Preview

Relativism versus Objectivism

Better Essays
Open Document
Open Document
1132 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Relativism versus Objectivism
The moral debate of relativism versus objectivism is one that confronts a moral question that philosophers have been debating for many years. The ultimate question brought about in the debate is whether morality is based solely on individual choice and cultural approval, or are there universally valid moral principles. With this essay I will present the arguments for each view and I will also argue for the position I favor: moral objectivism.

Relativism is the view that states that moral principles vary by culture (conventionalism) or by individuals (subjectivism). Conventionalists like Ruth Benedict argue that since different cultures hold different principles, one culture has no basis to judge another culture's morals. She uses the argument of normality: each culture defines what behavior is normal to fit the behavior of the majority. The majority of that population then defines normality and lives by it, and only a small minority deviates from that normality. According to Benedict morality is just term that we've come to use for socially approved habits, and normal is a variant of the concept of good. Subjectivism is the extreme end of relativism. This view holds that morality is determined at the individual level, not a social or universal level. Therefore, the only moral principles that are valid are the ones you believe in, and basically all principles are equally valid.

Criticism of these arguments starts with the judgment question: how can a society or individual judge the behavior of another if all socially accepted behaviors or personal moral principles are valid? The answer is that it can't, but a few examples will show what tolerance can allow. From a historical standpoint slavery was considered normal by those who held slaves. Since slaveholders were the dominant culture in that area, the normal and therefore, the good behavior was to own slaves. According to conventionalism slavery was a morally right act at the time that it was popular, and only

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Better Essays

    In this essay, I will discuss James Rachels’ article “The Challenge of Cultural Relativism”, in which he criticizes the normative cultural relativism argument which is about how different cultures have different moral codes, thus there is no single truth to define “truth” or a correct set of moral codes because the idea of right or wrong varies within cultures. Firstly I am going to explain what the cultural relativism argument is about and then present my assessment of Rachels’ critique regarding this argument from careful…

    • 990 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    Ethical relativism is a concept in which most simple minded individuals adhere to. According to definition in the chapter, ethical relativism is the normative theory that what is right is what the culture or individual says is right. Shaw argues that it is not very plausible to say that ethical relativism is determined by what a person thinks is right and wrong. He gives reason that it “collapses the distinction between thinking something is right and it’s actually being right.” Ethical relativism may be justified occasionally. William H. Shaw examines ethical relativism by providing comprehensive examples on why relativism is a weak method in gaining morals.…

    • 434 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Benedict’s claim makes sense and is a satisfactory equation. However I do not think it can be applied to slavery and the Nazi policy. Both of those things came out of the blue. It was not being done until a certain time; therefore it was not acceptable behavior. However in the case of slavery, it became acceptable behavior because it has now been going on for centuries. In the case of the Nazi policy, it is cannot be applied because it only went on for a short period of…

    • 961 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Lenn Goodman Analysis

    • 997 Words
    • 4 Pages

    ARE THERE UNIVERSAL MORAL REQUIREMENTS AND IS SOME MORALS UNIVERSALLY KNOWN AS WRONG? CHALLENGES TO RELATIVISM…

    • 997 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    Moral relativism is one’s perception of what is acknowledged to be morally just or unjust depending on accepted demeanor. Certain behaviors and manners that a specific culture may consider to be acceptable, another culture may consider to be unethical. In such an instance, neither one of the cultures would be incorrect. Morals are culturally defined in that it originates from the root as to what is considered socially acceptable.…

    • 1232 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    Objective moral truths are truths that exist regardless of an individuals or a group opinion. Subjectivists believe that there are no objective moral truths and that morality is decided by the person. For instance, some objectivists would say that it is an objective moral truth that torturing babies is wrong. While subjectivist believe that it is morally true or morally wrong if one approves or disproves of torturing babies. According to subjectivism, things are either right or wrong according to an individuals attitudes and feelings. Cultural relativism differs from objectivists view on moral truths as it believes also there are no objective moral truths. Cultural relativism believe morality is based on the moral code of a culture. Moral codes…

    • 629 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    What is the concept of relativist morality: Moral relativism is an opposing perspective from the objective ways of a moral absolutist such as Plato , whose moral standards are fixed regardless of the context. The whole concept of absolutism is universal and deontological; therefore it is unchanging. Whereas Moral relativism is teleological: the outcome of the action is not taken into consideration, meaning that moral relativism possesses moral truth that is dependent on place, culture, time and religion. Furthermore it is subjective in a way that our overall conclusion of an ethical situation is based on what we feel is the most suitable moral judgement. Relativism indicates that there is no one true morality, there should not be one solution…

