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After all,we are made of the exact same materials
毕竟 我们是由相同的物质组成的
operating to the very same principles.
也根据完全相同的原则运作
So the challenge is to explain what humans really are
因此最大的挑战是要阐明 人类究竟是什么
And how we,small insignificant beings relate
我们微小又无足轻重的生命
To the enormous,ancient and rather beautiful universe...that produce us?
与创造我们的庞大古老却又美丽的宇宙 有何关联？
Only then,I think,can we discover if there is a meaning to our lives.
我认为唯有如此 才能发现与我们的生命是否相关
And perhaps,even what that meaning is.
也许甚至能发现那个意义是什么
The first person to make any real headway with this thorny question
第一个真正有进展提出这个争议性问题的人
Was a man by the name of René Descartes.
他的名字叫做勒奈·笛卡尔
You may know Descartes as the father of modern philosophy...
你也许知道笛卡尔是现代哲学之父
But I consider him to be a pioneering forefather of science.
但是我认为他是科学的开宗之祖
Descartes propose that humans are made of two distinct components:
笛卡尔主张人类是由两种不同的要素组成
The body and the mind.
肉体和灵魂
He made careful anatomical drawings of the body.
他画了精细的人体解剖图
He saw it as a complex biological machine.
并视人体为复杂的生物机器
But he was certain the mind was different.
但他确信人的灵魂是不一样的
He prove this with a simple thought experiment.
他用一个简单的假想实验来证明
He tried to imagine that he had no physical body.
他努力想象自己没有肉体
As if he was floating around like a ghost.
如鬼魂一般飘来飘去
