最近關(guān)于亞里士多德的道德學(xué)我思考了很多，一方面因?yàn)閹讉€(gè)禮拜前我教過這門課，更多是因?yàn)槲以谙腙P(guān)于自我發(fā)展的問題?！案蛔恪边@觀點(diǎn)成了有影響力的觀點(diǎn)，已融入到我對(duì)諸多事項(xiàng)的思考中，比如，做事情(get things done), 自我發(fā)展及生活。實(shí)際上，這個(gè)詞在我最近一篇文稿的末尾出現(xiàn)過，且我必須得停止火爐邊我其他的文稿，以說出我所指“富足”的含義，以及不管怎樣，為什么我認(rèn)為他是一個(gè)理解我們?cè)谧非笫裁吹闹匾蚣?。為了開始做這件事情，我需要簡(jiǎn)單地介紹一些亞里士多德的學(xué)說。
Aristotelian Ethics…in Ten Minutes
亞里士多德的道德倫理——十分鐘介紹
To get the basics of Aristotelian Ethics, you have to understand three basic things: What Eudaimonia is, What Virtue is, and That We Become Better Persons Through Practice.
為了了解亞里士多德倫理學(xué)得基礎(chǔ)，你必須理解三個(gè)基本點(diǎn)：“Eudaimonia”是什么，美德是什么，以及訓(xùn)練使我們成為更好地人
Eudaimonia
Eudaimonia
Eudaimonia is Greek and translates literally to “having good demons.” Many authors translate it as happiness, but I don’t think that’s the best translation and way to understand it. “Well-being” and “flourishing” are closer to what he means, and I think of the two, “flourishing” captures the full range of the way he uses the word. And someone who is flourishing is living The Good Life.
“Eudaimonia”是一個(gè)希臘詞匯，字面上的意思是“有好的魔鬼”。 很多作者將它譯為幸福，但我不認(rèn)為這是使我們理解“Eudaimonia”的最好翻譯。“安逸”和“富足”更接近“Eudaimonia”的意思。對(duì)我而言，富足更確切地反映了亞里士多德使用“Eudaimonia”的方式。另外，也有人認(rèn)為富足的人過著好日子。
According to Aristotle, all humans seek to flourish. It’s the proper and desired end of all of our actions. Flourishing, however, is a functional definition. And to understand something’s function, you have to understand its nature.
亞里士多德認(rèn)為所有人都在尋求富足。富足是人類所有行動(dòng)合理且想得到的結(jié)果。然而，富足是一個(gè)功用性質(zhì)的定義。為了理解某事物的功用，你必須理解他得本質(zhì)。
There are four different aspects to human nature, and Aristotle is often quoted as saying “Man is a political creature.” There’s actually more to it than most attributions give him, for “political” is often misunderstood. A better attribution is the following: Human beings are social, rational animals.
人類的本質(zhì)有四個(gè)不同的方面，人們常引用亞里士多德的言論------人是政治性的生物。事實(shí)上，亞里士多德所指比大多數(shù)引用所指豐富，因?yàn)椤罢涡缘摹蓖ǔ１徽`解。一個(gè)更合理的說法是：人類是社會(huì)性的理性動(dòng)物。
Two of the aspects of our natures come from being thetype of thing we are…that is, we are animals. The other two come from the type of animals we are. So, a breakdown is in order:
人類本質(zhì)的兩個(gè)方面來源于我們是什么，也就是說，來源是我們是動(dòng)物。本質(zhì)的另外兩方面來源于我們是什么樣的動(dòng)物。因此，有了如下的觀點(diǎn)：
We are animals.
我們是動(dòng)物。
What separates animals from plants, according to Aristotle, is that animals have wants, desires, urges, and reactions. We perceive something in the world that we want and we have the power of volition to get it; likewise, we have the power to avoid the things we don’t want. For humans, these wants can get pretty complex, but at rock bottom we all have (emotional) needs and wants that spring from rather basic sources.
亞里士多德認(rèn)為動(dòng)物與植物的不同之處在于，動(dòng)物有渴求，期望，欲望和反應(yīng)。我們將世界中的事物認(rèn)知為我們需要的，和我們有意志力能得到的；同樣，我們有能力避免不想發(fā)生的事情。對(duì)于人類來說，這些需求非常復(fù)雜，但最基本的，我們都有（情感的）需求，以及基本的物質(zhì)需求。
Animals have two components:
動(dòng)物有兩個(gè)特征：
They are physical.
