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Ethical decision and moral judgment
Critical evaluation of moral relativism
Critical evaluation of moral relativism
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Moral relativists are unable to hide the inevitable consequences that would arise from a society based solely on the belief that morality is relative to each person. This is because there are simply moral truths that apply to everyone whether anyone believes them or not. These moral truths are undeniable and any attempt at denying them would result in undesirable effects. Moral relativism would imply that societies could function if members collectively believed that morality is relative to each person. This implication is false because there have been times in history where society has crumbled due to immoral actions, law and order is based on certain moral truths, and there wouldn’t be a substantial right and wrong in a morally relativistic
society. History has been evaluated to show that there are corrections and adjustments that society makes in an attempt to align with the overarching moral truths. The existence of non-conformists that ignite the desire to change society is what proves the presence of some origin of value that transcends society (Kreeft 89). Law and order or a justice system in a morally relativistic society would be nonexistent because law and order is based on rules. If everyone were moral relativists there would be no premise to tell someone they can’t do something because it’s wrong, therefore there wouldn’t be any rules. A morally relativistic society wouldn’t get anywhere close to being well functioning without isolation due to the natural inclinations of the human mind. Humans are naturally inclined to declare unfairness when someone does something wrong to them, but this would go against the very premise of moral relativism. Isolation would be one of few options, if not the only option, to prevent this conflict or contradiction. Moral relativism is flawed like most, if not all, moral philosophies, but it’s implication that a society could function by following its doctrine is just not practical or realistic.
"Who's to judge who's right or wrong?" In the case against moral relativism Pojman provides an analysis of Relativism. His analysis includes an interpretation of Relativism that states the following ideas: Actions vary from society to society, individuals behavior depends on the society they belong to, and there are no standards of living that apply to all human kind. An example that demonstrates these ideas is people around the world eat beef (cows) and in India, cows are not to be eaten. From Pojman second analysis an example can be how the Japanese take of their shoes all the time before entering the house. In Mexico it is rare that people take off their shoes. They might find it wired or not normal. In his third analysis he gives that sense moral relativism and cultural relativism are tied together, that their can be no
Relativists can be described as the type of people who would say that whatever is right for one person is not necessarily right for another, and whatever is wrong for the other is not necessarily wrong for the first. Though this is a basic example, this is not what moral relativists believe as a whole. Moral relativism starts with the Greeks and what they learned in their travels around the world. According...
In its entirety, moral relativism is comprised of the belief that, as members of various and countless cultures, we cannot judge each other’s morality. If this theory stands true, then “we have no basis for judging other cultures or values,” according to Professor McCombs’ Ethics 2. Our moral theories cannot extend throughout cultures, as we do not all share similar values. For instance, the Catholic tradition believes in the sacrament of Reconciliation. This sacrament holds that confessing one’s sins to a priest and
According to Tännsjö (2007), we all have our own moral universes that consists of moral codes that are relevant only to our universe. In Wong’s account of Velleman, (2016), he states that in a relativist world we are each on our own moral islands, independent of everyone else’s rules and judgments. Moral relativism also includes the acceptance of both contradicting moralities possibly being correct (Tännsjö, 2007. Hugly & Sayward, 1985). For example, if one person from one moral universe believes that something is right, but another one believes that this same thing is wrong, moral relativism states that within their own contexts and beliefs this action could be justified as both wrong and right (Tännsjö, 2007). Moral relativism essentially argues that morality is formed through every individual’s own perception and shares very little between moral universes or moral
Relativist ethics could be seen as fair or unfair. They provide individuality which allows people such as Hitler to commit outrageous acts and be justified for them, which is unfair. It is not right to justify murder in any way or stop people from having their own morality because of cultural approval. An example of this would be female genital mutilation (FGM) which is seen as a positive action in some Asian countries because of cultural acceptance. But from Western society is seen as otherwise. Another example of this would be Abortion, which is strongly discouraged by the Islamic faith, and seen as normal act that doesn’t necessarily need justification for. Relativist ethics would allow it
In other words, both of subjectivism and relativism believes that moral standards are man-made. We human beings invented moral codes to guide our behavior. On one hand, all the moral codes are suppose to apply to humans, not animals or plants. We are not expect any other species other than us to understand and apply them. As a result, saying that moral codes are human-made makes sense. On the other hand, different people or culture have different moral standards, and the disagreement of morality issues will always exists. Any specific circumstance may change the way people thinks, and solving the problems by going with social norm is a good
Moral relativism takes the position that moral and/or ethical propositions do not reflect universal moral standards. Moreover, moral relativism takes the position that moral truths reflect those of social, cultural, and historical circumstances. It is a sociological fact that different societies have different sets of moral rules. Moral relativism is a theoretical view of morality, which states that right and wrong are always relative to a particular culture. For example, moral rules of a specific culture determines that there is no meaning to the words right or wrong other than what the culture dictates as right or wrong. Moral relativism is unique, such that peoples beliefs about right and wrong are relative to their social conditioning, that is, what people determine as truly or morally right depends on what the individual, or society believes to be right. Moral relativism is not absolute, meaning ethical truths depend on variables such as culture, social, or historical circumstances. Thus, a moral realist must even admit truth in the sociological fact that different societies have different sets of moral rules, however, a moral realist must deny that right and wrong are always determined by what the culture dictates as right or wr...
