TED演讲:科学可以回答道德问题(7)

 　　There is clearly a range of materials that constitute healthy food. 一个健康的饮食方式中有许多不同食物

　　But there's nevertheless a clear distinction between food and poison. 但从没有人会把食物和毒物搞错

　　The fact that there are many right answers to the question, "What is food?" 当我们问“什么是食物？”的时候，有许多正确答案

　　does not tempt¹ us to say that there are no truths to be known about human nutrition. 并不会阻止我们去研究营养学，找出更多事实

　　Many people worry that a universal morality would require moral precepts² that admit of no exceptions. 许多人担心普世道德必须有一种严厉的基本教义，不允许例外

　　So, for instance, if it's really wrong to lie, it must always be wrong to lie, 比如说，说谎是错误的，说谎永远是错误的

　　and if you can find an exception, well then there's no such thing as moral truth. 如果你能找到例外的话，这就不是真正的道德

　　Why would we think this? Consider, by analogy, the game of chess. 为什么我们会这样想？让我们以国际象棋为例

　　Now, if you're going to play good chess, a principle like, "Don't lose your Queen," is very good to follow. 如果你想玩一盘漂亮的国际象棋，“别失去你的皇后”是一个很好的原则

　　But it clearly admits some exceptions.  但它也有例外

　　There are moments when losing your Queen is a brilliant thing to do.  在某些时候牺牲皇后是一种很漂亮的打法

　　There are moments when it is the only good thing you can do.  在某些必要时刻，那是你唯一能做的

　　And yet, chess is a domain³ of perfect objectivity.  但国际象棋是一个绝对客观的游戏

　　The fact that there are exceptions here does not change that at all. 就算在棋局中允许例外，也不会改变这个事实

　　Now, this brings us to the sorts of moves that people are apt to make in the moral sphere. 在这个道德的场域里，有些事是我们应该做的

　　Consider the great problem of women's bodies: What to do about them? 想想女性身体政治，我们该怎么做？

　　Well this is one thing you can do about them: You can cover them up. 有个方法是，你可以把它们盖起来

1 tempt   

vt.引诱，勾引，吸引，引起…的兴趣

参考例句：

• Nothing could tempt him to such a course of action.什么都不能诱使他去那样做。
• The fact that she had become wealthy did not tempt her to alter her frugal way of life.她有钱了，可这丝毫没能让她改变节俭的生活习惯。

2 precepts   

n.规诫，戒律，箴言( precept的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• They accept the Prophet's precepts but reject some of his strictures. 他们接受先知的教训，但拒绝他的种种约束。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• The legal philosopher's concern is to ascertain the true nature of all the precepts and norms. 法哲学家的兴趣在于探寻所有规范和准则的性质。 来自辞典例句

3 domain   

n.(活动等)领域，范围；领地，势力范围

参考例句：

• This information should be in the public domain.这一消息应该为公众所知。
• This question comes into the domain of philosophy.这一问题属于哲学范畴。