Some Moral Minima Lenn Goodman Analysis

September 16, 2013

After reading “Some moral minima,” I must say I have to agree with Lenn Goodman’s opinions. He argues that there are certain things that are simply wrong. Though they greatly reflect his relativism, I agree on the topics he chose are all wrong in the eyes of another culture’s morals and virtues. We as human beings, and the societies we constitute can be wrong. “Consent is a helpful marker, but neither necessary nor sufficient to legitimacy. Some whose interests are critically affected by our acts have no effectual say in our choices. Principles are principles; no norms delineating concretely, and uncompromisingly, wrong from right” (Goodman, 2010). I agree there should be universal moral requirements
Genocide, Famine and Germ Warfare is mass murder. People should definitely understand what makes this wrong. If people believed they had the right to wipe out an entire race, it is like saying aliens are real and it would be understood why they would want to wipe out the human race. The purpose lies in the intent, not just the scale of the crime. What we as people of many cultures need to realize is that we are not so different in ways we think, we must understand that we are all one big race no matter the features. “More dreams are broken and more futures cut short when more lives are taken. But genocide targets individuals as members of a group, seeking to destroy a race, a culture, a linguistic or ethnic identity, even a class as the Soviets did in the Ukraine, or Mao in China, or the Khmer Rouge in Cambodia. The target is a way of life” (Goodman,
According to biologist and anthropologist, “ascribe what they coyly or quaintly call the incest taboo to an instinctual, genetically embedded, aversion, rooted in the risks of heightened homozygosity” (Goodman, 2010). Morally, it is wrong due to a child not coming out healthy and normal due to incest. According to Goodman in Some moral minima. The Good Society, offspring of close kin lose some of the protection of a diploid genome, which are copies of important key genes too often disturbingly match defective alleles inherited my an ancestor shared by the same people (Goodman, 2010). Biologically it in immoral. In my opinion it is also a privacy issue, as well as a safety issue because incest in the home may not be requested between the two persons and this leads to people being