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Ethical Relativism - Coggle Diagram
Ethical Relativism
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Religion & Relativism
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2005 Pope Benedict- "we are building a dictatorship of relativism that does not recognise anything as definitive & whose ultimate standard consists solely of one's own ego and desires"
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Pope Benedict feared would lead to abolition of tolerance- ' that the christians faith is no longer allowed to express itself visibily'
Cultural Relativism
morality varies depending on culture- one society is no better than any other; they are just different
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Examples
Nomadic Masai (East Africa)- practice polygamy & wife lending between men of same age group
While christians practice monogamy- so some will say that no objective standard for marriage
Islamic countries- women expected to cover themselves, while in western countries allowed to show as much skin as want
Roman Empire accepted practice of killing prisoners in extravagant shows to entertain people- now seen as repulsive
cultural relativists accept that morality changes with time- morality of action considered in context of place and time
Individual Relativism
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Egoism
asserts that each individual should behave in a way that promotes their own self-interest over interest of others
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Sidgwick- compared egoism to philosophy of utilitarianism, writing whereas utilitarianism sought to maximise overall pleasure, egoism focused only on maximizing individual pleasure
James Rachel
know wants and needs perfectly- perfectly placed to fulfil them
however, never fully understand needs and wants of others- so when trying to meet them will do imperfect job
altruism (caring for others) undermines own individual value
Ayn Rynd- egoism better than altruism "purpose of morality is to teach you, not to suffer and die, but to enjoy yourself and live"
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Garrett Hardin- created the Lifeboat Analogy e.g. lifeboat to full capacity in sea of drowning people- do let more aboard & possibly die or leave them?
Said "leave the poor to starve, for otherwise the poor will drag the rich down with them"
Emotivism
based on inner feelings and personal values, not moral absolutes
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purpose of moral statement according to emotivism is to persuade another person of right or wrongness of an action
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Applying Relativism
Abortion
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relativist could believe that abortion rights or wrong based on beliefs of sanctity of life or moral status of foetus
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IVF Treatment
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IVF treatment right or wrong based on shared beliefs about rightness or wrongness of interfering with natural processes
General
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some relativists assert that individual should be free to develop their own morality- known as individual or subjective relativism
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Origins of Relativism
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Protagoras (one of most famous Sophists)- held that there is no objective truth because all truth depends on the perceptions of the person
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Strengths and Weaknesses
Strengths
Relativists believe in tolerance and respect for other people's societies- modern societies are multicultural & multi-ethnic
Respect for diversity produces peaceful and harmonious society which is a moral necessity
Caleb Rosado- "cultural relativism, as a new way of seeing, is a necessary optic to perceive the sociocultural reality in today's multicultural world soceity"
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Relativist argue that language is not neutral which seems to be common sense- goodness, justice, truth & freedom mean different things in different cultures and soceities
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Offers more flexible approach to morality which can accommodate a wide diversity of lifestyles found in the modern world
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Prevents dominant culture from enforcing themselves on another- might have prevented negative aspects of colonialism
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Evident that morality is culturally dependant- Mackie argued "the simple fact that there are different moral practices in different places and times is thought to prove that morality is culturally dependant"
Weaknesses
Mere existence of different views doesn't mean that they are all equal or true- Socrates said "one should not regard all the opinion that people hold, but only some and not others... one should regard the good ones and not the bad"
Cultural relativists unable to criticise another culture- e.g. Nazi regime, cultural relativist unable to criticise it as 'it was right for them'
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Relativism doesn't allow society to progress or evolve- if immoral practices not challenged then society fails to improve e.g. honour killings or FGM
Some statements are true absolutely- Rachels argued that societies do have similar or common values e.g. tending to care for children, telling truth & respect for human life
Jenkins develops idea of common moral standards & notes that Golden Rule is universal rule- behaviour found in many different societies
Although Utilitarianism & Situation ethics both relativist approaches, both happiness on absolute principle:
Utilitarianism= happiness
Situation ethics= love
Relativism doesn't protect rights of minorities- disregard absolute guidelines e.g. Universal Declaration of Human Rights