遗传因子的细胞。我们说细胞分裂的过程就是一个细胞复制自己的动作。”
“然后呢?”“在这个过程当中,偶尔会有一些很小的错误发生,导致那个被复制出来的细胞并不与母细胞完全相同。用现代生物学的术语来说,这就是‘突变’。有些突变是不相干的,但有些突变则可能对个体的行为造成明显的影响。这些突变可能有害,而此类对于物种有害的‘变种’将不断被淘汰。许多疾病事实上就是突变所引起的。
不过有时候,突变的结果可能会使个体拥有一些优势,使它能在生存竞争中立于不败之地。”
“譬如说脖子变长等等?”
“对于长颈鹿何以有如此长的脖子,拉马克的解释是因为它们总是必须伸长脖子到上面去吃树叶。但根据达尔文的看法,这种特征并不会传给下一代。他认为长颈鹿的长脖子是个体差异的结果。
新达尔文主义则指出这种差异形成的原因,借以补充说明。”
“是因为突变吗?”
“没错。遗传因素的偶然改变使得长颈鹿的某位祖先有一个比别人稍长的脖子。当食物有限时,这个特征就变得很重要了,能够把脖子伸到树木最高处的那只鹿就可以活得最好。我们也可以想象这些‘原始长颈鹿’在进化的过程中如何发展了掘地觅食的能力。经过很长的一段时期后,某种现在早已绝迹的动物有可能会分化成两个品种。我们还可以举出一些比较近代的例子来说明自然淘汰的过程是如何进行的。”
“好啊!”
“英国有一种蝴蝶叫做斑蝶。它们住在白桦树的树干上。十八世纪时,大多数斑蝶都是银灰色的。你猜这是什么缘故?”
“这样它们才不容易被那些饥饿的鸟发现呀。”
“可是,由于某些偶然的突变,时常会出现一些颜色较黑的斑蝶。你想这些比较黑的斑蝶会怎样?”
“它们比较容易被看见,因此也比较容易被饥饿的鸟吞吃。”
“没错。因为在那个环境里,桦树的树干是银灰色的,所以比较暗的颜色就变成了不利的特征,也因此在数量上有所增加总是那些颜色较白的斑蝶,可是后来那个环境发生了一件事:在许多地方原本银色的桦树树干被工厂的煤烟染黑了。这时候你想那些斑蝶会变成怎样?”
“这个嘛,那些颜色较黑的就比较容易存活啦。”
“确实如此,所以它们的数量很快就增加了。从一八四八年到一九四八年,若干地方黑色斑蝶的比例从百分之一增加到百分之九十九。这是因为环境改变了,颜色白不再是一个优点。相反的,那些白色的‘输家’一出现在黑色的桦树树干上就马上被鸟儿吃掉了。不过,后来又发生了一件很重要的事:由于工厂减少使用煤炭并改善过滤设备的结果,近来的环境已经变得比较干净了。”
“这么说那些桦树又变回银色的哼?”
“对。也因此斑蝶又开始恢复原来的银白色,这就是我们所称的适应环境。这是一种自然法则。”
“嗯,我明白了。”
“不过也有很多人类干涉环境的例子。”
“比如说?”
“例如,人们不断利用各种杀虫剂来扑杀害虫。最初效果非常好,可是当你在一块地或一座果园里喷洒杀虫剂时,事实上你是为那些害虫制造了一场小小的生态灾难。由于不断突变的结果,一种可以抵抗现有杀虫剂的害虫就产生了。结果这种害虫就变成‘赢家’,可以随心所欲了。因此,人们试图扑灭害虫的结果,反而使得有些害虫愈来愈难对付。当然,这是因为那些存活下来的都是一些抵抗力最强的品种。”
“挺可怕的。”
“这当然值得我们深思。同样的,我们也一直试图对付那些寄生在我们体内的细菌。”
“我们用盘尼西林或其他种抗生素来对付它们。”
“没错。对于这些小魔鬼来说,盘尼西林也是一个‘生态灾难’。
可是当我们继续使用盘尼西林时,我们就不断使得某些细菌产生抗药性,因此造成了一个比从前更难对付的细菌群。我们发现我们必须使用愈来愈强的抗生素,直到……”
“直到最后它们从我们的嘴巴里爬出来?那时候我们是不是该用枪射杀它们?”