    • 930 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Cultural relativism can be defined as the understanding that the choices one can consider morally right are those approved of by one’s culture. Cultural differences in moral beliefs don’t imply cultural relativism because nonmoral beliefs can alter the perspective of basic moral principles shared by the culture. This would imply that there are no universally set/correct moral standards. Saying that cultural differences in moral beliefs imply cultural relativism is only part of an argument, not a conclusion supported by valid premises. There is the possibility that the moral issue in question is, in fact, an objective truth, in which case the culture is purely wrong. If cultural relativism exists, and no culture can ever be wrong in their moral…

    • 269 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Cultural relativism, as defined by the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy. “Is the thesis that a person’s culture strongly influences her modes of perception and thought” Most cultural relativists add to this definition saying that there is no standard of morality. This means that morality is relative to the particular society that one lives in. Prominent ethicist James Rachels has written against this view in his work titled The Challenge of Cultural Relativism. This paper will be focused on evaluating Rachels’ critique of cultural relativism, and whether it was right for him to endorse objective moral realism. Rachels defines this as “a standard that might be reasonably used in thinking about any social practice whatever. We may ask whether the practice promotes or hinders the welfare of people whose lives are affected by it.” That is the moral worth of an action is based upon how it contributes to the society from which it operates in.…

    • 1686 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    Pojman Ethical Relativism

    • 524 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Ethical Relativism is the belief that nothing is objectively right or wrong and that the meaning of what is right and wrong depends on the individual and culture. Pojman breaks down Ethical Relativism into 2 main concepts: The Diversity Theory and the Dependency Theory. The Diversity Theory addresses the concept of what is morally right and wrong varies from society to society; therefore, there is no universal moral principles that all societies accept. For example, Homosexuality in the Middle East is a forbidden practice, while in ancient Greek culture, it was said to be a accepted practice. The Dependency Theory says that all moral principles receive their validity from cultural acceptance.…

    • 524 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Annotated Bibliography

    • 716 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Moral Relativism is what determines whether the action or conduct is right or wrong. This article states how from a moral absolutist standpoint, some things are always right, while some things are always wrong no matter how much one tries to rationalize them. At the same time, this article defines moral relativism as the belief that conflicting moral beliefs are true. What this means is that what you think is morally right, may not be morally right for someone else. Basically relativism replaces the search for absolute truth. Moral relativism and moral absolutism are means of deriving the morality of the character from The Road. They are tools to use to judge the characters actions, if they can be considered morally correct or morally unethical.…

    • 716 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    Cultural relativism is contradictory when it states that every culture should embrace a policy of tolerance towards other cultures. To begin with, cultural relativism states right and wrong differ from one cultural to another, it does not imply that other cultures have to tolerate that point of view. The fact of the matter is, one culture believes one idea and another may have another idea. These cultures are not going to change their point of view, or remotely agree with the other culture if their views are contradictory. Each culture has its own beliefs, there is no room for tolerance in true cultural relativism.…

    • 182 Words
    • 1 Page
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    philosophy

    • 856 Words
    • 4 Pages

    - Cultural Relativism seems intuitively true, but be aware that disagreement does not entail that there is not a correct answer to moral questions (p. 26-27)…

    • 856 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    What is moral relativism? Relativism is the position that all perspectives are similarly legitimate and the individual figures out what is valid and relative for them. Relativism hypothesizes that fact is distinctive for various individuals, not just that diverse individuals accept diverse things to be valid. While there are relativists in science and arithmetic, moral relativism is the most well-known assortment of relativism. Nearly everybody has heard a relativist trademark: What's ideal for you may not be what's appropriate for me.…

    • 609 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Ethical relativism is the theory that morality is relative to the norms of one's culture. That is, the moral norms of the society practiced depend on whether an action is right or wrong. But, the problem with moving from cultural perspective to cultural relativism is rather than saying, “we need to understand the morals of other cultures,” it says, “we cannot judge the morals of other cultures,” regardless of the reasons for their actions. The same action may be right in one society but be wrong in another. Thus, you cannot judge another's culture if you do not understand it.…

    • 497 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays

Related Topics