...Week 2 Assignment: Relativism and Morality Kendra Jones SOC 120: Introduction to Ethics & Social Responsibility Prof. Donna Falloon Monday, January 16th, 2012 Introduction Relativism is a concept that forges reality advancing assumptions which declare nothing to be absolutely true or valid. This is so because what has been proven true or valid is always based on personal perceptions which may be influenced by various predisposing factors. Often they may be merely subjective sentiments which are not universal since they only represent the view point of a few, the minority, majority or imposition of a dictator (Baghramian, 2004). When conceptualized within the context of morality it impinges on the framework that truth is applicable only as it pertains to specific guidelines and adaptations. Hence, if morality then becomes as issue in determining truth; it is sieving intentions to decipher purity and whether they are based on justice or outcomes that are beneficial to all. Therefore, this section of my presentation will focus on Lenn Goodman’s (2010) ‘Some Moral Minima:’ A Perspective. Also, a discussion on whether the conceptual framework advanced by this author challenges relativism will be embraced as well as a personal analysis of the themes. Lenn Goodman- ‘Some Moral Minima:’ A Perspective Lenn Goodman (2010) as any social scientist has to justify the morals of society. To say otherwise is to be...
Words: 860 - Pages: 4
...Based on different sociology dissertations, morality has been an issue that many societies globally have been trying to deal with. This term is used to describe the code of acceptable behaviors in a given society or culture. On the other hand, moral minima is a word that goes along with morality. This sets a standard by which the people in the society have to follow so that they may be living within the limits of proper moral conduct. The advent of civilization has given room to various forms that come from moral minima. As such, morality has become an issue that is interpreted in different ways depending how one looks or evaluates it (Goodman, 2010, p.87). Therefore, this has given rise to at least three areas where morality is supposedly received or obtained. Firstly, morality can be considered relative to the laws of a given nation so that what the law says is right. Second, morality can be said to have also come from religion where the various religions have their own holy books by which members are told to behave in a certain way. Finally, it is the personal source of morality. This is what has sparked a lot of controversy in many subject to millions of interpretation and understandings. Consequently, this is what I believe started influential philosophers like Lenn Goodman into argument that there are some things, which are certainly wrong. In this regard, this study seeks to explore the credits or challenges Goodman presents in his assertions (Goodman, 2010, p.88). In...
Words: 805 - Pages: 4
...sperm, she asks for an abortion. According to the women, she doesn’t need the foetus any longer. She made her point: she is fertile and is able to become pregnant. WHAT IS ETHICS? • Ethics may be defined as a set of moral principles that govern one’s course of action. • Ethics and law are a system of conflict resolution. • The law is the minimum behavior standard. Ethics Trends, Issues & WHAT IS ETHICS? • Ethics is philosophy of morality. • This is why it is sometimes referred to as ‘moral philosophy.’ • The term ‘ethics’ comes from the Greek term ethos meaning character, and we mean by the moral character of a person whether he or she is a good or bad person. MORALITY Everyone has some morality of his or her own ‐ what he or she thinks is right and wrong ‐ and it sometimes happens that people who others see as bad do not see themselves as bad. Each nation has a conception of morality too, a conception which reflects the collective thinking of the majority of the people of the nation. Much of a nation’s morality is stated in laws which prohibit immoral actions such as rape, robbery, or murder. It is questionable whether everything which is illegal is also immoral. GOOD EVIL We’re doing this for years It’s in my interest Hey! This is what we’ve agreed on We have to follow Gods will Most people do it My boss says it’s OK I stick to the rules As a human being I can’t act differently I’m not doing anything! Descriptive ethics Prescriptive...
Words: 1162 - Pages: 5
...whereas Rachels argues against this. Benedict uses her anthropological research to build her case for relativity and depends on different histories and environments of a few cultures. Rachels analyzes Cultural Relativism and justifies why it isn’t necessarily right or wrong. I have reviewed and thought about each of their arguments and have decided to side with James Rachels. The following paragraphs will be an attempt at showing why I believe both arguments seem to basically be equally strong with a slight lead by Ruth...