Can we assume an action is moral just because it is normal and accepted by the majority of people? According to moral relativism, the answer is yes! Relativism is the belief that says moral principles are valid, but are different by individuals (subjectivism) or by culture (conventionalism). Conventionalists like Ruth Benedict claim that cultures cannot judge one another, since they have different principles (Pojman, 514). On the other hand, Pojman argues that there are some serious issues with relativism. One example is tolerance with cultures that have different principles. Since there are no standards of principles according to relativism, being tolerant is not better than being intolerant, and here relativists fail to criticize intolerance. Moral relativism contradicts itself by saying there are no universal norms and cultures should not judge or criticize one another while appealing to the principle of tolerance as a universal one.
Moral relativists believe that no one has the right to judge another individuals choice, decisions, or lifestyle because however they choose to live is right for them. In addition everyone has the right to their own moral beliefs and to impose those beliefs on another individual is wrong. At first glance moral relativism may appear ideal in allowing for individual freedom. After all why shouldn’t each individual be entitled to their own idea of moral values and why should others force their beliefs on anyone else. “American philosopher and essayist, Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803-1882), tells us, what is right is only what the individual thinks is right. There is no higher court of appeals, no higher, universal, or absolute moral standard.” (pg 121) Moral relativism means if does not feel wrong than it must be right.
Before moving in to the pros and cons of such a theory, we should talk about what moral relativism entails. According to moral relativism, there is not a single true or just morality. There are a variety of moral frames of reference, and whether something is morally right or wrong, good or bad, just or unjust, is relative to one or another moral frame of reference. An action can be morally right relative to one moral frame of reference and morally wrong relative to another. Morals and values are subject to the context of the culture in which they are created, and therefore are subjectively good and bad. Since our moral beliefs are the result of an implicit bargaining process among persons of widely varying wealth and strength, no principle will emerge as generally acceptable unless it benefits all the parties to the bargaining. Now that you have a feel for what mo...
The takeaway is that both theories share the guiding principle that morality is based on culture or society. Implicit in the basic formulations of both theories, the moral code of a culture is neither superior nor inferior to any other. The codes of individual cultures are just different and there is no standard or basis upon which to perform any type of comparison. Therefore, under both theories, the lack of standards across cultures implies that attempts to judge relative correctness or incorrectness between them cannot be justified. For Cultural Relativism, it is perfectly normal that something one culture sees as moral, another may see as immoral.
Various social orders and individuals have unmistakable standards of good and terrible. Moral models moreover change after some time in the same society. An instance of this is when bondage was seen as great in the United States at one time however no more. Moral relativists fight that there is no known comprehensive rule that portrays great and terrible. Or maybe, moral quality is controlled by the gages of a man's own forces. These forces might be an organization, a religion or even a relative. To pass on the dispute further, in case one society assumes that servitude isn't right and other trusts that subjection is right, a moral relativist would say that either side may be correct. We have zero chance to get of knowing no ifs ands or buts
In terms of whether or not objective moral facts exist, there are substantial arguments in favor of existing moral principles that separate what is right from what is wrong independently from the beliefs of individuals or of cultures. However, whether a given moral principle is as meaningful or pertinent to one person as it is to another person is where the relativity aspect comes in. It could be the case that one moral principle is more highly valued and adhered to in one culture or for one individual than in another due to circumstance, but the bottom line is that there are general rights and wrongs that extend a measurement of morality across the actions of all cultures and individuals. The main problem with the argument for moral relativism
The definition of ethical subjectivism is basing our moral opinions on feelings. Everyone has their own thoughts, feelings, and opinions. When you use these opinions and feelings to choose values on moral and ethical views on issues there are no facts and no individual is right when using them. This is because opinion is not fact, everyone feels differently about everything and that’s all there is to it. Based on the definition on subjectivism, it is known to be flawed.
Philosophers like Aristotle, Hegel, Nietzsche were interested in the real nature of ethics. Even today, there is still a divergence of opinion concerning what is considered wrong what is considered good. Ethics, by definition, are “the study of good and evil, right and wrong, moral rules virtues, and the good life; their status, meaning, and justification” (G-3). Some people think that we naturally possess principles that help us categorized our actions. However, this belief does not do the unanimity since there are some oppositions.