Scribd
Upload
263 views12 pages

Ethical Relativism

Ethical relativism holds that morality is relative to individuals or cultures, so there are no absolute moral truths. There are two types: individual relativism claims morality depends on an individual's approval, while cultural relativism says it depends on a culture's approval. Cultural relativists argue that different cultures have different moral codes, so there is no objective standard to judge them. Subjectivism views moral opinions as based only on feelings, not facts. Emotivism sees notions of good and bad as merely emotional responses of personal preference, not matters of truth.

Uploaded by

Mia
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
263 views12 pages

Ethical Relativism

Ethical relativism holds that morality is relative to individuals or cultures, so there are no absolute moral truths. There are two types: individual relativism claims morality depends on an individual's approval, while cultural relativism says it depends on a culture's approval. Cultural relativists argue that different cultures have different moral codes, so there is no objective standard to judge them. Subjectivism views moral opinions as based only on feelings, not facts. Emotivism sees notions of good and bad as merely emotional responses of personal preference, not matters of truth.

Uploaded by

Mia
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
You are on page 1/ 12

Ethical

Relativism/Subjectivism
/Emotivism
Ethical Relativism
• What is ethical relativism
1. Ethical relativism is the doctrine that there are no absolute truths in
ethics and that what is morally right or wrong varies from person to
person or from society to society
(https://www.britannica.com/topic/ethical-relativism)
2. Ethical relativism is the view that ethical values and beliefs are
relative to various individuals or societies that hold them. In saying that
they are “relative” to individuals or societies, we mean that they are a
function of, or dependent on, what individuals or societies do, in fact,
believe. According to ethical relativism there is no objective right and
wrong (Mackinnon, 2001)
Two types of Ethical Relativism

• Individual ethical relativism or subjective relativism= it is the view that an


action is morally right if one approves of it. It view the individual as
morally infallible and that genuine moral disagreement between
individuals is nearly impossible. Those believes on this view take
judgments and beliefs as expressions of the moral outlook and attitude of
individual persons.
• Cultural relativism= is the view that that an action is morally right if one’s
culture approves of it. Implications: that cultures are morally infallible,
that social reformers can never be morally right, that moral disagreements
between individuals in the same culture amount to argu_x0002_ments
over whether someone disagrees with her culture, that other cultures
cannot be legitimately criticized, and that moral progress isimpossible.
Cultural Relativism
• Different Cultures Have Different Moral Codes
To many people, this observation—“Different cultures have
different moral codes”—seems like the key to understanding morality. There are
no universal moral truths, they say; the customs of different societies are all
that exist. To call a custom “correct” or “incorrect” would imply that we can
judge that custom by some independent standard of right and wrong. But no
such standard exists; every standard is culture-bound. Thus, this line of thought
has persuaded people to be skeptical about ethics. Cultural Relativism says, in
effect, that there is no such thing as universal truth in ethics; there are only the
various cultural codes, and nothing more. Cultural Relativism challenges our
belief in the objectivity and universality of moral truth.
• Arguments of cultural relativism
A. From Lewis Vaughn (Doing Ethics, 2008)
1. People’s judgments about right and wrong differ from culture to
culture.
2. If people’s judgments about right and wrong differ from culture to
culture, then right and wrong are relative to culture, and there are no
objective moral principles.
3. Therefore, right and wrong are relative to culture, and there are no
objective moral principles.
B. From Stuart and James Rachels (The Elements of Moral Philosophy,
2013)
1. Different societies have different moral codes.
2. The moral code of a society determines what is right within that
society; that is, if the moral code of a soci_x0002_ety says that a
certain action is right, then that action is
right, at least within that society.
3. There is no objective standard that can be used to judge one
society’s code as better than another’s. There are no moral truths that
hold for all people at all times.
4. The moral code of our own society has no special status; it is but one
among many.
5. It is arrogant for us to judge other culture
Some Dangers of Cultural Relativism
• The Cultural Differences Argument
Cultural Relativists often employ a certain form of argument. They begin
with facts about cultures and end up drawing a conclusion
about morality. Thus, they invite us to accept this reasoning:

(1) The Greeks believed it was wrong to eat the dead,


whereas the Callatians believed it was right to eat the
dead.
(2) Therefore, eating the dead is neither objectively right
nor objectively wrong. It is merely a matter of opinion, which varies from
culture to culture
Or:
(1) The Eskimos saw nothing wrong with infanticide, whereas Americans believe
infanticide is immoral.
(2) Therefore, infanticide is neither objectively right nor objectively wrong. It is
merely a matter of opinion, which varies from culture to culture.
Clearly, these arguments are variations of one fundamental idea. They are both
examples of a more general argument, which says:
(1) Different cultures have different moral codes.
(2) Therefore, there is no objective truth in morality.
Right and wrong are only matters of opinion, and opinions vary from culture to
culture.
• What Follows from Cultural Relativism
1. We could no longer say that the customs of other societies are
morally inferior to our own.
2. We could no longer criticize the code of our own society.
3. The idea of moral progress is called into doubt.
4. Moral uncertainty
Subjectivism

• Arguments of Subjectivism
Ethical Subjectivism is the idea that our moral opinions are
based on our feelings and nothing more. On this view, there is no
such thing as “objective” right or wrong. Its like people have
different opinions, but where morality is concerned, there are no
“facts,” and no one is “right.” People just feel differently, and that’s all
there is to it.
Example: Morality of homosexuality
• What follows from subjectivism
1. Cannot account for disagreement
2. Any claims can be true if it were sincerely expressed
3. All is right
Emotivism

Emotivism is the idea that the notion of good and bad is simply an
emtional response such as a preference for food, looks, personality,
and most importantly those actions and habits that a person favors.
The basic claim of emotivism is that the notion of good and bad has
nothing with truth but rather a personal preference grounded on
feelings and desires. In emotivism dispositions of a person do
matter.

You might also like

pFad - Phonifier reborn

Pfad - The Proxy pFad of © 2024 Garber Painting. All rights reserved.

Note: This service is not intended for secure transactions such as banking, social media, email, or purchasing. Use at your own risk. We assume no liability whatsoever for broken pages.


Alternative Proxies:

Alternative Proxy

pFad Proxy

pFad v3 Proxy

pFad v4 Proxy