The Importance Of Universal Morality

1201 Words3 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: The case for moral relativism

Universal morals for everyone Can a human beings in society behave in a moral way at all times? Is there truly universal moral principles for everyone? Does it seem right that human beings can never be morally right when breaking a universal rule (Rosenstand, 2016)? These are some of the most problematic and most challenging questions that moralists have attempted to clarify. Obviously, something is keeping society half-way civilized and able to resolve moral value conflicts. Universal morals are like societies set of unwritten rules that are forced onto a developed society. There is a set of universal principles that applies to everyone at most times, like do not kill and do not steal, but there may be some important exceptions. Morals …show more content…

For example, in southern India, relatives sometimes quietly kill their elders, the young that are very ill, or when the family can no longer afford to take care of or feed the ill by a practice called thalaikoothal (Magnier, 2013). The practice is carried out by setting a death date, family members are called over to say good-bye and often to participate (Magnier, 2013). The terminally ill person is given an oil bath, a head massage with cold water (to lower the body’s temperature), and an extremely large amount of green coconut milk, which leads to their death (Magnier, 2013). Some victims are killed by an act called, milk-therapy (Magnier, 2013). Fatal breathing difficulties occur when the terminally ill is force fed cow milk and their noses pinched shut (Magnier, 2013). Moral relativism need be limited to their own social groups and the members of which they share certain social agreements with (Westacott. 2016). Moral relativism also rejects the theory that there can be judgment made about what is morally right and wrong for human beings, if under circumstances they can prove their actions to be justified and binding for all human beings (Westacott, 2016). Without universal principles and morals of the truth and absolute values, society will become weak and fragmented (Slick,

Show More
Related

  • Michael Gazzaniga Response To Universal Ethics Summary

    1557 Words  | 4 Pages

    In “Toward a Universal Ethics,” written by Michael Gazzaniga, a question is posed to coax his audience toward a science based ethics. “The question is, Do we have an innate moral sense as a species, and if so, can we recognize and accept it on it’s own terms? It is not a good idea to kill because it is not a good idea to kill, not because God or Allah or Buddha said it was not a good idea to kill.”(Gazzaniga, 420 para. 6). Gazzaniga answers the question for us, but he was wrong to assume that the brain’s systematic response to moral situations means that science should dictate ethics and morality. Instead, ethics and morality should be considered a part of humanity, which is influenced and balanced by many things including science, religion, and individual

    Read More

  • On the Genealogy of Morality

    1185 Words  | 3 Pages

    Friedrich Nietzsche’s “On the Genealogy of Morality” includes his theory on man’s development of “bad conscience.” Nietzsche believes that when transitioning from a free-roaming individual to a member of a community, man had to suppress his “will to power,” his natural “instinct of freedom”(59). The governing community threatened its members with punishment for violation of its laws, its “morality of customs,” thereby creating a uniform and predictable man (36). With fear of punishment curtailing his behavior, man was no longer allowed the freedom to indulge his every instinct. He turned his aggressive focus inward, became ashamed of his natural animal instincts, judged himself as inherently evil, and developed a bad conscience (46). Throughout the work, Nietzsche uses decidedly negative terms to describe “bad conscience,” calling it ugly (59), a sickness (60), or an illness (56); leading some to assume that he views “bad conscience” as a bad thing. However, Nietzsche hints at a different view when calling bad conscience a “sickness rather like pregnancy” (60). This analogy equates the pain and suffering of a pregnant woman to the suffering of man when his instincts are repressed. Therefore, just as the pain of pregnancy gives birth to something joyful, Nietzsche’s analogy implies that the negative state of bad conscience may also “give birth” to something positive. Nietzsche hopes for the birth of the “sovereign individual” – a man who is autonomous, not indebted to the morality of custom, and who has regained his free will. An examination of Nietzsche’s theory on the evolution of man’s bad conscience will reveal: even though bad conscience has caused man to turn against himself and has resulted in the stagnation of his will, Ni...

    Read More

  • Differences Of Cultural Relativism: Personality, And Morality

    1104 Words  | 3 Pages

    Over many years people have seemed to develop their thinking concerning morality based on resulting in interactions with individuals and social institutions. Different societies have their own cultures that have different ideas about how humans are to behave. Societies

    Read More

  • Morality And Objective Morality

    1498 Words  | 3 Pages

    The position that I hold regarding the essay’s question is that I do not believe in an objective morality or in objective moral truths, I believe that all morality is entirely relative and subjective based on cultural norms because moral relativism is the philosophized meaning that right and wrong are not absolute values and that they are personalized based on the individual and the circumstances or cultural orientation. Morality applies within cultures but not across them. Ethical or cultural relativism and the various schools of pragmatism ignore the fact that certain ethical percepts probably grounded in human nature do appear to be universal and ancient, if not eternal. Ethical codes also vary in different societies, economies, and geographies

