...Chinua Achebe’s Things Fall Apart. Heidegger would have probably told the white men to let them be in their own rootedness. He may have not stood by all their views and traditions, but no man’s traditions should be neither superior nor inferior to another’s. As one of the characters in Achebe’s novel says, “What is good in one place is bad in another.”[2] The quote suggests that the Ibo people’s view was that of ethical relativism. This suggests that they know other cultures may view their beliefs as bad or unmoral, and they accepted this. This also suggest that the Ibo people accepted the cultural relativist view that good and bad differ from one cultural groups to another. 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. Ethical relativism means that there are no set ways of life. Every person has their own set of beliefs that differ from another person, even within the same society. I believe to fully believe in ethical relativism that there would have to be no judgment placed on people or societies. I do not believe that this could be accomplished, no matter how open-minded one thinks they are. We all judge others, even without realizing we do it, so I am not sure that there can be true relativist. Based on what some of the Ibo people say in the novel, I do not believe that I can say that the entire clan was not ethical relativists. I can say that...
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...“Is morality relative or are there objective moral truths?” Is Morality Subjective or Objective? Every day, we make decisions that affect our lives and others. Sometimes, those decisions are bigger than other times. Those decisions are sometimes made because the choice is to do something right or wrong. We say that a moral person will make the right decision and the immoral person will make the wrong decision. An example of this is that if I was raised in a culture that says killing is wrong. I am a Naga from Northeast India. Just over 100 years ago, we Nagas were headhunters. Killing was more than tolerated – it was expected. Men would raid other villages nearby and kill other men, bringing back heads. Even children’s heads were special trophies. This sounds very bad, even to me, but if I was born over 100 years ago, I would be okay with it. So is killing others right or wrong? Even in enlightened cultures, wars happen and people kill each other. These questions always come up when people talk about morality. In any debate, the arguments tend to take two extreme sides, which means there is not much middle ground left for the discussions. The slippery slope fallacy is often used to talk about morality. According to Richard Nordquist at about.com, the slippery slope fallacy is “A fallacy in which a course of action is objected to on the grounds that once taken it will lead to additional actions until some undesirable consequence results” (para. 1). In other words, we say something...
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...Ethical relativism Ethical relativism is when an action that is being practiced is thought to be moral in one country but can be immoral and made illegal in another country. Whether it is right or wrong depends on the social norm in that culture or part of the world. There is no universal moral standard or global law that the world has to abide by at all times. Ethical relativism can also be based on personal moral beliefs based on emotion rather than reason. The reason why ethical relativism is so pervasive in American society is because the United States is occupied with many different races and culture from all around the world. It is also a country where you have the freedom to do what you want within reason. You have a country where people are going to bring their beliefs here whether right or wrong. Also, people who were born here were taught a certain way growing up. I believe that this goes back to personal beliefs you have as a person. As people grow up, they tend to think for themselves and start to have personal beliefs and emotions whether they are right or wrong on something. I believe that people eventually will do what they even thought they know it’s morally wrong. For example, serial killers kill people and they know it morally wrong and illegal to do so but they still do it because personally they feel the act is justified for whatever reason. Another example is in a show called “Dexter”, where the main character Dexter is a serial killer. His...
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...The question of whether ethical relativism or ethical absolutism is right has been the subject of much debate, and perhaps may never be answered for certain. It is certain, however, that at the present time, ethical relativism is in general accepted as the standard. Although I realize that given the fact that the best of philosophers have failed to give solid arguments for either ethical relativism or ethical absolutism will most likely be unable as well, however that is not my goal. Rather my purpose is simply to make us question the ethical relativism to which we have become so accustomed, and to demonstrate some reasons why ethical absolutism may be correct. We all know that people, in general, treat ethics as being subjective. Does that, however, make that right, just, and ethical? To put it simply, the answer is: no. This is obvious given the common example, "if all the other kids were jumping off a cliff, would you do it too." The masses are not always right. So now the thought in all your minds is "come on - go ahead! Prove us wrong." I'm not trying to prove anything, however I will hopefully give you enough information to make you question what is right, and if I do, then I've accomplished my goals. Lets begin with the basics. "What are absolute ethics?" Ethical Absolutism, is undeviating moral discipline. Nothing is relative; a crime is a crime, regardless of circumstances. For a quick demonstration of ethical relativism let us use the example of murder. Is it ok...
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...For years, many philosophers have been concerned with finding a criterion of moral rightness. Indeed, a core issue in moral philosophy involved identifying whether universally moral values existed or not. Accordingly, this essay will demonstrate that, although the relativist stance on the philosophical problem may seem quite compelling, the universalist one ultimately proves itself to be the most applicable and reasonable. In other words, moral universalism will win over cultural relativism inasmuch as the relativist will fail to provide compelling responses to the universalist’s objections, as this essay will further explain. However, to balance out the debate, I will additionally highlight the benefits that the relativist theory brings to...
