【正文】 couldnamp。t decide between two careers, philosophy and law. I really loved philosophy. There are amazing things you can learn as a philosopher, and all from the fort of an armchair. But I came from a modest immigrant family where my idea of luxury was having a pork tongue and jelly sandwich in my school lunchbox, so the thought of spending my whole life sitting around in armchairs just thinking ... Well, that struck me as the height of extravagance and frivolity.
　　同時(shí)，我們也不應(yīng)該覺得，選擇之所以難是因?yàn)樽约汉苡薮?。我真心喜歡哲學(xué)，若能成為哲學(xué)家，便能學(xué)到很多驚奇的東西，而且舒舒服服地坐在椅子上就好。所以這種一輩子僅坐在椅子上思考的想法，其實(shí)，對(duì)我來說只是一種奢侈和輕浮的假象罷了。39。39。39。當(dāng)時(shí)我就想：如果能知道選擇某種職業(yè)后我的人生會(huì)變成怎樣就好了。我就能一一對(duì)比，看看哪種更好，這樣一來抉擇就簡單多了。39。39。39。成為失業(yè)哲學(xué)家的恐懼，驅(qū)使我成了一名律師。
　　So now Iamp。m a philosopher, and I study hard choices, and I can tell you, that fear of the unknown, while a mon motivational default in dealing with hard choices, rests on a misconception of them.
　　所以我現(xiàn)在是名哲學(xué)家，我鉆研艱難抉擇，我可以告訴大家，對(duì)未知產(chǎn)生恐懼是在進(jìn)行困難抉擇時(shí)的自然反應(yīng)，而這種恐懼來源于對(duì)艱難抉擇的誤解。39。39。39。 theyamp。re hard because there is no best option.
　　我們不應(yīng)該認(rèn)為，在艱難抉擇中某種選擇總會(huì)會(huì)比另一種好，可我們自身太愚蠢，所以無法辨別，那既然我們無法定奪，倒不如選風(fēng)險(xiǎn)最小的那項(xiàng)。選擇之所以難，不是因?yàn)槲覀儫o知。
　　Now, if thereamp。s no best option, if the scales donamp。t tip in favor of one alternative over another, then surely the alternatives must be equally good. So maybe the right thing to say in hard choices is that theyamp。re between equally good options. But that canamp。t be right. If alternatives are equally good, you should just flip a coin between them, and it seems a mistake to think, hereamp。s how you should decide between careers, places to live, people to marry: Flip a coin.
　　那么，如果沒有最佳項(xiàng)，如果衡量的天秤不會(huì)傾向于 任何一方，那么任何選項(xiàng)都一定是好的。這種想法肯定不對(duì)。
　　Thereamp。s another reason for thinking that hard choices arenamp。t choices between equally good options. Suppose you have a choice between two jobs: you could be an investment banker or a graphic artist. There are a variety of things that matter in such a choice, like the excitement of the work, achieving financial security,having time to raise a family, and so on.
　　還有另外一個(gè)原因，使艱難選擇并非是在同等好的選項(xiàng)中抉擇。在這個(gè)選擇當(dāng)中有頗多決定性因素，譬如工作帶來的興奮程度、能獲得的經(jīng)濟(jì)保障、顧家時(shí)間等等。39?；蛟S當(dāng)銀行家你就能接觸最前端的金融操縱手段。
　　Imagine the two jobs however you like, so that neither is better than the suppose we improve one of them, a bit. Suppose the bank, wooing you, adds 500 dollars a month to your salary. Does the extra money now make the banking job better than the artist one? Not necessarily. A higher salary makes the banking job better than it was before, but it might not be enough to make being a banker better than being an artist.
　　現(xiàn)在，假設(shè)我們能稍微改進(jìn)其中的一方。這一筆額外的金錢會(huì)不會(huì)讓這份銀行家的工作優(yōu)于當(dāng)藝術(shù)家呢?說不準(zhǔn)。
　　But if an improvement in one of the jobs doesnamp。t make it better than the other, then the two original jobs could not have been equally good. If you start with two things that are equally good, and you improve one of them, it now must be better than the other. Thatamp。s not the case with options in hard choices.
　　可如果對(duì)其中一種職業(yè)進(jìn)行改進(jìn)后結(jié)果并沒有讓一方優(yōu)于另一方，那么兩種選擇本身就不可能是一樣好。在艱難抉擇中并非如此。39。39。39。39。39。39。39。這兩份工作，沒有一方能完勝另一方，但又不是同等的好?？赡苓x項(xiàng)的本身就存在問題，導(dǎo)致我們無法比較。我們并不是要在兩種不能被對(duì)比的事物間選擇。對(duì)比兩份工作的總體優(yōu)勢(shì)是我們能做到的，也是我們經(jīng)常做的事。我們不知不覺地認(rèn)為，諸如正義、美麗、善良的價(jià)值觀都與一些科學(xué)度量類似，都能被量度，譬如長度、質(zhì)量、重量。僅有三種可能性。像重量這樣的性質(zhì)能夠用真實(shí)的數(shù)字來表達(dá)?！?。一個(gè)數(shù)字大于、小于或等于另一個(gè)數(shù)字價(jià)值觀卻不是如此。39。39。科學(xué)界中， 一切事物可被數(shù)字度量。我們不能認(rèn)為充斥著”。、”。和”。的數(shù)字世界與”。和”。的價(jià)值世界有著同樣的架構(gòu)。39。 canamp。t be represented by real numbers, then thereamp。s no reason to believe that in choice, there are only three possibilities that one alternative is better, worse or equal to the other. We need to introduce a new, fourth relation beyond being better, worse or equal, that describes whatamp。s going on in hard choices. I like to say that the alternatives are amp。on a par.amp。
　　所以，如果我們