For ever and ever

　　追求永生

　　Immortality: The Quest to Live Forever and How ItDrives Civilisation.

　　《永生：對長命百歲的追求及這是如何影響文明》

　　IMMORTALITY is an age-old obsession. Plentyof literature deals with the subject, from theSumerian Epic of Gilgamish to the poems of Homerand the writings of the Old Testament. The quest to live for ever has motivated medievalalchemists, modern techno-Utopians and mystics through the centuries.

　　永生是人們亙古不變的追求。不論是蘇美爾人的《《吉爾迦美什史詩》，還是荷馬的詩歌，亦或是《舊約》，大量的文學作品都以此為主題。歷經了數個世紀，人們都追求著永生，這種觀點激勵著中世紀煉金術士，現代的技術烏托邦主義者，神秘主義者。

　　In his survey of the subject, Stephen Cave, a British philosopher, argues that mansvarious tales of immortality can be boiled down into four basic narratives. The first is thesimplest, in theory at least: do what the medieval alchemists never managed and discoveran elixir to simply avoid dying. The second concerns resurrection, or coming back to life afterdying, a belief found in all three of the Abrahamic religions. The idea of an immaterial soulthat can persist through death dates back, in a formal form, at least to Plato, and forms MrCaves third narrative. His fourth narrative deals with immortality through achievement,by becoming so famous that ones name lives on through the ages.

　　英國哲學家史蒂芬?凱夫在他對這一問題的調查中指出，關于永生的各種傳說都可以歸為四類說法。第一種在理論上至少是最簡單的：完成中世紀煉金術士的遺愿，即發明一種長生不老藥;第二種是復活，即死而復生，這種信仰普遍存在于三個亞拉伯罕宗教中;第三種是人們認為無形的靈魂能夠穿越死亡，這種理念的正式形態，至少可以追溯回柏拉圖時代。第四種是通過取得成就獲得永生，即讓自己名垂千古。

　　For the aspiring undying, Mr Cave unfortunately concludes that immortality is a mirage.But his demolition project is fascinating in its own right. The section on the soul is an ableattack on the related doctrines of vitalism, the soul and mind-body dualismthe intuitiveand still widely held body of ideas that hold that living creatures are animated by some sortof supernatural spark, and that an individuals personality or consciousness can survivedeath. The chapters on resurrection will interest Christians, as Mr Cave examines how theliteral recreation, by God, of dead peoples bodies remains the doctrine of most branches ofChristianity. The idea of ones soul, as opposed to ones body, ending up in heaven or hell isa subsequent embellishment.

　　對向往長生不老的人而言遺憾的是，凱夫做出了一個結論：永生是種幻想。不過就事論事，他對此的解析的確很吸引人。調查中，關于靈魂的部分對與之相關的生機論教義做了有力的攻擊，即靈魂與身心二元論這是一種非常直接，且許多人都相信的思想，他們認為某種超自然的力量賦予了生物生命，一個人的人格及意識能夠超越死亡而存在。基督徒會對凱夫探討復活的章節感興趣，因為他探討了上帝重造已死者的肉體這一點是怎樣一直做為各基督教派的教義保留下來的。人們認為，一個人的靈魂，不同于其軀體，它終會上天堂或是下地獄，則是在該思想之后才發展出來的一種修飾。

　　If anything, readers might want more of Mr Caves crisp conversational prose. Therecould be more on living longer; Mr Cave barely has time to give even the briefest overview ofthe emerging science of life extension, which has allowed researchers to lengthen thelifespans of mice by a third or more in the lab.

　　如果凱夫與其他調查有和不同的話，那便是讀者也許想讀到更多他的干凈利索的對話式散文。有關延長壽命的章節可以再長一些，但凱夫幾乎沒時間對當今研究長壽的科學做一個最簡潔的概述。這種科學使得科研者們將實驗室里小白鼠的壽命延長了三分之一或更多。

　　There are a few quibbles. Mr Caves repeated claim that the quest for immortalitydrives every human activity feels overdone. Others might dispute his definition ofimmortality itself. Mr Caves chief argument against the desirability of living for ever is the familiar one of boredom. As the uncountable billions of yearstick away, the argument runs, even the most vivacious will come to realise that they havedone everything there is to do, hundreds of times. With yet more billions of years loomingahead they will be struck down with a debilitating ennui.

