一起翻譯一本書，公眾號“追隨己心”將帶領(lǐng)大家一起翻譯《Beyond Feelings: A Guide to Critical Thinking》，將學(xué)習(xí)了多年的英語真正用起來，體會原版書籍和英文的美。

The Influence of Psychology

心理學(xué)的影響

The social and psychological theories of our time also have an impact on our beliefs. Before the past few decades, people were urged to be self-disciplined, self-critical, and self-effacing. They were urged to practice self-denial, to aspire to self-knowledge, to behave in a manner that ensured they maintained self-respect.Self-centeredness wasconsidered a vice.“Hard work,” they were told, “l(fā)eads to achievement, and that in turn produces satisfaction and self-confidence.” By and large, our grandparentsinternalizedthose teachings. When they honored them in their behavior, they felt proud; when they dishonored them, they felt ashamed.

我們這個時代的社會學(xué)和心理學(xué)的理論對我們的信念也產(chǎn)生了影響。在幾十年前，人們被督促要求自律、自我批評和自謙，要進(jìn)行自我否定，要有自知之明，要以一種確保能維護(hù)其自尊的方式來行事。以自我為中心的行為被視為惡習(xí)。他們被告知：“努力工作可帶來成就，同時又可帶來自我滿足感和自信?！贝篌w而言，我們的祖父母們早把這些教導(dǎo)內(nèi)化吸收了。當(dāng)他們以自己的行動去尊從這些教導(dǎo)時，就會感到自豪；不尊從這些教導(dǎo)時，就會感到可恥。

internalize：[?n?t?:rn?la?z]? vt.使內(nèi)在化;使藏在心底;

Today the theories have been changed—indeed,almost exactly? reversed.Self-esteem,which nineteenth-centurysatiristAmbrose Bierce defined as“an erroneous appraisement,” is now considered animperative.Self-centeredness has been transformed from vice into virtue, and people who devote their lives to helping others, people once considered heroic andsaintlike,are now said tobe afflicted with“a disease to please.” The formula for success and happiness begins with feeling good about ourselves. Students who do poorly in school, workers who don’t measure up to the challenges of their jobs, substanceabusers,lawbreakers—all are typicallydiagnosed as deficient in self-esteem.

如今，這些理論都變了——事實(shí)上，幾乎正好顛倒了過來。自尊，曾被19世紀(jì)諷刺作家安布羅斯·畢爾斯(Ambrose Bierce)定義為“一種錯誤的稱贊”，現(xiàn)在卻被認(rèn)為是一種必不可少的要求。以自我為中心的行為已從惡行變成了美德。那些為幫助別人而獻(xiàn)出生命的人、曾被認(rèn)為是英雄或神圣的人，現(xiàn)在卻被說成是患有“取悅他人的疾病”。成功和幸福的規(guī)則始于自我感覺良好。學(xué)校里表現(xiàn)差的學(xué)生，不能應(yīng)付工作挑戰(zhàn)的人，浪費(fèi)錢物的人，違法的人——所有這些人一般都被定為缺少自尊。

self-esteem：[self ?'sti:m]? n.自尊;自大;傲骨;

satirist：[?s?t?r?st] n.諷刺作家;

imperative：[?m?per?t?v]? adj.勢在必行的;必要的，不可避免的;命令的，專橫的; [語]祈使的;? n.命令;必要的事;規(guī)則; [語]祈使語氣;

saintlike：['se?nt?la?k]? adj.圣潔的;

be afflicted with：v.受折磨;

abuser：n.濫用者;

In addition, just as our grandparentsinternalized the social and psychological theories of their time, so most contemporary Americans have internalized the message of self-esteem. We hear people speak of it over coffee; we hear it endlesslyinvokedon talkshows. Challenges to its precepts are usually met with disapproval.

此外，就像我們的祖父母們內(nèi)化吸收了他們那個時代的社會學(xué)和心理學(xué)理論一樣，當(dāng)代大多數(shù)美國人也已經(jīng)內(nèi)化吸收了有關(guān)自尊的信息。我們聽到人們在喝咖啡時談?wù)撍?，在脫口秀?jié)目中無休止地提到它。對自尊信條的質(zhì)疑通常都會遭到反對。

invoke：[?n?vo?k] ?vt.乞靈，祈求;提出或授引…以支持或證明;召鬼;借助;

But isn’t the theory of self-esteemself-evident? No. A negative perception of our abilities will, of course,handicapour performance. Dr. MaxwellMaltz explains the amazing results one educator had in improving the grades of schoolchildren by changing their self-images. The educator had observed that when the children saw themselves as stupid in a particular subject (or stupidin general), they unconsciously acted to confirm their self-images. They believed they were stupid, so they acted that way. Reasoning that it was their defeatist attitude rather than any lack of ability that was undermining their efforts, the educatorset out tochange their self-images.He foundthat when he accomplished that, they no longer behaved stupidly! Maltzconcludes from this and other examples that our experiences can work a kind of self-hypnotism on us, suggesting a conclusion about ourselves and then urgingus to make it come true.