他們有身體。
As physical beings, we require nourishment, exercise, rest, and all the other things that it takes to keep our bodies functioning properly.
有身體，我們就需要營養(yǎng)，鍛煉，休息，以及其他一切保持身體正常運(yùn)作的物質(zhì)。
They are emotional.
他們有情感。
We are social.
我們是社會(huì)性的。
We must live and function in particular societies. “No man is an island,” and we are the type of being that does well only in social settings. Our social nature stacks on top of our emotional nature, such that we have wants and needs that we would not have were we not social creatures. For example, if we were the type of creature that flourished as hermits, the need for trust and friendly cooperation would not be nearly so pressing.
我們必須生活在社會(huì)中，并在社會(huì)中發(fā)揮功用。沒有人是一個(gè)孤島，我們都是那種只有在社會(huì)框架中才能運(yùn)轉(zhuǎn)良好的生物。我們的社會(huì)性基于我們有情感的本質(zhì)，因此我們有那些除非我們不是社會(huì)性生物才不會(huì)有的渴求和必須。例如，如果我們是如隱士般感覺富足的生物，對(duì)于信任和友好合作的需求就不會(huì)近乎緊迫的。
We are rational.
我們是理智的。
We are creative, expressive, knowledge-seeking, and able to obey reason. We might not always obey reason and we may sometimes not want to exercise our minds, but a large part of our existence relates to us being rational animals.
我們是創(chuàng)造性的，有表現(xiàn)力的，尋求知識(shí)的，并能服從理智。我們可能并不是總是服從理智，我們也有可能有時(shí)不愿意錘煉我們的思想，但大部分我們的行動(dòng)都與我們是理性的動(dòng)物相關(guān)。
Flourishing Is A Holistic Concept
富足是一個(gè)全局性的觀點(diǎn)
You can’t truly flourish if you’re not flourishing in one of these aspects. This is played out in our everyday lives when you see people who are so emotionally stunted that they can’t function well in society…or who are so obese that they can’t enjoy life…or who are so socially inept that they can’t fit into the type of society that would develop their intelligence. The list goes on and on.
如果你不能在如下的一個(gè)方面富足，那么你不可能真正地富足。這些都是我們生活中得常見狀況，不能良好表達(dá)情感的人在社會(huì)中不能很好地發(fā)揮作用，也有人太過肥胖以至于不能享受生活，也有人社交如此差以至于不能融入到能使他變得智慧的社會(huì)。這種舉例永無終止。
The different aspects of our natures are tiered in the way that they are presented above, so that the physical is below the social which is below the rational. This may sound familiar to some of you familiar with Maslow’s Hierarchy because i t’s in effect the same thing. Only it took Maslow 2500 years to verify what Aristotle had said all along.
上述例證說明了人類本質(zhì)的不同方面是如下排列一次發(fā)展的，生理性，社會(huì)性，理性。這對(duì)于熟悉Maslow等級(jí)的人會(huì)很熟悉，因?yàn)檫@實(shí)際上是一回事。只是Maslow用了2500年來證實(shí)亞里士多德早已明白的事情。
With an understanding of flourishing in hand, discussing virtue becomes easy.
理解了富足之后，討論美德將會(huì)變得容易。
On Virtue
關(guān)于美德
What is a virtue?
美德是什么
A virtue is a trait of character that enables a person to flourish.
美德是一部分使人富足的品質(zhì)。
The Doctrine of the Mean
平均學(xué)說
This is a key phrase to understand Aristotle. Consider the virtue of bravery, for example. An excess of bravery leads people to do really stupid things; the example I normally use is the frat-brat who’ll jump of the fraternity house just to prove how brave he is. It’s not brave; it’s rash. On the other hand, people who have a deficiency of bravery are cowards; they won’t put their ass on the line for anything. The virtue of bravery lies somewhere in between the deficiency of bravery (cowardliness) and the excess of bravery (rashness).
