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As we look, we get into all sorts of uncomfortable areas.
如我們所見，我們涉及各種各樣艱難的領域
We look, for example, about the fact
我們來看一個例子，現實情況是
that we share at least 95 percent of our DNA
我們用95%的人類的DNA
with chimpanzees.
與大猩猩進行對比
What are we to make of the fact
得出的事實是
that we differ from them only really by a few nucleotides?
人類和大猩猩的DNA只是在一些核苷酸上有所不同
And as we get farther and farther with our science,
科技越發展
we get more and more into a discomforted zone
我們越會涉及到讓人苦惱的領域
where we have to acknowledge
我們必須承認
that the simplistic categories we've had
那些沿用的簡單的分類
are probably overly simplistic.
是過于簡單化了
So we're seeing this
正因如此，我們正在審視著
in all sorts of places in human life.
人類生活中的各個領域
One of the places we're seeing it, for example,
其中的一個領域，舉個例子
in our culture today, in the United States today,
就是我們的文化領域，當今美國的文化領域
is battles over the beginning of life and the end of life.
熱議著生命的起源和終結
We have difficult conversations
我們有一個艱難的討論
about at what point we decide a body becomes a human,
關于我們什么時候從一個軀體變成了一個人類
such that it has a different right than a fetal life.
從而有了不同于胎兒的權利
We have very difficult conversations nowadays --
我們當今有一個非常有爭議的話題——
probably not out in the open as much as within medicine --
也許在外部不如在醫學界內爭論的激烈——
about the question of when somebody's dead.
是關于何時認定為人死亡的疑問
In the past, our ancestors never had to struggle so much
過去，人死的時候
with this question of when somebody was dead.
我們的祖先從來不會過多的糾結于此
At most, they'd stick a feather on somebody's nose,
最多也就是把一個羽毛粘在人的鼻子下
and if it twitched, they didn't bury them yet.
如果羽毛動了，旁人就不會把他們埋掉
If it stopped twitching, you bury them.
如果羽毛不動，就會埋了他們
But today, we have a situation
但是如今的情況都是
where we want to take vital organs out of beings
我們希望把死者的器官
and give them to other beings.
移植到其他人的身體上
And as a consequence,
結果
we're stuck with having to struggle with this really difficult question
我們開始糾結在上面所提到的難題中
about who's dead,
關于到底死了沒有
and this leads us to a really difficult situation
這導致我們進入一個很困難的情況
where we don't have such simple categories as we've had before.
這個情況沒有之前簡單的分類了
Now you might think that all this breaking-down of categories
現在你也許會想，所有的這些正在崩潰的分類
would make somebody like me really happy.
也許會讓像我這樣的人感到高興
I'm a political progressive, I defend people with unusual bodies,
我是一個在政治觀點上不斷進步的人，我維護那些身體異于常人的人
but I have to admit to you that it makes me nervous.
但是我必須承認，這種改變讓我感到不安
Understanding that these categories
認識到這些分類制度
are really much more unstable than we thought makes me tense.
比我們想象的還不穩定，使我感到緊張
And it makes me tense
同時，我的緊張來自于
from the point of view of thinking about democracy.
民主的觀點
So in order to tell you about that tension,
所以，為了告訴大家這種緊張的程度
I have to first admit to you that I'm a huge fan of the Founding Fathers.
我首先要承認，我是國父們的忠實粉絲
I know they were racists, I know they were sexist,
我知道他們是種族主義者，他們是男性至上主義者
but they were great.
但是他們非常偉大
I mean, they were so brave and so bold
我的意思是，他們是如此的英勇、無畏
and so radical in what they did
并且積極的從事他們的事業
that I find myself watching that cheesy musical "1776" every few years,
我自己每隔幾年就要重新去欣賞那個挺土的音樂劇“1776”
and it's not because of the music, which is totally forgettable.
并不是因為音樂好，音樂是完全可以被忽略的
It's because of what happened in 1776
是因為1776年圍繞著
with the Founding Fathers.
建國者們發生的事情
The Founding Fathers were, for my point of view,
建國者們，我認為他們是
the original anatomical activists,
最早的解剖學活動家
and this is why.
這是我愛他們的原因
What they rejected was an anatomical concept
他們反對了一個解剖學的概念
and replaced it with another one
并且用另一個取而代之
that was radical and beautiful and held us for 200 years.
這個新進的美好的概念保持了200年
So as you all recall,
大家回憶一下
what our Founding Fathers were rejecting was a concept of monarchy,
我們的建國者們反對的是一個君主制度的概念
and the monarchy was basically based
并且這個君主制是基于
on a very simplistic concept of anatomy.
過于簡單化的解剖學概念上的
The monarchs of the old world
舊體制下的帝王們
didn't have a concept of DNA,
沒有DNA的概念
but they did have a concept of birthright.
但是他們遵從的是“出身”的理念
They had a concept of blue blood.
他們有貴族的概念
They had the idea that the people who would be in political power
他們認為，身在政治權力下的人
should be in political power
就應該掌握權力
because of the blood being passed down
是因為貴族血統要
from grandfather to father to son and so forth.
從祖父到父親到兒子一代代傳承
The Founding Fathers rejected that idea,
建國者們反對這種觀點
and they replaced it with a new anatomical concept,
他們用一種新的解剖上的概念取而代之
and that concept
那種概念就是
was all men are created equal.
人人平等
They leveled that playing field
他們消除了等級觀念
and decided the anatomy that mattered
并且確定解剖學的重要性
was the commonality of anatomy,
在于全民平等
not the difference in anatomy,
而不是出身的貴賤
and that was a really radical thing to do.
在當時那確實是一個很激進的改革
Now they were doing it in part
某種程度上，這種改革現在仍然在進行
because they were part of an Enlightenment system
因為他們是啟蒙運動系統的一部分