Words: 1844 - Pages: 8
...YhtyujyhSee also: Divine command theory, Morality without religion, and Secular ethics [edit]Positions Within the wide range of moral traditions, religious moral traditions co-exist with contemporary secular moral frameworks such as consequentialism, freethought, humanism, utilitarianism, and others. There are many types of religious morals. Modern monotheistic religions, such as Islam, Judaism, Christianity, and to a certain degree others such as Sikhism and Zoroastrianism, define right and wrong by the laws and rules set forth by their respective scriptures and as interpreted by religious leaders within the respective faith. Polytheistic religious traditions tend to be less absolute. For example, within Buddhism, the intention of the individual and the circumstances should be accounted for to determine if an action is right or wrong.[39] A further disparity between the morals of religious traditions is pointed out by Barbara Stoler Miller, who states that, in Hinduism, "practically, right and wrong are decided according to the categories of social rank, kinship, and stages of life. For modern Westerners, who have been raised on ideals of universality and egalitarianism, this relativity of values and obligations is the aspect of Hinduism most difficult to understand".[40] Religions provide different ways of dealing with moral dilemmas. For example, there is no absolute prohibition on killing in Hinduism, which recognizes that it "may be inevitable and indeed necessary" in...
Words: 308 - Pages: 2
...In your written assignment please describe Gilligan’s case for gender bias in Kohlberg's theory of moral reasoning. How does she justify her argument? How does her theory of moral reasoning relate to Erikson’s ideas about the relationship between autonomy and intimacy? Finally, in your own upbringing, were interdependence/empathy or independence/autonomy emphasized more? At what ages (be specific with at least one example)? Did the focus change as you grew older? Was it different in your family depending on your gender? What perspective would you try to emphasize with your own (perhaps hypothetical) children? Would it be different for different genders? This last set of questions is asking for your opinion about these issues in moral reasoning and there is not a correct answer, but you should engage the course readings in your responses. • Lawrence Kohlberg (1969) theory of moral development outlined a six-stage process within three levels. Kohlberg’s studies were not as age-dependent. Stages are: Pre-conventional; usually exhibited in children who have not yet realized what is right or wrong according to society’s conventions. Conventional; This level of moral development is more typical of adolescents and adults, and therefore their moral actions are often based upon how society expects them to act in a particular situation. Lastly, Post-conventional; An abstract way of looking at reality. Carol Gilligan (1982) theorized women use ethic of care while reasoning...
Words: 665 - Pages: 3
...composed the first tale of King Arthur to be written originally in English. In his version, when Arthur was taken to the Isle of Avalon after the battle at Camlann, he was healed of his wounds and is still waiting there, waiting to return when Albion’s need is greatest. This is the first time the image of Arthur as the once and future king appears ("King Arthur-The Legend”). All of the previous authors, from Geoffrey to Layamon, as well as the culture of the Medieval period, influenced Malory's depiction of King Arthur. But where did the story originate? Who is the man behind the legend? Who is Arthur? Every Event in the lifetime of the Observer, “including birthdays and graduations, occurs at a unique, fixed, point in SpaceTime” ("SpaceTime, Relativity, and Quantum Physics”). The year was 830. This is the year that Nennius, a Welsh monk, wrote “Historia Brittonum.” In this work, is the first officially recognized historical document mentioning Arthur. Nennius mentions Arthur as a great warrior who has fought in twelve battles. He is not a king, nor is even given any title, except as an experienced warrior ("King Arthur-The Legend”). As I have grown in age and in my knowledge of the world and its wondrous places, I have changed. Time changes a young and playful girl to a more experienced and wise college student. If someone had told me as a child all the things I have accomplished, all the places I had been, all the remarkable people I would meet, I would have been amazed into disbelief...