這是理解亞里士多德的一個(gè)關(guān)鍵詞條。例如，想一想勇敢地美德。過多的勇敢使人做傻事，我經(jīng)常舉得例子是，幫派人士會(huì)為了證明他得勇敢而脫離幫派。這不是勇敢，而是魯莽。從另外一個(gè)方面說，缺少勇氣的人事懦夫，他們不愿意為了任何事情冒險(xiǎn)。勇敢的美德處于缺少勇氣（懦弱）和勇氣過多（魯莽）之間。
So it is with all of the different virtues: the virtuous trait is that which is between the deficiency of that trait and the excess of that trait.
對(duì)于其他所有美德也是如此，某種品質(zhì)的美德處于缺少此種品質(zhì)和這種品質(zhì)過多之間。
What are the specific virtues?
什么是特殊的美德
The Virtues
美德
Vice (Deficiency) Virtue (Mean) Vice (Excess)
惡習(xí)（缺少） 美德（平均） 惡習(xí)（過多）
Cowardliness Bravery Rashness
懦弱 勇敢 魯莽
Insensibility Temperance Intemperance
無欲無求 節(jié)欲 放縱
Stinginess Generosity Extravagance
吝嗇 慷慨 鋪張
Self-deprecation Truthfulness (Modesty) Boastfulness
自貶 誠實(shí)（謙遜） 自夸
Boorishness Wittiness Buffoonery
愚鈍 機(jī)智 打諢
Quarrelsomeness Friendliness Flattery
好爭(zhēng)論 友好 諂媚
Melancholiness Spiritedness Boisterousness
憂郁 活潑 狂躁
Not Responsive to Shame Conscientiousness Overly Responsive to Shame
不知羞恥 自知 羞恥心過重
Envious Indignant Spiteful
嫉妒 憤怒的 懷恨的
Unkindliness Benevolence Over-kindliness
不友好 仁愛的 過度友好
Slothful Industriousness Over-industriousness
懶惰的 勤勉的 過分勤勉的
I’ll not discuss all of the virtues, but some are worth a quick discussion:
我不會(huì)討論所有品德，但有一些是值得簡(jiǎn)要討論的。
Temperance
節(jié)欲的
This one has to do with calming one’s bodily passions and desires. Always acting on your physical passions and desires will not lead to flourishing. However, always denying your physical passions and desires is also denying component of your nature and will also not lead to flourishing.
這個(gè)詞與克制肉體的激情和欲望有關(guān)?？偸鞘苋怏w的熱情和欲望驅(qū)動(dòng)不會(huì)導(dǎo)向富足。然而，總是否定肉體的激情和欲求也是否定你本質(zhì)的組成部分，也不會(huì)導(dǎo)向富足。
Wittiness
機(jī)智
Many people don’t think this should be on the list, but when you think about it, it makes perfect sense. People naturally want to be around people who are funny and who lighten the mood. We tend to avoid grumps, and buffoons, though initially fun, grow old after a while. So, having the virtue of wittiness enables us to flourish in the social aspect of our lives. The analysis of friendliness is much the same.
很多人認(rèn)為機(jī)智不會(huì)出現(xiàn)在美德的列表中，但當(dāng)你思考下才智，它確實(shí)是種美德。人類天生希望處于滑稽的能使氛圍輕松的人周圍。我們傾向于避開發(fā)牢騷的人，和一開始滑稽但很快變老的小丑。因此，有機(jī)智的美德使得我們能再社交生活中富足。關(guān)于友好的分析差不多相同。
Spiritedness
活
The insight here is that you should be passionate about things in the right circumstances. There are situations where anger is the appropriate, virtuous response, and if you’re never able to become angry, you’re deficient in spirit, and if you’re always angry, you’ve got an excess of anger. This trait is the emotional analogue of temperance.
活潑在這里的意思是，在特定的圈子中你應(yīng)該對(duì)圈中事物充滿熱情。有些環(huán)境中憤怒就是正常的道德反應(yīng)，如果你永不發(fā)怒，你的精神不完整；如果你經(jīng)常發(fā)怒，你的怒氣過多。這個(gè)品質(zhì)對(duì)應(yīng)與節(jié)欲的情感反應(yīng)。
Indignant
憤慨的
Aristotle discusses indignity as a virtue in the sense that he thinks we should be upset if people do well undeservedly. For example, if someone wins because she cheated, the proper, virtuous response is to be upset or angry. On the other hand, some people are so envious that they are angry when anyone does well, and some people are so spiteful that they delight in other people’s misfortunes. The proper, virtuous trait is to be delighted when other people do well because they deserve it.
