Ethics are not universal throughout the world due to the many different persons and cultures that have different moral beliefs and ethics. However, within an area where the culture is similar and the majority of the people in society believe in the same morals and beliefs, all of their ethics can be said to be relative. Rather than believing if an action is good or bad, morals from different cultures and settings are viewed as being either accepted or not accepted. As long as an action is viewed as being accepted then that is a moral of that culture. An example of a moral being accepted in a culture when other cultures do not accept it is killing. There are some cultures that believe in the concept of suicide and/or homicide, while other …show more content…
cultures are morally and legally against it. (Opposing Views) Another example of where morals are different amongst cultures is marriage. There are cultures that believe in arranged marriages and there are cultures where marriage occurs once two people find each other on their own and fall in love. There are also areas in the world such as Ethiopia where marriage occurs in young women prior to turning 15 years old. (Prinz) In a related topic, there are cultures where polygamy is practiced by men compared to other cultures where relationships are expected to remain monogamous by both partners. Morals are based upon what society finds to be accepted rather than just what appears to be good versus bad. Relativism refers to the concept where there are a number of different aspects to be viewed upon and that there is not only one aspect to be considered truth or determined to be valid compared to other aspects.
(IEP) Relativism is related to the theory of morals where the acceptance of its views and actions is based upon the culture, the people within the society, and the overall outlook based upon a specific group of individuals. The idea and practice of relativism causes much controversy around the world amongst different cultures and societies. Although relativism can vary amongst different cultures based upon the morals, beliefs, and values that are considered accepted, the theory behind relativism can be practiced as a universal theory. Children in society are raised according to how their parents want to raise them. Parents practice the way they raise their children based upon what their society accepts and/or how they were raised by their parents. Children become developed into believing how they were raised is true, therefore, they will one day raise their own children in the exact same practice. As these children grow and develop, they will learn to understand whether or not their actions and what they say are accepted or not accepted within their …show more content…
society. A theory is an idea or a suggestion that may be seen as a truth but is not proven to be true. Relativism can work as a universal theory in the idea that various cultures and societies have their own beliefs and morals. Whether cultures follow their own tradition, religion, nationalities, etc., their way life is based upon their own morals and values, which is moral relativism. As mentioned, while individuals in America may choose to marry who they feel they love while other cultures believe in arranged marriage, even though the morals are different, the theory of relativism is the same. In other words, as long as a culture if following what they believe is true, or accepted, they are practicing moral relativism; there is no one truth to it as it is based upon the culture where the belief is stemming from. (IEP) Universal principles are the standards and practices in which individuals carry out in life.
There may not be a solidified universal agreement when it comes to universal principles, however, the goal is not to carry out practices individually or be an individual who becomes isolated from their own culture. (Patent) This means that there are universal principles and individual applications. Although not every individual in the world practices the same religion, have the same morals, carry out the same values, all individuals have universal principles. One type of universal principle is belief. A belief is how an individual feels when they speak to another individual or guidance that leads them to perform an action that could do good or cause harm. Beliefs can be a perception or guidance. Various cultures will carry own their own beliefs according to what they perceive to be accepted. Although beliefs vary and will be different amongst cultures, they are still feelings and ethical principles that are universal.
(Patent)
If moral principles are defined by cultures, how does one define a culture? If a social scientist were to dissect cultures into subcultures, and then divide those as well, he could logically continue making “cultural distinctions” until he comes to individuals as separate cultures. As a culture of one, each individual by relativism’s definition creates his own moral principles. This could be called ethical egoism (David Mills, personal communication). As logical conclusion extension of relativism, ethical egoism creates a world of moral lone rangers, with no one responsible to answer to any other.
"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
However, all of these different viewpoints are all based around the same principles, of community, cooperation, equality, social class and common ownership, however drastic or moderate these ideas might be.
For many years now, people have always wondered what ethical principle is the right one to follow. These individuals are all seeking the answer to the question that the ethical principles are trying to clarify: What defines moral behavior? The Divine Command Theory and the theories of cultural relativism are two principles of many out there that provide us with explanations on what our ethical decisions are based on and what we consider to be our moral compass in life. Even though these two theories make well-supported arguments on why they are the right principle to follow, it is hard to pinpoint which one should guide our choices because of the wide array of ethical systems. Therefore, what is morally right or wrong differs greatly depending
Deontology provides such an answer. Deontology uses reason, logic, and the categorical imperative to determine what is ethically and morally right. It allows for a universal code to be established, so that changes among cultures, societies, and countries do not impede laws of ethics and morals. Ethics of morals are universal truths. They should not be dependent o the current societal whim. Deontology, unlike moral relativism, focuses on reason and logic, and recognizes universal truths.