　　不過，凱夫的調查還是存在小瑕疵。他一直宣稱，對永生的追求主導了人類所有活動，這未免讓人覺得有些夸大。他對于永生自身的定義還存在爭議。對于長生的好處，凱夫最主要的辯駁觀點是人們非常熟悉的：厭煩。該論點認為：隨著數十億年逐漸過去，即使是最有活力的人/永生者也會慢慢意識到自己已經做完了所有可做的事，而且每一件都做了不下數百次了。未來還有數十億年要面對，這些永生者將會感到一種壓倒一切的無聊感。

　　That argument only applies if these notional immortals are also invincible, and thereforeimpervious to accident. But that is an odd definition, and not one that crops up very often,especially in scientific research into ageing. The holy grail there is simply to arrest the ageingprocess. Indeed, Mr Cave quotes an actuary who has estimated that the average medicalimmortal would persist for around 6,000 years before dying in a plane accident or a carcrash or the like. And besides, boredom seems to be a non-problem: after all, if an immortaldoes ever get truly bored of his vastly extended life, there would be nothing to prevent himfrom ending it.

　　只有在這些所謂的永生者也是所向無敵，因此不受任何事故傷害時，上述論點才能成立。不過這是個奇怪的定義，并非時不時冒出來的，尤其是在研究衰老的科研中。圣杯只是為了阻止衰老。的確，凱夫引用了一位精算師的話，據那位精算師估計，一個醫學上永生的人平均大約可以活6000年，不過最終他會死于墜機，撞車等事故。另外，這種厭煩似乎不是問題：別忘了，若一個獲得永生的人實在厭煩了自己沒完沒了的生命，什么也阻止不了他將其結束。

　　For ever and ever

　　追求永生

　　Immortality: The Quest to Live Forever and How ItDrives Civilisation.

　　《永生：對長命百歲的追求及這是如何影響文明》

　　IMMORTALITY is an age-old obsession. Plentyof literature deals with the subject, from theSumerian Epic of Gilgamish to the poems of Homerand the writings of the Old Testament. The quest to live for ever has motivated medievalalchemists, modern techno-Utopians and mystics through the centuries.

　　永生是人們亙古不變的追求。不論是蘇美爾人的《《吉爾迦美什史詩》，還是荷馬的詩歌，亦或是《舊約》，大量的文學作品都以此為主題。歷經了數個世紀，人們都追求著永生，這種觀點激勵著中世紀煉金術士，現代的技術烏托邦主義者，神秘主義者。

　　In his survey of the subject, Stephen Cave, a British philosopher, argues that mansvarious tales of immortality can be boiled down into four basic narratives. The first is thesimplest, in theory at least: do what the medieval alchemists never managed and discoveran elixir to simply avoid dying. The second concerns resurrection, or coming back to life afterdying, a belief found in all three of the Abrahamic religions. The idea of an immaterial soulthat can persist through death dates back, in a formal form, at least to Plato, and forms MrCaves third narrative. His fourth narrative deals with immortality through achievement,by becoming so famous that ones name lives on through the ages.

　　英國哲學家史蒂芬?凱夫在他對這一問題的調查中指出，關于永生的各種傳說都可以歸為四類說法。第一種在理論上至少是最簡單的：完成中世紀煉金術士的遺愿，即發明一種長生不老藥;第二種是復活，即死而復生，這種信仰普遍存在于三個亞拉伯罕宗教中;第三種是人們認為無形的靈魂能夠穿越死亡，這種理念的正式形態，至少可以追溯回柏拉圖時代。第四種是通過取得成就獲得永生，即讓自己名垂千古。

　　For the aspiring undying, Mr Cave unfortunately concludes that immortality is a mirage.But his demolition project is fascinating in its own right. The section on the soul is an ableattack on the related doctrines of vitalism, the soul and mind-body dualismthe intuitiveand still widely held body of ideas that hold that living creatures are animated by some sortof supernatural spark, and that an individuals personality or consciousness can survivedeath. The chapters on resurrection will interest Christians, as Mr Cave examines how theliteral recreation, by God, of dead peoples bodies remains the doctrine of most branches ofChristianity. The idea of ones soul, as opposed to ones body, ending up in heaven or hell isa subsequent embellishment.

