The Relationship Between Ethical Relativism And Ethical Absolutism

1158 Words3 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: The role of ethics in our global society

Who decides what is ethical and what is moral? There are no standards of conduct that everyone in the world agrees upon. There are different religions, cultures and ethnicities in this world and because of that; there will most likely never be a day where everyone finds everything that someone else does to be ethical or moral. Since there can never be a universal standard for morality and ethical behavior for people everywhere, we must stop judging people by looking through the lenses of our culture or society . We must judge someone and his actions by the standards of his culture or society. An action one person considers being justifiable behavior may not be the same case for someone else. When cultures and religions cross paths that do …show more content…

While ethical relativism states that a person must respect another person’s culture and behaviors according to the behavior and customs that are considered moral according to that society when the action happens in that society. Ethical absolutism declares that there are certain actions that everyone in any society considers unethical. Regardless of the context of certain action or the society where it is happens, certain actions remain as equally immoral if the action occurs in America or if the action occurs in a small island in the Pacific Ocean according to ethical absolutism. Ethical absolutism is proclaiming that there is a universal ethic which involves everyone regardless of the culture or society. Ethical relativism makes an attempt to understand the behaviors in other cultures or societies without judging the action by the standards of an incompatible society where the action does not happen. Ethical absolutism does not undertake the same strategy as ethical relativism, there is no room for understanding behaviors in other cultures because once it is seen as wrong then it will almost be wrong no matter the explanation behind the …show more content…

That person does not look at different culture or societies because he trusts that there are certain moral principles that apply to everyone, everywhere, all the time. An absolutist passes judgment on everyone without understanding other perspectives because there are no other perspectives except the one that the absolutist is convinced by. Practicing ethical absolutism would mean a person would never change his view once it is established. If someone is sinful in one place then it is sinful everywhere. For instance, the controversial topic of abortion, some people view abortion as immoral while others do not. According to an ethical absolutist, there will be no controversy surrounding abortion because it would be deemed virtuous or vile and that would be the end of that

Show More
Related

  • Cultural Relativism: An Impediment to Critical Morality

    1079 Words  | 3 Pages

    Cultural Relativism is a moral theory which states that due to the vastly differing cultural norms held by people across the globe, morality cannot be judged objectively, and must instead be judged subjectively through the lense of an individuals own cultural norms. Because it is obvious that there are many different beliefs that are held by people around the world, cultural relativism can easily be seen as answer to the question of how to accurately and fairly judge the cultural morality of others, by not doing so at all. However Cultural Relativism is a lazy way to avoid the difficult task of evaluating one’s own values and weighing them against the values of other cultures. Many Cultural Relativist might abstain from making moral judgments about other cultures based on an assumed lack of understanding of other cultures, but I would argue that they do no favors to the cultures of others by assuming them to be so firmly ‘other’ that they would be unable to comprehend their moral decisions. Cultural Relativism as a moral theory fails to allow for critical thoughts on the nature of morality and encourages the stagnation

    Read More

  • Ethical Relativism In Martin Luther King's Letter From Birmingham Jail

    623 Words  | 2 Pages

    Ethical relativism is a perspective that emphasizes on people's different standards of evaluating acts as good or bad. These standard beliefs are true in their particular society or circumstances, and the beliefs are not necessarily example of a basic moral values. Ethical relativism also takes a position that there are no moral right and wrongs. Right and wrongs are justified based on the particular social norms. Martin Luther King's moral critique against racial injustice is reliable with the idea of ethical relativism. Dr. King took a moral judgment that institutionalized racism is unacceptable in America about the nature of ethical truth. King's moral views about the discrimination of blacks in the United States were inappropriate. His

    Read More

  • The Case Against Moral Relativism

    278 Words  | 1 Pages

    Conventionalism is the only view of ethical relativism that grounds morality in the group or culture. Pojman states that conventionalists focus on the morality of their own culture, and do not need to concentrate on the culture of others. For example, a young individual in the United States who was raised in a certain religion, and chooses to have premarital sex. In the eyes of their religion they are wrong for their decision, but in the open-minded attitude of the U.