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...‘A relativist approach to the issues raised by abortion leads to wrong moral choices.’ Discuss. One could indeed present the argument that a relativist approach to abortion could lead to the wrong moral choices. For example, in subjective ethical relativism, although one may be able to make a moral choice completely by themselves, there are no clear guidelines in which they have to adhere to. This may lead to corruptible behaviour, as people might delude themselves into thinking certain things that are wrong; are in fact right. Additionally, conventional ethical relativism, which considers society’s values, would most likely disregard the needs of the individual, rendering them to feel pressured by society to follow cultural tradition. This may lead to the wrong moral choice being made. For example if a woman would mentally suffer with the pregnancy, but is not allowed an abortion (such as in Uganda), this would be the wrong moral decision that has resulted from a conventional relativist approach to ethics. On the other hand, a relativist approach could also lead to the correct moral choices. For example, subjectivism allows the individual to make their own choice, which ultimately can be regarded as a good thing. Only the mother herself can really know if she wants an abortion, or if she would not be able to cope with the pregnancy both mentally and physically. A relativist approach to abortion allows for the individuals needs and circumstance to be considered, rather...
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...Cody Gut Dr. T. Nulty Philosophy 215 Introduction to Ethics April 12, 2012 Infanticide of Disabled Newborns Infanticide of a disabled newborn is the killing of a newborn baby who has been diagnosed with a disability. With the new technology that has been discovered in recent years newborns with disabilities can be kept alive through extraordinary lifesaving techniques. An example of this is newborns born with chronic cardiopulmonary disease which, “…is a disease that affects the normal functions of the heart and lungs that could disturb the complete physical, mental and social well being of individual”. (Violeta) Newborns born with this would not survive more then a few days without the extreme help of doctors and machines to keep the baby alive. Now what could happen is the newborn could be left alone and would die but not before sufficient suffering. Or the baby could be kept alive with machines that the doctors have, but the baby would also suffer and only be kept alive because of the machines. The third option is the baby could be killed quickly and painlessly, which would relieve suffering. The ethical issues that are involved in this case that are brought up by people are. 1. Nobody has the right to decide whether ones life is worth less than another’s. Thus meaning that one person cannot decide whether someone should live or die. 2. Everyone should be given a fighting chance to live. This means that maybe something miraculous happens and the baby pulls...
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...Moral relativism Moral relativism is the philosophical theory that morality is relative that different moral truths hold for different people in different cultural. According to moral relativism, there is no goodness or badness in the abstract; there is only goodness or badness within a specified context. An act may thus be good in one cultural setting but bad in another, but cannot be either good or bad full stop. Those who reject relativism, of course, have arguments of their own: In some cases, it does seem to be right to judge one culture to be morally superior to another, to make cross-cultural comparisons. To make cross-cultural comparisons, though, one needs a cross-cultural standard, which is precisely what moral relativism says there isn’t. Not only does moral relativism entail that we cannot make legitimate moral comparisons of different cultures, it also entails that we cannot make legitimate moral comparisons of a single culture across time; we cannot judge whether a changing society is getting better or worse. Generally, though, we do think that we have made moral progress. Moral relativism, arguably, cannot make sense of this. Moral philosophy Moral philosophy refers to the basic rules or principles that people use to decide what is right or wrong. Although there is no single moral philosophy that every culture, every nation, even every people accepts, there are still some moralities are widely accepted. Such as honest, integrity, and fairness which was mentioned...
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... April 6, 2012 Authored by: Willie Moore Phil 140 April 6, 2012 Authored by: Willie Moore Cultural Relativism challenges our belief in the objectivity and universality of moral truth. Cultural Relativism also holds that that the norms of a culture reign supreme within the bounds of the culture itself. Cultural Relativists believe that there is no such thing as universal truth in ethics; there are only the various cultural codes, and nothing more. There are five claims that are made by cultural relativists: 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 society 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 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 cultures. We should always be tolerant of them. There are three problems Rachel has with 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. Ethical Subjectivism is the idea that our moral opinions are based on our feelings and nothing more. There is no such thing as “objective” right or wrong. Ethical...
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...Vulgar Relativism Bernard Williams, a Knightbridge Professor of Philosophy, finds Benedict’s doctrine of Ethical Relativism unsustainable. William states his argument for “Vulgar Relativism” on three points. First, what is considered to be “right” means ‘right for a given society” (Williams). Secondly, what is considered “right” for a society is to be understood in a functionalist sense. In conclusion, William’s Vulgar Relativism states it is wrong for individuals in one society to condemn the values of another. Bernard William believed that relativism is “possibly the most absurd view to have been advance even in moral philosophy” (Williams). Williams continues to say that Vulgar Relativism makes a claim about what is right and what is wrong about the values of other societies in third proposition; thus making this view inconsistent. For example, the Ashanti claim and believed that human sacrifice was “right” for them. The theory allows the claim that it is right for our society not to condemn the Ashanti. According to Williams, “we have no business to interfere with it” (Williams). However, this theory suffers in its functionalists aspects from functionalism. Since society is regarded as a cultural unit, the values that a society holds is then necessary for the survival of the group. On the other hand, according to Williams, the survival of the society can be understood s the survival of certain person’s and they descendants which then functionalist propositions will be...