Words: 1140 - Pages: 5
...Moral Relativism Moral relativism is the “view that ethical standards, morality, and positions of right or wrong are either culturally-based or subject to a person’s individual choice” (Klement, 2006). Most people hold to the concept that what is right and what is wrong is not absolute and that morals can be altered from one situation to the next based on these subjective choices. Individual moral relativism views that what is ethically right is relative to each individual person according to their own moral standards or ethical system (Yount, 2012). To elaborate: if a John Doe believes that stealing office supplies for personal use is ethical, it is; if Jane Doe believes that stealing office supplies for personal use is unethical, it is. Alternatively, cultural relativism views that what is ethically right is relative to one’s culture (Yount, 2012). For example: if Culture 1 believes cannibalism is ethical, it is; if Culture 2 believes cannibalism is unethical, it is. The main advantage of moral relativism is that it can allow people of different cultures or ideologies to co-exist together. However, disadvantages of relativism in morality would result in having no common framework for resolving moral disputes because the fundamental principles governing what acts are morally right or wrong vary from culture to culture or individual to individual (Klement, 2006). The third level of Kohlberg’s (1971) stages of ethical development asserts that individuals consider the expectations...
Words: 569 - Pages: 3
...AT Teleological/Utilitarian Standards (1) Ends-based ethics conflict with our moral intuitions. For instance, if a healthy person enters a hospital in which five people are dying for want to different organs, killing the healthy person and distributing her organs to the dying ones would produce a net-beneficial outcome by saving five lives at the cost of one, but no one would consider it moral. Thus, ends-based standards (a) are false since they produce absurd conclusions and (b) are unachievable since no one would ever willingly follow them in all cases. (2) Ends-based morality is a bad guide to action since it’s impossible to predict the ultimate net effect of any actions given that any action spawns a potentially infinite causal chain and the complexity of the circumstances in which most of our moral choices are situated. Thus, ends-based ethics should be rejected as useless; further, ends based standards are bad for debate since we can never know if either of us achieves them. (3) Ends-based moral calculi inevitably fail because of the incommensurablility of different vaules. For instance, people value freedom, love or friendship independent of the pleasure they get from them, but there’s no way to determine how much pleasure outweighs a given unit of any of those things or vice versa. (4) Even reductionist forms of consequential ethics like hedonism fail since it’s impossible to quantify experiences of pleasure or pain. Thus, there’s no way to apply ends-based rules...
Words: 679 - Pages: 3
...| L.E. Goodman Analysis | Sherry Casey | SOC 120 | Milagros Baez | 3/11/2013 | | Some religions believe that we are all born of sin and into sin regardless of what culture, race, ethnic identity, or class. The belief is that we all have a sense of what is morally right and the relativity of it. “There are traits, customs, and beliefs that make us distinctive to certain cultures, races, and classes, which due to the differences we all follow, a set of different moral standards. Each culture tackles moral questions based on their own moral beliefs.” (Winter, 2011) Relativism maintains when it comes to right and wrong there is neither, because what is virtuous within a particular individual, culture or societies morality must be understood and taken into consideration (Mosser, 2010). Lenn Goodman brings up arguments that there are certain things that are simply wrong. Some people would agree, if you follow his thinking, yet there will be a few that would present a logical argument that would contradict his arguments. The areas of moral debates that Goodman chose would bring on a mass debate of arguments when it comes to cultures, races, ethic identities, or classes. Within the American society there are a huge amount of different cultures. The cultures all function together and have different beliefs and values. It is these different beliefs and values that make America and interesting place to live. The beliefs of Lenn Goodman are based on the...
Words: 906 - Pages: 4
...Blurred Morality in “A Farewell to Arms” by Ernest Hemingway and TS Eliot’s “Wasteland” Morality, as defined by Microsoft word, are principles concerning the distinction between right and wrong or good and bad behavior. Mortality, or the state of being subject to death, is also something most people see as straight forward. These definitions and most people’s general knowledge would make it seem as all decisions are either right or wrong and all behavior is good or bad but both “A Farewell to Arms” by Ernest Hemingway and “Wasteland” by TS Eliot blur these defined lines. Ernest Hemingway uses a combination of detached prose, random changes from first to second person viewpoint and from the events taking place to keep the reader from questioning the morality of his actions. Henry’s relationship with Catherine is what initially causes his morality to be called into doubt. The loss of Catherine’s fiancé makes her desperate for some type of love again which leads to the first questionable moral act by Henry. After just their first few meetings Catherine asks, “You did say you loved me, didn’t you?” Henry replies “yes” but follows it by thinking “I knew I did not love Catherine Barkley nor had any idea of loving her. This was a game, like bridge, in which you said things instead of playing cards.” (Hemingway, 30) Whether he was unsure of his true feelings or they changed rapidly is unknown but within just a few short chapters any free time he has while away from Catherine...
