Theory of Subjectivism
The Theory of Subjectivism
Moral statements can be hard to define and more often than not many people seem to have different points of view that may not always agree with each other. Numerous theories have been formed in order to tackle these problems and one of them is the subjectivism theory. What the subjectivism theory in its simplest form says is that “when a person says that something is morally good or bad, this means that he or she approves of that thing, or disapproves of it, and nothing more’ (Rachels 34). Basically when a person states his or her opinion they are neither right nor wrong but they are just expressing their attitude towards the matter.
How someone feels about moral issues is what really matters in subjectivism. It tells us that “so long as someone is honestly representing his own feelings, his moral judgements will always be correct” (Rachels, 35). It assumes that we are never wrong about our morality. A problem with subjectivism is that we cannot solve any moral problems because at the end no conclusion will be made. It will always be just one person’s opinions against another. People who try to argue their moral positions “cannot even state their positions in a way that gets at the issue” (Rachels 35), which can be problematic. For example, a person can say that they agree with slavery and as long as they wholeheartedly agree with what they believe in they are not morally wrong. A lot of people might have a completely different opinion but in the end “there would be no disagreement between them” (Rachels 35). In subjectivism an argument was never present in the first place.
Subjectivism implies that there is no objective truth behind moral facts. No moral statement can be right or wrong because each person has their own subjective truth. The idea that there is no objective truth brings with it the consequence of never being able to hold someone accountable for their actions. If nothing is good nor bad then are we are not
Moral statements can be hard to define and more often than not many people seem to have different points of view that may not always agree with each other. Numerous theories have been formed in order to tackle these problems and one of them is the subjectivism theory. What the subjectivism theory in its simplest form says is that “when a person says that something is morally good or bad, this means that he or she approves of that thing, or disapproves of it, and nothing more’ (Rachels 34). Basically when a person states his or her opinion they are neither right nor wrong but they are just expressing their attitude towards the matter.
How someone feels about moral issues is what really matters in subjectivism. It tells us that “so long as someone is honestly representing his own feelings, his moral judgements will always be correct” (Rachels, 35). It assumes that we are never wrong about our morality. A problem with subjectivism is that we cannot solve any moral problems because at the end no conclusion will be made. It will always be just one person’s opinions against another. People who try to argue their moral positions “cannot even state their positions in a way that gets at the issue” (Rachels 35), which can be problematic. For example, a person can say that they agree with slavery and as long as they wholeheartedly agree with what they believe in they are not morally wrong. A lot of people might have a completely different opinion but in the end “there would be no disagreement between them” (Rachels 35). In subjectivism an argument was never present in the first place.
Subjectivism implies that there is no objective truth behind moral facts. No moral statement can be right or wrong because each person has their own subjective truth. The idea that there is no objective truth brings with it the consequence of never being able to hold someone accountable for their actions. If nothing is good nor bad then are we are not
Cited: "Subjectivism." BBC News. BBC, n.d. Web. 05 Mar. 2014. . Newton, Lisa. "Hale Chair in Applied Ethics Resources - Manuals." Hale Chair in Applied Ethics Resources - Manuals. Hale Chair, 2002. Web. 04 Mar. 2014. . Westacott, Emrys. "Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy." Cognitive Relativism []. Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy, n.d. Web. 05 Mar. 2014. . Rachels, James, and Stuart Rachels. The Elements of Moral Philosophy: James Rachels ; Sixth Ed. by Stuart Rachels. New York: McGraw-Hill Higher Education, 2010. Print. Lewis, C. S. "Inductive Study of Truth." The Poison of Subjectivism. N.p., n.d. Web. 05 Mar. 2014. .