“这也许有一点太夸张了。但很明显的,现代医药已经造成一个很严重的进退两难的局面。问题并不仅仅在于某种细菌已经变得更顽强。在过去,有许多小孩因为得了各种疾病而夭折,有时甚至只有少数能够存活。现代医药虽然改善了这个现象,却也使得自然淘汰的作用无法发挥。某种可以帮助一个人克服一种严重疾病的药物,长期下来可能会导致整个人类对于某些疾病的抵抗力减弱。如果我们对所谓的‘遗传卫生’毫不注意,人类的品质可能会逐渐恶化。人类的基因中抵抗严重疾病的能力将会减弱。”
“真可怕!”
“一个真正的哲学家不能避免指出一些‘可怕的’事实,只要他相信那是真的。现在让我们再来做个总结。”
“好。”
“我们可以说生命是一个大型的摸彩活动。只有中奖的号码才能被人看见。”
“这是什么意思?”
“因为那些在生存竞争中失败的人就消失了。在这场摸彩活动中,为地球上每一种动植物逐一抽奖的过程要花上几百万年的时间。至于那些没有中奖的号码则只出现一次,因此现存的各种动植物全部都是这场生命大摸彩活动中的赢家。”
“因为只有最好的才能存活。”
“是的,可以这么说。现在,麻烦你把那个家伙——那个动物园园长——带来的图画递给我好吗?”
苏菲把图递过去给他。上面有一边是诺亚方舟的画像,另外一边则画着一个各种不同动物的演化树图表。艾伯特把这一边拿给她看。
“这个简图显示各种动植物的分布。你可以看到这些不同的动物各自属于不同的类、纲和门。”
“对。”“人和猴子一样属于所谓的灵长类。灵长类属于哺乳类,而所有的哺乳类动物都属于脊椎动物,脊椎动物又属于多细胞动物。”
“简直像是亚理斯多德的分类一样。”
“没错。但这幅简图不只显示今天各种动物的分布,也多少说明了进化的历史。举个例子,你可以看到鸟类在某个时候从爬虫类分了出来,而爬虫类又在某个时候从两栖类分了出来,两栖类则是从鱼类分出来的。”
“嗯,很清楚。”
“一类动物之所以会分成两种,就是因为突变的结果造成了新的品种。这是为什么在历经千万年后有这么多不同的门和纲出现的原因。事实上在今天,全世界大约有一百多万种动物,而这一百多万种只是那些曾经活在地球上的物种的一小部分而已。举个例子,你会发现一个名叫‘三叶虫类’的动物现在已经完全绝种了。”
“而在最下面的是单细胞动物。”
“这些单细胞动物有一些可能在这二十亿年来一直都没有改变。你也可以看到从单细胞生物这里有一条线连接到植物,因为植物也非常可能和动物来自同样的原始细胞。”
生命源起“嗯,我看到了,可是有一件事情我不大懂。”
“什么事?”
“这个最初的原始细胞又是从哪里来的呢?达尔文有没有说明这点?”
“我不是说过他是一个非常谨慎的人吗?但在这个问题上他提出了一个可以说不大缜密的猜测。他写道……如果(啊,这是怎样一种可能性呀㈠我们可以想象有一小摊热热的水,里面有各种氨盐、磷盐、阳光、热、电等等,而且有一个蛋白质化合物正在里面。这个化合物可能会发生一些化学合成的现象,并经历更加复杂的变化......”
“然后呢?”
“达尔文想说的是最初的活细胞有可能是由无机物形成的,在这方面他又说对了。现代的科学家也认为原始的生命形式正是从达尔丈所描述的那种‘一小摊热热的水’里形成的。”
“然后呢?”