然而，關(guān)于自尊的理論不是不言而喻嗎？不是，對我們能力的負(fù)面看法，當(dāng)然會影響我們的行為。馬克斯韋爾-奠爾茨(Maxwell Maltz)博士解釋了一個教育工作者通過改變學(xué)生的自我形象來提高這些孩子成績的驚人結(jié)果。這位教育工作者觀察到，當(dāng)孩子們覺得自己在某個課目上表現(xiàn)愚笨（或者在各科都愚笨）時，他們就會無意識地以行為去證實(shí)這種自我形象。他們覺得自己愚笨，所以行為也會表現(xiàn)得如此。這位教育工作者推斷出，正是這種失敗主義的態(tài)度而不是能力上的任何缺陷阻礙了他們的努力，因此他著手改變他們的自我形象。他發(fā)現(xiàn)，當(dāng)他做到這一點(diǎn)時，他們就不再表現(xiàn)得愚笨了。莫爾茨從這個及其他例子中得出結(jié)論：我們的經(jīng)驗(yàn)?zāi)軐ξ覀儺a(chǎn)生一種自我催眠的作用，并催生出關(guān)于我們自己的結(jié)論判斷，從而促使我們將結(jié)論判斷變?yōu)楝F(xiàn)實(shí)。

handicap：[?h?ndi?k?p]? n.障礙;缺陷;不利條件;給弱者增加的桿數(shù)（按擊球次數(shù)計(jì)數(shù)，并隨參賽者的進(jìn)步而減少）;? vt.妨礙，使不利;使（某人）行動和生活不正常;

set out to do打算，著手做什么

Many proponents of self-esteem went far beyond Maltz’s demonstration that self-confidence is an importantingredientin success. They claimed that there is no such thing as too much self-esteem. Research does not support that claim. For example, Martin Seligman, aneminentresearch psychologist and founder of the movement known as positive psychology, cites significant evidence that, rather than solving personal and social problems, including depression, the modern emphasis on self-esteem causes them.

許多自信提倡者比莫爾茨關(guān)于自信是成功的重要因素的論證更深入。他們聲稱，并不存在太過自尊的情況。但研究成果并不支持這個聲稱。例如，馬丁-塞利曼(Martin Seligman)，一位杰出的研究型心理學(xué)家，積極心理學(xué)運(yùn)動的發(fā)起人，援引了重要的證據(jù)表明：現(xiàn)代社會對自尊的重視并沒有解決個人和社會問題，包括抑郁癥，反而引發(fā)了這些問題。

ingredient：[?n?gri:di?nt] n.因素;（混合物的）組成部分;（烹調(diào)的）原料;（構(gòu)成）要素;

eminent：[??m?n?nt] adj.顯赫的;（指人）知名的，杰出的，卓越的;（指品質(zhì)、特性）明顯的，顯著的，突出的;聞達(dá);

Maltz’s research documents that lack of confidenceimpedesperformance, a valuable insight. But such research doesn’t explain why the more global concept of self-esteem has become so dominant. The answer to that question lies in the popularization of the work of humanistic psychologists such as Abraham Maslow.Maslow described what he called the hierarchy of human needs in the form of apyramid, with physiological needs (food and drink) at the foundation. Above them, in ascending order, are safety needs, the need for belongingness and love, the need for esteem and approval, and aesthetic and cognitive needs(knowledge, understanding, etc.). At thepinnacleis the need for self-actualization, or fulfillment of our potential. In Maslow’sview, the lower needs must be fulfilled before the higher ones. It’s easy to see how the idea that self-esteem must precede achievement was derived from Maslow’s theory.

莫爾菠在研究文獻(xiàn)中指出，缺乏自信會妨礙一個人的行為表現(xiàn)，這是一個有價(jià)值意義的見解。但這樣的研究并未解釋越來越普遍的自尊概念為何變得如此占主導(dǎo)地位。這個問題的答案在于像阿伯拉罕·馬斯洛(Abraharn Maslow)這樣的人文主義心理學(xué)家的研究工作被人們所熟知。馬斯格描述了他所說的以金字塔形式表示的人類需求層次：生理需要（吃、喝）在最底層，在這之上依次是安全的需要、歸屬感和關(guān)愛的需要、自尊和認(rèn)可的需要、美學(xué)和認(rèn)知的需要（知識、理解力等）；在金字塔的頂端是自我實(shí)現(xiàn)的需要，或者叫實(shí)現(xiàn)自我潛力的需要。在馬斯洛來看來，低級需要必須在高級需要之前得到實(shí)現(xiàn)。這就容易明白，從馬斯洛的理論如何得出自尊的觀念必須先于成就這一觀點(diǎn)。

impede：[?m?pid]? vt.阻礙;妨礙;阻止;

pinnacle：[?p?n?k?l]? n.頂峰;頂點(diǎn);尖頂; [建]（哥德式建筑的）小尖塔;? vt.為…加尖塔;把…放在高處;

Other theories might have been adopted,however. A notable one is Austrian psychiatrist Viktor Frankl’s, which was advanced at roughly the same time as Maslow’s and was based on both Frankl’sprofessional practice and his experiences in Hitler’s concentration camps.Frankl argues that one human need is higher than self-actualization: self-transcendence,the need to rise above narrow absorption with self. According to Frankl, “theprimordialanthropologicalfact [is] that being human is being always directed, and pointing to something or someoneother than oneself: to a meaning to fulfill or another human being to encounter, a cause to serve or a person to love.” A person becomes fully human “by forgetting himself and giving himself, overlooking himself and focusing outward.”

