Risk is endemic in human affairs. To say to someone "I love you" or to say in church "I believe" can never be risk-free undertakings. They are to make investments in things that are not fully under one's control. The other person may not love you back. The God in whom you stake your trust may turn out not to exist. The French philosopher Pascal famously attempted a metaphysical hedge with regards to the existence of God. He argued that if believers are right about God's existence, then they have gained everything. But if they are wrong about it, they have lost nothing. It's an attempt to eliminate risk from believing. But, like the risk avoidance strategies of investment banks, where you invest your heart and your soul can never be risk free. All commitment, whether it be financial, emotional or religious, is subject to the possibility of failure. That's life. And indeed it may well be that the attempt to eliminate risk from life can, in extreme forms, become an attempt to eliminate life itself.

 

冒险几乎是人群中的常见病。对别人说“我爱你”或者在教堂里说“我相信”其实一直都是有风险的。他们所作的承诺并不完全由自己掌控。对方也许不爱你。你相信的上帝有可能根本就不存在。法国哲学家Pascal曾就上帝的存在与否尝试过一个形而上的推敲。如果信众对于上帝存在的认识是正确的，那么他们就得到了一切，如果不对，那他们也毫无损失。这是对消弭信仰风险的尝试。但是，就像投行规避风险的策略一样，这个你投入一切的地方绝不是个全无风险的地方。所有承诺，不管是资金方面的，感情方面或是宗教方面的，都有失败的可能性。这就是生活。在某些极端情况下，想从生活中消除风险就等于消除生活本身。