“到这里已经讲得差不多了。我们现在就不再谈达尔文,我们要谈谈有关地球生命起源的最新发现。”
“我很心急,大概没有人知道生命是如何开始的吧?”
“也许是这样,但有愈来愈多的资料让我们可以揣测生命可能是如何开始的。我们先确定地球上所有的生命,包括动物与植物在内——是由同样一些物质组成的。生命最简单的定义是:生命是一种物质,这种物质在有养分的液体里能够自行分化成两个完全一样的单位。这个过程是由一种我们称为DNA的物质控制的。所谓DNA就是我们在所有活细胞里面都可以发现的染色体(或称为遗传结构)。我们同时也使用DNA分子这个名词,因为DNA事实上是一个复合的分子(或称为巨分子)。问题在于这世上第一个分于是如何形成的。”
“答案呢?”
“地球是在四十六亿年前太阳系出现时形成的。它最初是一个发热体,后来逐渐冷却。现代科学家相信生命就是在大约三十亿年到四十亿年之前开始的。”
“听起来实在不太可能呀。”
“在还没听完前,你不可以这样说。首先你要了解地球当时的面貌和今天大不相同。由于没有生命,因此大气层里也没有氧气,氧气最初是由植物行光合作用所制造的。而没有氧气这件事可说关系重大,因为可能形成DNA的生命细胞是不可能在一个含有氧气的大气层里产生的。”“为什么呢?”
“因为氧气会造成强烈的反应。像DNA这样的复合分子在还没来得及形成前,它的分子细胞早就被氧化了。”
“喔!”
“这是我们为什么可以确定现在地球不可能会再有新的生命(包括细菌和病毒)形成的缘故。地球上所有生物存在的时间一定走相当的;大象的家族史和最小的细菌一样悠久。我们几乎可以说一只大象(或一个人)事实上是一群单细胞生物的集合体,因为我们体内的每一个细胞都有同样的遗传物质。我们会成为什么样的人,完全是由这些隐藏在每一个小小细胞里面的物质决定的。”
“想起来真奇怪!”
“生命最神秘的地方之一在于;虽然所有不同的遗传特征不见得都活跃在每个细胞内,但多细胞动物的细胞还是能够执行它特殊的功能。有些遗传特征(或称基因)是‘活跃的’,有些是‘不活跃的’。一个肝脏细胞所制造的蛋白质和神经细胞或皮肤细胞不同。
但这三种细胞都有同样的DNA分子,同样含有决定各个有机体形貌的所有遗传物质。在最初的时候,由于大气层里没有氧气,地球的四周也就没有一层可以保护它的臭氧层。这表示没有东西可以挡住来自宇宙的辐射线。这点也是很重要的,因为这种辐射线可能有助于第一个复合分子的形成。这类的宇宙辐射线是真正促使地球上各种化学物质开始结合成为一个复杂的巨分子的能量。”
“喔。”
“我现在要做个总结:所有生命都赖以组成的复合分子要能够形成,至少要有两个条件:一、大气层里不能有氧气,二、要受到宇宙辐射线的照射。”
“我懂了。”
“在这‘一小摊热热的水’(现代科学家时常称之为‘原始汤’)里,曾经形成了一个巨大而复杂的巨分子。这个分子有一种很奇妙的特性可以自行分裂成两个一模一样的单位。于是,漫长的进化过程就这样开始了。简单一点说,这个巨分子就是最初的遗传物质,也就是最初的DNA或是第一个活细胞。它不断分裂再分裂,但从一开始,在分裂过程中就不断有变化产生。历经千万年后,这些单细胞的有机体中,有一个突然和一个更复杂的多细胞有机体连结上了。就这样,植物的光合作用开始了,大气层慢慢有了氧气。这个现象造成了两个结果;第一,含氧的大气层使得那些可以用肺呼吸的动物逐渐进化。第二,大气层如今已可以保护各种生命,使他们不致受到宇宙辐射线的伤害。说也奇怪,这种辐射线原本可能是促使第一个细胞形成的重要推动力,但却也会对所有的生物造成伤害。”
“可是大气层不可能在一夜之间形成。那最早的一些生物是怎么捱过来的呢?”