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...Philosophy Exam * When is a deductive argument conclusive? All the premises are true, No fallacies are committed, and it is valid. Which of the following is one of the criteria a deductive argument must meet in order to be conclusive (good)? -the argument must be valid * What are the 3 criteria that must be met for an appeal to experts to be legitimate? 1. Must be an expert in the relevant field, expertise on the issue 2. Consensus of experts in the field must agree. 3.Expert must be liable and agreeable, reliable and credible Suppose you decide to appeal to experts to answer a question. Which of the following is NOT one of the three criteria discussed in class that must be met for your appeal to authority to be likely to get you the truth? -the expert appealed to must have published work in the field. * What are the ways discussed in class to determine what the consensus of experts believe about an issue? Professional Journals * Why is it important to rely on a consensus rather than individual experts views? Some experts just start drama, past experts have been wrong. Why is it important to rely on consensus rather than individual experts views? -a consensus is more likely to be correct * How is truth defined in class? As defined in class, a statement is true and only true if it matches up with the way things are. * What are the main points of each of the Quickie Arguments? Morality does not equal legality...
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...Relativism is a view that what is right or wrong in some circumstances, people who believe in cultural relativism believe that morality is like a law. (Ethics book page 183). A human does not always agree what is “Right and wrong”. Has no one the authority to answer this question of right and wrong? That question was here at the very beginning of human history. As stated in the Bible in Genesis, God designated a tree that was growing in the Garden of Eden as “the tree of the knowledge of good and bad.” (Genesis 2:10-9).Some people growing up in a situation where cheating is good, for some people cheating is bad. Right, and wrong exist as opposite; it only exists in people mind. (Boghossian, Paul, “The Maze of Moral Relativism,” New York Times...
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... In the article “Some moral Minima,” Lenn Goodman argues that moral actions, which in which come with alternative motives, are the only meaningful actions. Looking for attention and praise from after doing something that is morally right in itself takes away from the act from the beginning. To disagree with the opinion of Goodman would raise an argument of human nature and reasoning. Goodman argues that certain things are without a doubt wrong. In my personal opinion, Goodman is absolutely correct. Things like slavery, polygamy, and incest are just a few of the long list of things that Goodman argues are in fact wrong. Goodman starts her argument by saying a phrase that kept playing in my mind over and over again as I read her arguments for moral and relativism. She said, “certain things are simply wrong” (insert citation). Arguing with the Goodman in her efforts to explain how some things are certainly wrong would be nearly impossible. Killing just to kill, or raping an individual for instantaneous desire, or taking the rights of an individual for prosperity is just plain wrong. By debating that everyone person whether it be man, woman, or child wants the desire to live and be free without the free of not being understood or to be judged based on things that are not morally correct. I believe that all individuals are equal and should have the right to be treated and create their own lifetime of joy. People who violate the moral compass, that should guide...
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...Fabio Cuetara Philosophy October 15, 2011 Right or Wrong Ethical Relativism is the belief that nothing is objectively right or wrong and that the definition of right or wrong depends on the prevailing view of a particular individual, culture, or historical period. Different cultures have different ethical and moral standards that might seem odd or wrong but if they are justifiable and or not completely forced upon a group then there should be nothing wrong with said act. I agree with ethical relativism, to a certain extent, the fact that people in our modern culture criticize or judge people in others for what they do and why they do it is morally wrong. We have never had an absolute ethical standard in history so just because we think something is right or wrong doesn’t mean it is, different people respond differently to certain ideas and actions. Ethical Relativism shows us that some practices are ethically right in their respective cultures and that we should respect other people’s ethical decisions if they are made out of necessity or choice by the group of people involved. What one culture might think is absolutely horrible and wrong, might be completely acceptable and necessary in another. In other cultures some decisions are made for the survival of the civilization. The Eskimos sometimes leave there new born female children behind in the frigid climate to die. At first glance that seems incredibly wrong and inhumane, but looking further into the reasoning...
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...College Ethical Relativism Beau Fletcher An Introduction to Philosophy Professor Nicholas Hardaker The world is an immensely diverse and unique place with societies that are radically different from one another. Relativists argue that there is no universal ethical standard to identify what is right or wrong; instead, it is up to each society to develop a moral standard that is most compatible with their distinctive culture. Ethical Relativism argues that people should act within the moral standards set forth by their specific culture. It is also important to note that a society can evolve (as well as regress) over time, making way for a revised set of moral standards that are more compatible with sociological views at that time. I found it hard to identify many of my peers as having either a relativist, or absolutist position within the discussions. Many seem to have a conglomerate of the ‘best’ ideals from both sides of the spectrum. There are however, some great examples of both absolutist and relativist minds in the class discussions, being able to look at exactly how they both apply their reasoning to arrive at radically different stances on some fundamental questions about ethics and moral standards. Before I get into defining some examples of both relativist and absolutist ideologies, I want to start with a post from week two that is an excellent example of relativism in action and that shows how radically two different society’s moral standards can differ...
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