亞里士多德認(rèn)為憤慨在如下的狀況下是美德，即在人們被不公正地對(duì)待時(shí)感到憤慨。例如，如果有人通過作弊取勝，有道德的反應(yīng)時(shí)焦急和憤怒。另外一方面，有些人如此嫉妒以至于別人做得好時(shí)他們會(huì)生氣，還有些人惡意的以別人的不幸為樂。正常的道德特質(zhì)是為別人理所當(dāng)然的進(jìn)展感到高興。
Benevolence
愛心
How can one have benevolence in excess? Isn’t it always a good thing? Nope. If we get an excess of benevolence, we can’t see that sometimes to do the right thing you can’t help someone. Do you know a drama queen that always calls to talk to you when they’re going through their crises? The proper response is to, at a certain point, recognize that you can’t help them (in reality they don’t want it) and walk away. However, never helping anyone is a defect and should be avoided as well. (Some confuse this with generosity. That one has to do with how you handle your resources.)
我們?cè)趺纯赡苡羞^多的愛心？愛心不總是件好事嗎？不是的。如果愛心過多，我們不能意識(shí)到有時(shí)為了做正確的事情你不能幫助某人。你知不知道有個(gè)做戲的人，總是打電話跟你說她們正在經(jīng)歷危機(jī)。正確的反應(yīng)時(shí)，在合適的時(shí)機(jī)，意識(shí)到你你不能幫助她們（事實(shí)上她們不希望幫助）而走開。然而，絕不助人是一種缺陷，是需要避免的。（有人對(duì)慷慨感到迷惑?？犊侵改銘?yīng)用資源的方式）
How are all of the virtues related?
所有這些美德如何關(guān)聯(lián)？
What links all of the virtues is phronesis, a Greek word best translated as “practical wisdom.” It’s not quite intelligence, although it is a rational trait…it’s more like knowing what the mean is in the particular circumstance you’re in. How does one know what to do in a particular circumstance?…
關(guān)聯(lián)這些美德的方法是"phronesis", 這個(gè)希臘詞最好的翻譯是“實(shí)踐的智慧”。它并不是智慧，也不是一種理性特征……它更像是身處某個(gè)特定環(huán)境時(shí)了解平均狀態(tài)。個(gè)人如何知道在特定的環(huán)境中怎么做了？
We become more virtuous through education and habit.
我們通過教育和習(xí)慣而更有道德。
If we’re lucky, we’re brought up in an environment where the adults around us teach us how to be virtuous. There are two ways that they can do this.
如果我們很幸運(yùn)，在我們成長(zhǎng)的環(huán)境中，撫養(yǎng)我們的成年人教育我們變得有道德。他們有兩種教育方法。
The first way is just by training us to have habits that enable us to flourish. For example, they may instill in us the tendency to exercise or to play sports. They may also instill in us the habit of sharing, being friendly, brave, and all the other virtues. In other words, they make it part of our innate character; they are training us how to be.
第一種方法就是訓(xùn)練我們養(yǎng)成能使我們富足的習(xí)慣。例如，他們也許會(huì)使我們樂于鍛煉或運(yùn)動(dòng)。他們也可以培養(yǎng)我們?nèi)缦碌牧?xí)慣，分享，勇敢，以及其他美德。換言之，他們使美德成為我們內(nèi)在性格的一部分.他們訓(xùn)練我們?nèi)绾胃蛔恪?b class="label bg2" jquery1318302349062="191">
The second way normally follows the first. After we reach a certain age of maturity, they can start to teach us why it’s good to have the habits that they’ve been inculcating. Children don’t understand flourishing, but adolescents and adults can. They’re honing our practical wisdom at this stage, since they are teaching us in what circumstances we ought to do certain actions. They are in effect teaching us why we ought to be the type of person we are.