“生命最初开始于原始‘海’,也就是我们所说的‘原始汤’。那些生物可能生活在其中,因此而得免于辐射线的伤害。一直到很久很久以后,当海洋里的生物已经形成了一个大气层时,最早的一批两栖类动物才开始爬上陆地。至于后来发生的事,我们已经讲过了。于是,我们今天才能坐在这栋林间的小木屋里,回顾这个已经有三四十亿年的过程。透过我们,这个漫长的过程本身终于开始逐渐了解自己了。”
“可是你还是不认为所有的事都是在很偶然的情况下发生的?”
“我从来没有说过这样的话。无论如何,这块板子上的图表显示进化仍有一个方向。这几千万年来,动物已经发展出一套愈来愈复杂的神经系统,脑子也愈来愈大。我个人认为,这绝不是偶然的。
你说呢?”
“我想人类之所以有眼睛绝非偶然。你难道不认为我们能够看到周遭的世界这件事是很有意义的吗?”
“说来好笑,达尔文也曾经对眼睛发展的现象感到不解。他不大能够接受像眼睛这样精巧敏锐的东西会是纯粹物竞天择作用之下的产物。”
苏菲坐在那儿,看着艾伯特。她心想,她现在能够活着,而且只能活一次,以后就永远不能复生,这件事是多么奇怪呀J突然间她脱口念道:“一世人劳苦奔忙有何益?”
艾伯特皱着眉头向她说:“你不可以这样说。这是魔鬼说的话。”
“魔鬼?”
“就是歌德作品《浮士德》里面的曼菲斯多弗里斯(Mephistopheles)。”
“但这话究竟是什么意思呢?”
“浮士德死时,回顾他一生的成就,他用一种胜利的语气说:‘此时我便可呼喊:停驻吧!美妙的时光!我在人世的日子会留下印记,任万代光阴飞逝也无法抹去,我在这样的预感中欣喜无比,这是我生命中最崇高的瞬际。’”
“嗯,很有诗意。”
“可是后来轮到魔鬼说话了。浮士德一死,他便说:谈到既往,不过是蠢话一句!过去的已经过去,消失在虚无里,一切又从零开始!一生劳苦奔忙有何益?到头终究须把眼儿闭!‘消逝了!’这个谜可有尽期?正仿佛一切不曾开始,若再回头重新活过一天,我情愿选择永恒的太虚。”
“这太悲观了。我比较喜欢第一段。即使生命结束了,浮士德仍旧认为他留下的足迹是有意义的。”
“所以,达尔文的理论不是正好让我们体认到我们是大千世界的一部分,在这个世界里,每一个细微的生物都有它存在的价值吗?苏菲,我们就是这个活的星球。地球是航行在宇宙中燃烧的大阳四周的一艘大船。而我们每一个人则是满载基因航行过生命的一条小船。当我们安全地把船上的货品运到下一个港口时,我们就没有白活了。英国诗人兼小说家哈代(ThomasHardy)在《变形》这首诗中表达过同样的想法:这紫杉的一截是我先人的旧识,树干底的枝桠:许是他的发妻,原本鲜活的血肉之躯,如今皆化为嫩绿的新枝。
这片草地必然是百年前那渴求安眠女子的化身,而许久前我无缘相识的那位佳丽,或者已凝为这株蔷薇的魂魄。
所以他们并未长眠于地下,而只是化做花树的血脉经络充斥于天地万物之间,再次领受阳光雨露以及前世造化赋形的活力!”
“好美呀!”
“我们不能再讲下去了。我只想说:下一章!”
“哦,别再说那些反讽的话吧!”
“我说:下一章!你得听我的话。”

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