What makes something right or wrong?
什么决定了对与错？
Some people believe that what is right and wrong never varies from situation to situation, and that it can be expressed in constant and unchanging commandments. They often look to religious texts or authorities to discover what they think a god wants them to do.
有人认为，是非对错永远不会因情况而异，可以用恒常不变的诫命来表达。他们经常通过宗教经文或权威来发现他们认为上帝希望他们做什么。
A humanist view of morality is different. Humanists do not look to any god for rules but think carefully for themselves about what might be the best way to live. This approach means we have always to be empathetic and think about the effects of our choices on the happiness or suffering of the people(or sometimes other animals) concerned.
人文主义的道德观则是不同的。人文主义者不向任何神寻求规则，而是自己仔细思考什么是最好的生活方式。这种方法意味着我们必须始终具备同理心，并考虑我们的选择对相关人（有时是动物）的幸福或痛苦的影响。
We have to respect the rights and wishes of those involved, trying to find the kindest course of action or the option that will do the least harm. We have to consider carefully the particular situation we find ourselves in and not just take any rule or commandment for granted. We have to weigh up the evidence we have available to us about what the probable consequences of our actions will be.
我们必须尊重相关人员的权利和愿望，努力找到最友善的行动方案或将伤害降至最小的选择。我们必须仔细考虑我们所处的特殊处境，而不是将任何规则或诫命视为理所当然。我们必须权衡现有的证据，以便证明我们行动可能产生的后果。
This way of thinking about what we should do is explicitly based on reason, experience, and empathy and respect for others, rather than on tradition or deference to authority. It might sound hard but luckily most of us do it most of the time without really thinking about it.
这种思考我们应该做什么的方式明确基于理性，经验，同理心以及对他人的尊重，而不是基于传统或对权威的尊重。这听起来可能很难，但我们绝大多数人大部分时间都没有真正考虑过它。
Morality is not something that comes from outside of human beings, gifted to us by an external force like a god. When we look at our closest relatives in the animal world, we see the same basic tendencies we recognise in ourselves -- affection, cooperation, all the behaviour needed to live in groups and thrive.
道德不是来自人类之外的产物，而是上帝这样的外部力量赋予我们的东西。当我们观察我们在动物世界的近亲时，我们会在自己身上认识到和它们相同的基本倾向——情感，合作，集体生活和成长所需的所有行为。
It is clear that our social instincts form the basis of morality and that they are a natural part of humanity. Of course, that is not the end of the story. The long experience of tens of thousands of years of human beings living in communities has developed and refined our morality and we are all the lucky inheritors of that hard work.
很明显，我们的社会本能构成了道德的基础，它是人类自然的组成部分。当然，这并不是故事的结局。千万年以来，人类团体生活模式的长期经验发展并完善了我们的道德，幸运的是，我们都是这种辛勤工作的继承者。
But it does not mean that there are not people who do harm, or make bad choices. But ultimately, morality comes from us, not from any god. It is to do with people, with individual goodwill and social responsibility; it is about not being completely selfish, about kindness and consideration towards others.
但这并不意味着人不会造成伤害或做出错误的选择。归根结底，道德来自我们，不是来自任何神。它与人有关，与个人的善意和社会责任有关；它意味着不过分的自私，善意和为他人着想。
Ideas of freedom, justice, happiness, equality, fairness and all the other values we may live by are human inventions, and we can be proud of that, as we strive to live up to them.
自由，正义，幸福，平等，公正和以及我们赖以生存的所有其他价值观都是人类的发明，当我们努力实现它们时，我们可以为此感到自豪。
Notes:
Take sth for granted
to believe something to be the truth without even thinking about it 认为...是理所当然的
I didn't realize that Melanie hadn't been to college - I suppose I just took it for granted.
我不知道梅拉妮没上大学——我只是想当然地认为她上过了。
Weigh sb/sth up
to form an opinion about someone's abilities and character or a situation by thinking about him, her, or it carefully 估计（形势）；评估（某人的能力、品质）
I weighed up my chances of escape, and decided to wait for a better moment.
估量了一下逃跑的胜算有多大后，我决定等待一个更好的时机。
When you're a detective you learn to weigh people up quickly.
如果你是个侦探，就得学会快速判断一个人。
Live up to sth
to be as good as something 与…一样好
The concert was brilliant - it lived up to all our expectations.
音乐会很棒——一点儿都没有让我们失望。
偶然地
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