第二種方法與第一種一脈相承。當(dāng)我們成長(zhǎng)到一定年齡，有些成熟，他們開始教育我們?yōu)槭裁磽碛兴麄兣囵B(yǎng)的那些習(xí)慣是好的。小孩子不明白什么是富足，但是青少年和成年人可以明白。在青少年這個(gè)階段，他們通過教導(dǎo)我們?cè)诟鞣N不同的情景下應(yīng)該怎樣反應(yīng)而磨礪我們的智慧。事實(shí)上，他們是在教我們?yōu)槭裁次覀円蔀槲覀兪堑眠@種人。
Of course, the best way for them to teach us to be virtuous is to exhibit virtue in their characters. If we ever wonder what we should do in a certain situation, then finding the answer is as easy as finding a virtuous person and asking her what she would do. And how do we know who a virtuous person is? We just look for someone who’s flourishing.
當(dāng)然，教育我們有道德的最好方法是展示他們自身性格中得美德。如果在某個(gè)情景中我們不知道自身應(yīng)該怎樣做，最容易找到答案的方法是找到一個(gè)有道德的人，并詢問她在同樣地情景中會(huì)怎樣做。我們?nèi)绾沃酪粋€(gè)人是不是有道德的人？我們只需要找那些富足的人。
At a certain point, though, we become responsible for our own characters. It is at that point that we begin to actively, intentionally hone our characters. We continue to improve our physical body, our emotional state, our ability to live with others, and our minds. We continue to reinforce good habits, acquire more knowledge, help those around us, and find peace with ourselves.
然而，在一個(gè)特定的時(shí)間點(diǎn)，我們開始對(duì)我們的性格負(fù)責(zé)。只是在那個(gè)時(shí)候，我們?cè)谥鲃?dòng)地，有意識(shí)地磨礪我們的性格。我們不斷地提升我們的體質(zhì)，情感，與他們相處的能力，和我們的思想。我們不斷地加強(qiáng)好的習(xí)慣，獲取知識(shí)，幫助周圍的人，并與自己和平相處。
We have the knowledge, we have the habits, and we have the understanding that the good life is up to us. The end state: we flourish.
我們有知識(shí)，有習(xí)慣，知道好生活會(huì)到來。最終狀態(tài)：我們感到富足。
[Sidebar: the metaphor that I often use to explain Aristotle's ideas is that of planting a tree. A tree planted in bad conditions will not flourish, just as a child brought up in a bad environment will not flourish. Just planting the tree in the right conditions, however, will not necessarily lead to the tree's flourishing; to help it flourish, you'll need to prune it and tend to it properly (just as we train children). At a certain point, though, you won't need to prune the tree. It will have the structure and setting such that it can flourish on its own. Just provide it the nutrients it needs and the tree will continue to grow and flourish. The metaphor translates quite well for human development.]
【其他：我經(jīng)常用來解釋亞里士多德思想的一個(gè)比喻是種一棵樹。一顆種植在惡劣環(huán)境中得樹不會(huì)茂盛，就像一個(gè)成長(zhǎng)在糟糕環(huán)境中得小孩不會(huì)富足。僅僅把樹種植在正確的環(huán)境中，然而不一定能使得樹木茂盛；為了使得樹木茂盛，你需要適當(dāng)?shù)匦藿ê驼湛此ㄈ缤覀冇?xùn)練小孩）。在某個(gè)特定的點(diǎn)，然而，你不在需要修剪樹木。他已經(jīng)有了自身的結(jié)構(gòu)和布局，能夠使其變得茂盛。只要提供養(yǎng)分，樹木就能持續(xù)生長(zhǎng)和翻身。這個(gè)比喻對(duì)于人類成長(zhǎng)非常合適?！?b style="BACKGROUND: none transparent scroll repeat 0% 0%" class="label bg2" jquery1318302349062="196">
If you understand and remember the points just mentioned above, you can talk meaningfully about Aristotelian ethics. The real reason I’ve discussed Aristotelian ethics, though, is that it will likely infuse a lot of my writing about GTD, personal development, productivity, and creativity. It’s an excellent framework to think about how to flourish in all of the important areas of your life.
如果你理解和記住了上述觀點(diǎn)，你已經(jīng)了解了亞里士多德道德學(xué)的意義。我討論亞里士多德道德學(xué)的真正原因是，它會(huì)注入很多思想到我的寫作中，關(guān)于做事，自我發(fā)展，執(zhí)行力和創(chuàng)造力。這是一個(gè)優(yōu)異的框架，用于思考如何在你生活的所有重要領(lǐng)域中變得富足。