    Read More

  • Morality And Morality

    3173 Words  | 7 Pages

    In every civilized society you will always find many varying forms of morality and values, especially in the United States of America. In Societies such as these you find a mosaic of differing religions, cultures, political alignments, and socio economic backgrounds which suggests that morality and values are no different. In Friedrich Nietzsche’s book, Beyond Good and Evil, Nietzsche discusses morality and the two categories that you will find at the very basis of all varieties of morality. One category of morality focuses on the “Higher Man” and his superiority to all those under him and his caste. The second system is derived from those of a lower caste that may be used by those in higher castes to further themselves and society. These categories as described by Nietzsche are known as Master Morality and Slave Morality. In this modern time in our culture, morality is becoming a more polarizing topic than ever before. Morality is often times held synonymous with religious practice and faith, although morality is an important part of religion and faith, everyone has some variation of morality no matter their religious affiliation or lack thereof. Friedrich Nietzsche’s theories on morality, Master and Slave Morality, describe to categories of morality which can be found at the very basis of most variations of morality. Master and Slave morality differ completely from each other it is not uncommon to find blends of both categories from one person to another. I believe the Master Morality and Slave Morality theories explain not only religious affiliations but also political alignments and stances on certain social issues in American society. By studying the origins and meanings of Nietzsche’s theories, comparing these theories to c...

    Read More

  • Morality In Brave New World

    837 Words  | 2 Pages

    Mustapha Mond is the most powerful character in Brave New World by Aldous Huxley. Mond keeps scientific and historic documents from reaching the people. Mond believes that science, religion, and art threaten Brave New World if let out, but religion would be bane of Brave New World.

    Read More

  • Declining Morality: A Societal Examination

    1080 Words  | 3 Pages

    “Decreased moral standards and ethics related to ignorance to accepted social behavior standards”. Morality is defined as an understanding and distinguishing right and wrong and behaving according to socially accepted standards (The Definition of Morality, 2002). People can be inconsiderate and conflictful. From the assessment, it was evident that some people have lack of respect to other’s personal properties and even their own. Abandoned houses and trash on properties suggest social and moral degradations. Some of the contributing factors might be poverty, unemployment, and mental illnesses. Lack of morality might be a problem that affects other states and even countries. However, in some areas of Spokane, it is evident that people

    Read More

  • A Satisfactory Moral Theory

    919 Words  | 2 Pages

    James Rachels expresses his thoughts on what a satisfactory moral theory would be like. Rachels says a “satisfactory theory would be realistic about where human beings fit in the grand scheme of things” (Rachels, 173). Even though there is an existing theory on how humans came into this world there is not enough evidence to prove the theory to be correct. In addition to his belief of knowing how our existence came into play, he also has a view on the way we treat people and the consequences of our actions. My idea of a satisfactory moral theory would be treating people the way we wish to be treated, thinking of what results from our doings, as well as living according to the best plan.

    Read More

  • Morality is Relative

    634 Words  | 2 Pages

    James Rachels' article, "Morality is Not Relative," is incorrect, he provides arguments that cannot logically be applied or have no bearing on the statement of contention. His argument, seems to favor some of the ideas set forth in cultural relativism, but he has issues with other parts that make cultural relativism what it is.

    Read More

  • What Is Cultural Relativism?

    1065 Words  | 3 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Moral Relativism

    1958 Words  | 4 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Ethical Relativism and Cultural Relativism

    714 Words  | 2 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Examples Of Universal Morals

    719 Words  | 2 Pages

    For example, in southern India, relatives sometimes quietly kill their elders, the young that are very ill, or when the family can no longer afford to take care of or feed the ill by a practice called thalaikoothal (Magnier, 2013). The practice is carried out by setting a death date, family members are called over to say good-bye and often to participate (Magnier, 2013). The terminally ill person is given an oil bath, a head massage with cold water (to lower the body’s temperature), and an extremely large amount of green coconut milk, which leads to their death (Magnier, 2013). Some victims are killed by an act called, milk-therapy (Magnier, 2013). Fatal breathing difficulties occur when the terminally ill is force fed cow milk and their noses pinched shut (Magnier, 2013). Moral relativism need be limited to their own social groups and the members of which they share certain social agreements with (Westacott. 2016). Moral relativism also rejects the theory that there can be judgment made about what is morally right and wrong for human beings, if under circumstances they can prove their actions to be justified and binding for all human beings (Westacott, 2016). Without universal principles and morals of the truth and absolute values, society will become weak and fragmented (Slick,

    Read More

  • The Importance Of Moral Codes

    1945 Words  | 4 Pages

    160). This simply means not all societies believe the same thing is “right” or “wrong” because each society has the ability to have a different moral code. However, with this being said, cultures do have some common values and for society to exist with as much peace as possible, there are some moral rules that societies must have in common. Without some common moral codes, the world would be out of control and as a result, there would be many problems between people. With societies having a mix of shared and unshared cultural moral codes, it is safe to assume that most societies have mixes of good moral practices and bad moral

    Read More

  • The Importance Of Christian Morality

    1383 Words  | 3 Pages

    When considering morality, worthy to note first is that similar to Christian ethics, morality also embodies a specifically Christian distinction. Studying a master theologian such as St. Thomas Aquinas and gathering modern perspectives from James Keenan, S. J. and David Cloutier serve to build a foundation of the high goal of Christian morality. Morality is a primary goal of the faith community, because it is the vehicle for reaching human fulfillment and happiness. Therefore, great value can be placed on foundations of Christian morality such as the breakdown of law from Aquinas, the cultivation of virtues, the role of conscience in achieving morality, and the subject of sin described by Keenan.

    Read More

More about The Importance Of Universal Morality

Open Document