但是，也許還可采納其他不同的理論。最著名的一個就是澳大利亞的精神病學(xué)家維克特-弗蘭克( Viktor Frankl)的理論，這種理論提出的時間與馬斯洛的理論大致相同，它以自己的專業(yè)實(shí)踐和在希特勒集中營的經(jīng)歷為基礎(chǔ)。弗蘭克認(rèn)為，人有一種需要遠(yuǎn)高于自我實(shí)現(xiàn)：自我超越，這是提升到了超出狹隘的自我專注的需要。根據(jù)弗萊克爾的理論，“原始人類學(xué)的實(shí)際情況是，人總是被引導(dǎo)、被指向自身之外的某件事或某個人：指向要實(shí)現(xiàn)某個事物的意義而非自己，或指向?qū)⒁龅降囊粋€人、從事的某項(xiàng)事業(yè)、愛上的某個人?！币粋€人“通過忘掉自我、奉獻(xiàn)自我、忽視自我并完全投入到外界”而成為完美的人。

primordial：[pra??m?:rdi?l]? adj.初生的，初發(fā)的，原始的;

anthropological：[??nθr?p??lɑd??kl:]? adj.人類學(xué)的;

Making self-actualization (or happiness) the direct object of our pursuit, in Frankl’s view, is ultimately self-defeating;such fulfillment can occur only as “the unintended effect ofself-transcendence.” The proper perspective on life, Frankl believes, is not what it can give to us, but what it expects from us; life is daily—even hourly—questioning us, challenging us to accept “the responsibility to find the right answer to its problems and to fulfill the tasks which it constantly sets for [each of us].”

在弗蘭克看來，若把自我實(shí)現(xiàn)（或幸福）作為我們追求的直接目標(biāo)，終究會適得其反；這種目的只是作為“自我超越的非預(yù)期結(jié)果”時才可能實(shí)現(xiàn)。弗蘭克認(rèn)為，對生活的正確觀念并不是它能給予我們什么，而是我們能給它什么期望；生活就是每天（甚至是每小時）的自我尋思，自我接受并承擔(dān)這一責(zé)任——“找到生活的正確答案，并完成生活不斷向我們每個人提出的挑戰(zhàn)”。

Finding meaning, according to Frankl’stheory, involves “perceiving a possibility embedded in reality” and searching for challenging tasks“whose completion might add meaning to [one’s] existence.” But such perceiving and searching are frustrated by the focus on self: “As long as modern literature confines itself to, and contents itself with, self-expression—not to say self-exhibition—it reflects its authors’ sense of? futility and absurdity. What is more important, it also creates absurdity. This is understandable in light of the fact that meaning must be discovered, it cannot be invented. Sense cannot be created, but what may well be created isnonsense.”

根據(jù)弗蘭克的理論，意義的發(fā)現(xiàn)包括“感知現(xiàn)實(shí)中蘊(yùn)藏的可能性”，以及尋求具有挑戰(zhàn)性的任務(wù)，“這些任務(wù)的完成也許可以提升[一個人]生存的意義”。但是，這樣的感知和尋求會因?yàn)樘^集中關(guān)注自我而受挫：“只要現(xiàn)代的文獻(xiàn)限于并滿足于自我表達(dá)（不要說自我展示），那它所反映的是其作者空洞的、荒謬的感覺。更重要的是，它又產(chǎn)生新的荒謬。鑒于意義必須被發(fā)現(xiàn)而不能被發(fā)明這一事實(shí)，這一點(diǎn)是可以理解的。感覺是不能被創(chuàng)造的，而能被創(chuàng)造的卻沒有意義?！?/p>

Whether we agree completely with Frankl, one thing is clear: Contemporary American culture would be markedly different if the emphasis over the past several decades had been on Frankl’s theory rather than on the theories of Maslow and the other humanistic psychologists. All of us would have been affected—we can only imagine how profoundly—in our attitudes, values, and beliefs.

無論我們是否完全同意弗蘭克的觀點(diǎn)，有一點(diǎn)是顯然的：如果過去幾十年里人們強(qiáng)調(diào)的是弗蘭克爾的理論而不是馬斯洛和其他人文主義心理學(xué)家的理論，那么，當(dāng)代美國文化會有很大的不同。我們所有人的態(tài)度、價(jià)值觀和信仰都會受到影響——我們只能想象這種影響有多深遠(yuǎn)。