Moral relativism is the concept that people’s moral judgement can only goes as far a one person’s standpoint in a matter. Also, one person’s view on a particular subject carries no extra weight than another person. What I hope to prove in my thesis statement are inner judgements, moral disagreements, and science are what defend and define moral relativism.
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.
The strongest argument against ethical relativism is that if you accept the idea of it, you must accept that the minority of a culture believing in an idea is morally wrong, and the majority is right. Benedict’s theory states that anything can be normal or abnormal in a culture. Whatever is considered abnormal is ethically wrong and vice versa. There are big problems with this theory. According to this, people who fought for civil rights and women’s suffrage were “wrong” just because they were in the minority at the time. Then once their support for their beliefs grew past 50%, they were now morally right. This also applies to people who believed in slavery or concentration camps. If they were in the majority of their culture, it makes them
exceptions, depending on what part of the world you were raised in, but moral principles generally meet
Every individual is taught what is right and what is wrong from a young age. It becomes innate of people to know how to react in situations of killings, injuries, sicknesses, and more. Humans have naturally developed a sense of morality, the “beliefs about right and wrong actions and good and bad persons or character,” (Vaughn 123). There are general issues such as genocide, which is deemed immoral by all; however, there are other issues as simple as etiquette, which are seen as right by one culture, but wrong and offense by another. Thus, morals and ethics can vary among regions and cultures known as cultural relativism.
Moral relativism, as Harman describes, denies “that there are universal basic moral demands, and says different people are subject to different basic moral demands depending on the social customs, practices, conventions, and principles that they accept” (Harman, p. 85). Many suppose that moral feelings derive from sympathy and concern for others, but Harman rather believes that morality derives from agreement among people of varying powers and resources provides a more plausible explanation (Harman, p. 12).The survival of these values and morals is based on Darwin’s natural selection survival of the fittest theory. Many philosophers have argued for and against what moral relativism would do for the world. In this essay, we will discuss exactly what moral relativism entails, the consequences of taking it seriously, and finally the benefits if the theory were implemented.
In explaining Cultural Relativism, it is useful to compare and contrast it with Ethical Relativism. Cultural Relativism is a theory about morality focused on the concept that matters of custom and ethics are not universal in nature but rather are culture specific. Each culture evolves its own unique moral code, separate and apart from any other. Ethical Relativism is also a theory of morality with a view of ethics similarly engaged in understanding how morality comes to be culturally defined. However, the formulation is quite different in that from a wide range of human habits, individual opinions drive the culture toward distinguishing normal “good” habits from abnormal “bad” habits. The takeaway is that both theories share the guiding principle that morality is bounded by culture or society.
We have an internal instinct to want to be good, strive to do right, and help others. Most humans want “life, consciousness, pleasure, happiness, truth, knowledge, beauty, love, friendship, self-expression, self-realization, freedom, honor, peace and security.” (Pg.147) We want equal opportunities and to be able to trust others. As the text states, “using Thiroux and Kraseman’s five principles are essential to a morality that will relate effectively to all human beings everywhere and yet will allow them the individual freedom to manifest these basic principles in their own individual ways, suitable to their cultural, social, and personal situations.”
Relativism is defined as the belief that there's no absolute truth, only the truths that a particular individual or culture happen to believe. If you believe in relativism, then you believe different people can have different views about what's moral and immoral. No set of moral beliefs is better than any other; that is moral relativism. We all have some sort of idea of what is right and what is wrong. From the time we are children and as we begin growing up we demand for justice; whats right and whats wrong. For example as a child Thats my toy please dont play with it, a pre teen those are my things please dont use it, and a teenager or young adult, He’s my boyfriend please dont talk to him. Everyone says such things and feels such ways regardless of their social,
The practices of many cultures are varied from one another, considering we live in a diverse environment. For example, some cultures may be viewed as similar in comparison while others may have significant differences. The concept of Cultural Relativism can be best viewed as our ideas, morals, and decisions being dependent on the individual itself and how we have been culturally influenced. This leads to many conflict in where it prompts us to believe there is no objectivity when it comes to morality. Some questions pertaining to Cultural Relativism may consists of, “Are there universal truths of morality?” “Can we judge