strip sb. of sth.困难

Of course, it is precisely these superfluous things that define human culture and ultimately what it is to be human. Downloading and consuming culture requires great skills, but failing to move beyond downloading is to strip oneself of a defining constituent of humanity.

当然，正是这些非必需的东西界定了人类文化，并最终界定了人之为人的意义。下载和消费文化需要高超的技能，但若不能超越下载，就等于剥夺了自己身上人性的一个决定性组成部分。