Words: 1594 - Pages: 7
...religion and secularism, religion remains a problem of intercultural communication. When religious belief combines with universally accepted truth, it negates all other belief systems as untrue and invalidates other religious views to be valid. Perhaps the best solution is to overcome the specific forms of static religious doctrine in favour of a universally accepted common morality or system of ethics and values. But religion cannot be reduced to or even dissolved into that morality. Rather, it remains, alongside its own logic, within the domain of specific cultural and religious orientation...
Words: 1317 - Pages: 6
...them, of independent origin, and brought to test them. In the folkways, whatever is, is right” (Sumner, 1906: 28). To explain, the relativist stance involves both a negative assumption, that is the denial of the existence of any “universal moral truth at all” (Driver, 2007: 16), and a positive one, that is the recognition of the existence of a moral truth dependent on each specific culture. With such a definition, cultural relativism distance itself radically from moral universalism that instead holds that “there are derivative norms that may differ across cultures, but at least some basic norms do not” (Driver, 2007: 17). Indeed, universalism does acknowledge the difference in morality between different societies, but it also believes that this is not due to lack of objectivity or universality in morality, but rather to a change in those norms which have been built on the basis of some universally moral values that everybody shares in any beliefs’ system. There are several accounts on this moral issue, as well as considerable amounts of arguments in favour of...
Words: 1487 - Pages: 6
...Examine the following ideas as they appear in the theory of Situation Ethics: * Situation * Conscience * Relativism First of all, Situation Ethics would produce a situation by setting aside all rules in a situation if love seems to be better served in doing so. Each situation is different and unique therefore reason is required make a moral decision, but only good lies with love. According to Fletcher, the Situationist follows a moral law or violates it according to love’s need. All decisions are hypothetical and so they depend on another thing being correct so the moral worth of this action depends on if love is being maximised. So, in the situation that an insane murderer asks you the whereabouts of his next victim, when using Situation Ethics you would follow the most loving thing to do. Here lying, although usually viewed as an immoral action, would produce the most love in this situation. Once the consequences are assessed and the action that would produce the most amount of love is determined, the moral judgement can be finalised and the action performed. Fletcher’s view on conscience (and therefore the way in which it appears in Situation Ethics) is that it is a verb and not a noun, the conscience is not a thing it is the process by which a moral decision is made by the individual. It is not a so-called intrinsic moral guide or a faculty of God, it is also not, as stated by Freud, the internalised views of society. When your conscience is used, you are...
Words: 582 - Pages: 3
...transitional period between puberty and adulthood in human development.” Two different developments occurring during this period are cognitive and emotional developments, both of which can be associated with developmental psychological theories. Cognitive development is one type of development occurring during adolescence, related to the way in which an adolescent thinks. Post-conventional moral reasoning, according to Lawrence Kohlberg, is associated with the cognitive development in adolescence. During this stage, societal rules and conventions move from an authoritative point of view to being seen with relativity and subjectivity. Post-conventional moral reasoning is integral to the development of an adolescent as it marks the realisation of independence in society, the precedence of an individual’s own thought, and the strengthening of one’s own principles of morality and reasoning. This means that a growing sense of independence and subjectivity is established within the adolescent, integral to adulthood later on in life. Emotional development is another type of development taking place throughout adolescence. Sigmund Freud established five (5) stages of emotional development known as the physosexual stages of development. The stage of this development, relevant to adolescence is Freud’s fifth stage, known as the genital stage. During this stage, adolescents focus their sexual urges to people of the other gender, with a substantial focus on the pleasure of the genitals...
Words: 478 - Pages: 2
