People nevertheless go on arguing about free will because even scientists all too often continue to use outdated theological concepts.

但是人們關于自由意志的爭論還將持續下去，因為即使科學家也會經常使用過時的神學概念。

Christian, Muslim and Jewish theologians debated for centuries the relations between the soul and the will.

基督教、慕斯陸偉、猶太教的神學家們，數世紀以來都在爭論靈魂和意志之間的關系。

They assumed that every human has an internal inner essence – called the soul – which is my true self.

他們假設每個人都有一個內在的本質--稱為靈魂，那才是真正的自我。

They further maintained that this self possesses various desires, just as it possesses clothes, vehicles and houses.

他們進一步認為這個自我擁有不同的欲望，就像它擁有衣服、擁有車子和房子。

I allegedly choose my desires in the same way I choose my clothes, and my fate is determined according to these choices.

據說我選擇欲望與我選擇衣服的方式是一樣的，我的命運決定于我的這些選擇。

If I choose good desires, I go to heaven. If I choose bad desires, I am sent to hell.

如果我選擇了好的欲望，我將會去天堂，如果我選擇了壞的欲望，我將會去地獄。

The question then arose, how exactly do I choose my desires?

然后問題出現了，我是如何選擇我的欲望的？

Why, for example, did Eve desire to eat the forbidden fruit the snake offered her?

例如，為什么夏娃在蛇提供給她禁果時她想吃？

Was this desire forced upon her?

是這個欲望強迫了她嗎？

Did this desire just pop up within her by pure chance?

這個欲望是純屬偶然的出現在她心中嗎？

Or did she choose it ‘freely’?

或者是她自由的選擇了它？

If she didn’t choose it freely, why punish her for it?

如果她不是自由的選擇了它，為什么要因為這個欲望而懲罰她呢？

However, once we accept that there is no soul, and that humans have no inner essence called ‘the self’, it no longer makes sense to ask, ‘How does the self choose its desires?’

但是，一旦我們接受了沒有靈魂存在，人沒有稱為自我的內在本質，將不會追問“自我是如何選擇欲望的？”

It’s like asking a bachelor, ‘How does your wife choose her clothes?’

這就像問一個單身漢我，“你的妻子是如何選擇衣服的？”

In reality, there is only a stream of consciousness, and desires arise and pass within this stream, but there is no permanent self who owns the desires, hence it is meaningless to ask whether I choose my desires deterministically, randomly or freely.

實際上，只有一個意識流，欲望在這個流里升起和消退，但并沒有永久的自我擁有欲望，因此，問究竟我是隨機還是自由的選擇我的欲望是沒有意義的。

It may sound extremely complicated, but it is surprisingly easy to test this idea.

這聽起來非常復雜，但驗證起來異常簡單。

Next time a thought pops up in your mind, stop and ask yourself: ‘Why did I think this particular thought? Did I decide a minute ago to think this thought, and only then did I think it? Or did it just arise in my mind, without my permission or instruction? If I am indeed the master of my thoughts and decisions, can I decide not to think about anything at all for the next sixty seconds?’

下一次當一個念頭出現在你的腦海中時，停下來然后問自己：“為什么我會有這個念頭？我是在一分鐘以前決定想這個念頭的嗎？或者它是未經我許可出現在我腦海的？如果我真的能掌控我的念頭或決定，我是否能決定接下來的60秒不去想任何事？

Just try, and see what happens.

試一試，看看會發生什么。