人生的意义，Terry Eagleton

大家好，我是大中。这次想和大家分享一本书，书名很狂妄，叫《人生的意义》，作者是Terry Eagleton，作者自己都说他是以喜剧演员的方式来处理这个崇高的主题的。书总共200页，前面100页中文，后面100页英文。我想和你分享的就是这本书除了附录之外的最后一页。

我发现了这本书是因为，它被收录在译林出版社的“牛津通识读本”系列里。

而我选择这一段是因为，我觉得这一段的类比性描述，比作者在前面99页的哲学思辨都更具有启发意义。

作者建议你可以把自己当成是爵士乐队中的一员，来感受什么是对人生意义最合适的理解。

A jazz group which is improvising obviously differs from a symphony orchestra, since to a large extent each member is free to express herself as she likes. But she does so with a receptive sensitivity to the self-expressive performances of the other musicians.

爵士乐队的即兴演奏，明显与交响乐队不同，因为很大程度上，每位爵士演奏者都可以按自己的喜好来自由表现。但是，她在这么做的时候，其实也是敏感地接受着，其他乐手的自由表现。

The complex harmony they fashion comes not from playing from a collective score, but from the free musical expression of each member acting as the basis for the free expression of the others.

他们所形成的，复合的，和谐状态，并非源于演奏一段共同的乐谱，而是源于，在他人自由表达的基础上，每位乐手都用音乐自由地表达。

As each player grows more musically eloquent, the others draw inspiration from this and are spurred to greater heights. There is no conflict here between freedom and the 'good of the whole', yet the image is the reverse of totalitarian. Though each performer contributes to 'the greater good of the whole’, she does so not by some grim-lipped self sacrifice but simply by expressing herself.

每位乐手的演奏，越有表现力，其他乐手就会从中得到灵感，被激励而达到更精彩的效果。

在这里，自由与“整体的好”之间没有冲突，但这个意象与极权主义截然相反。虽然每位乐手都为“整体的更大的好”作出了贡献，但她不是通过自我牺牲，而只是通过表达自我。

There is self realization, but only through a loss of self in the music as a whole. There is achievement, but it is not a question of self-aggrandizing success. Instead, the achievement-the music itself-acts as a medium of relationship among the performers.

这当中有自我实现，但实现的方式是，自我消失于整体的音乐中。其中有成就，但不是自吹自擂的成就。相反，这个成就是音乐本身，是那个把乐手链接在一起的媒介。

There is pleasure to be reaped from this artistry, and-since there is a free fulfillment or realization of powers-there is also happiness in the sense of flourishing. Because this flourishing is reciprocal, we can even speak, remotely and analogically, of a kind of love.

演奏的高超技巧带来了快乐，也带来了自我发展意义上的幸福，因为人的力量得到了自由满足和实现。由于这种自我发展是互惠互利的，我们甚至可以说，这是一种爱。

The point of such aspirations is to indicate a direction, however lamentably we are bound to fall short of the goal. What we need is a form of life which is completely pointless, just as the jazz performance is pointless.

Rather than serve some utilitarian purpose or earnest metaphysical end, it is a delight in itself. It needs no justification beyond its own existence. In this sense, the meaning of life is interestingly close to meaninglessness.

这个例子都给我们指明了一个方向：我们需要的也许是一种毫无目的的生活，就像爵士乐演奏那样毫无目的。它不是要服务于某个功利目的或形而上的严肃宗旨，它本身就是一种愉悦。它不需要任何自身之外的理由。在这个意义上，人生的意义有趣地接近于无意义。

其实我更想说，人生的意义不在目标，而在状态，人生的意义不是可辨析的，而是需实践的。