　　對向往長生不老的人而言遺憾的是，凱夫做出了一個結論：永生是種幻想。不過就事論事，他對此的解析的確很吸引人。調查中，關于靈魂的部分對與之相關的生機論教義做了有力的攻擊，即靈魂與身心二元論這是一種非常直接，且許多人都相信的思想，他們認為某種超自然的力量賦予了生物生命，一個人的人格及意識能夠超越死亡而存在。基督徒會對凱夫探討復活的章節感興趣，因為他探討了上帝重造已死者的肉體這一點是怎樣一直做為各基督教派的教義保留下來的。人們認為，一個人的靈魂，不同于其軀體，它終會上天堂或是下地獄，則是在該思想之后才發展出來的一種修飾。

　　If anything, readers might want more of Mr Caves crisp conversational prose. Therecould be more on living longer; Mr Cave barely has time to give even the briefest overview ofthe emerging science of life extension, which has allowed researchers to lengthen thelifespans of mice by a third or more in the lab.

　　如果凱夫與其他調查有和不同的話，那便是讀者也許想讀到更多他的干凈利索的對話式散文。有關延長壽命的章節可以再長一些，但凱夫幾乎沒時間對當今研究長壽的科學做一個最簡潔的概述。這種科學使得科研者們將實驗室里小白鼠的壽命延長了三分之一或更多。

　　There are a few quibbles. Mr Caves repeated claim that the quest for immortalitydrives every human activity feels overdone. Others might dispute his definition ofimmortality itself. Mr Caves chief argument against the desirability of living for ever is the familiar one of boredom. As the uncountable billions of yearstick away, the argument runs, even the most vivacious will come to realise that they havedone everything there is to do, hundreds of times. With yet more billions of years loomingahead they will be struck down with a debilitating ennui.

　　不過，凱夫的調查還是存在小瑕疵。他一直宣稱，對永生的追求主導了人類所有活動，這未免讓人覺得有些夸大。他對于永生自身的定義還存在爭議。對于長生的好處，凱夫最主要的辯駁觀點是人們非常熟悉的：厭煩。該論點認為：隨著數十億年逐漸過去，即使是最有活力的人/永生者也會慢慢意識到自己已經做完了所有可做的事，而且每一件都做了不下數百次了。未來還有數十億年要面對，這些永生者將會感到一種壓倒一切的無聊感。

　　That argument only applies if these notional immortals are also invincible, and thereforeimpervious to accident. But that is an odd definition, and not one that crops up very often,especially in scientific research into ageing. The holy grail there is simply to arrest the ageingprocess. Indeed, Mr Cave quotes an actuary who has estimated that the average medicalimmortal would persist for around 6,000 years before dying in a plane accident or a carcrash or the like. And besides, boredom seems to be a non-problem: after all, if an immortaldoes ever get truly bored of his vastly extended life, there would be nothing to prevent himfrom ending it.

　　只有在這些所謂的永生者也是所向無敵，因此不受任何事故傷害時，上述論點才能成立。不過這是個奇怪的定義，并非時不時冒出來的，尤其是在研究衰老的科研中。圣杯只是為了阻止衰老。的確，凱夫引用了一位精算師的話，據那位精算師估計，一個醫學上永生的人平均大約可以活6000年，不過最終他會死于墜機，撞車等事故。另外，這種厭煩似乎不是問題：別忘了，若一個獲得永生的人實在厭煩了自己沒完沒了的生命，什么也阻止不了他將其結束。