    Read More

  • Cultural Relativism In Nursing Home Analysis

    1700 Words  | 4 Pages

    Cultural relativism is a theory, which entails what a culture, believes is what is correct for that particular culture, each culture has different views on moral issues. For example, abortion is permissible by American culture and is tolerated by the majority of the culture. While, Catholic culture is against abortion, and is not tolerated by those who belong to the culture. Cultural relativism is a theory a lot of individuals obey when it comes to making moral decisions. What their culture believes is instilled over generations, and frequently has an enormous influence since their families with those cultural beliefs have raised them. With these beliefs, certain cultures have different answers for different moral dilemmas and at times, it is difficult to decide on a specific moral issue because the individual may belong to multiple

    Read More

  • The Ethical System Refection

    1029 Words  | 3 Pages

    There are many ethical systems that were created over the years, each created to support curtain people’s beliefs, cultures, and ideologies. Out of all the systems that were presented in this course I believe that relativism and absolutism most aligns with my beliefs. Relativism is the fact that there is no absolute and that what is considered right and wrong varies from person to person and society to society. While absolutism “is the ethical belief that there are absolute standards against which moral questions can be judged and that certain actions are right or wrong, regardless of the context of the act”.(Philosophy, n.d). I believe that there is a right and a wrong in the world (absolutism) but,

    Read More

  • Cultural Relativism: Objective Right Or Wrong

    967 Words  | 2 Pages

    Cultural Relativism states that there is no objective right or wrong. Right or wrong are defined by your society’s moral code. I will provide reasons why we should not be cultural relativists. My reasons include; how it affects philosophy, the Cultural Differences Argument, examples of why it doesn’t work and societal needs.

    Read More

  • Utilitarianism vs. Cultural and Ethical Relativism

    718 Words  | 2 Pages

    Utilitarianism is an example of Consequentialist Ethics, where the morality of an action is determined by its accomplishing its desired results. In both scenarios the desired result was to save the lives of thousands of people in the community. Therefore, a Utilitarian would say that the actions taken in both of the scenarios are moral. Since an (Act) Utilitarian believes that actions should be judged according to the results it achieves. Happiness should not be simply one's own, but that of the greatest number. In both scenarios, the end result saved the lives of 5,000 members of the community. The end result is the only concern and to what extreme is taken to reach this result is of no matter. In these instances the things that are lost are an Inmates religious beliefs or a mothers fetus, on the other hand Thousands of citizens were saved from dying from this disease.

    Read More

  • Difference Between Relativism And Moral Objectivism

    1394 Words  | 3 Pages

    Moral objectivity is the rejection of enthnocentricism, or belief that one’s culture is superior than others. In short, one’s cultural beliefs cannot fundamentally be legitimate morals in the sense that they do not have to follow the “objective” morals. For example, Pojman supports a view stating that morals are universal, that they are "objective" in regard to it being that it doesn 't matter about what a culture defines as moral or immoral, that certain morals are undebatable. Such as for example, torturing children for fun is wrong. This is objectively true no matter what the world says otherwise; another example being that some still think the Earth is flat. In other words, moral objectivism states that "moral standards are true or correct for everybody"2. Thus moral objectivists tend to look at morals as absolutes. Pojman argued that humans are social creatures and that as humans, we did not want to live as "hermits"(first edition, 33), thus certain agreements must be made in order to attain community. Explaining further that agreements are "human nature" and that agreements are at the "core" of morality, as well as stating that to "flourish as a person" we agree to these moral codes in order to maintain harmony and peace. Morals in an evolutionary perspective, allow humans to survive. Such as for example, murder or killing other humans deemed as immoral or wrong. Pojman gives the example of serial murder Ted Bundy, who in his mind believed that killing people was O.K because it made him happy. He believed that killing and raping others is completely fine because those were his morals and what he personally believed in. This disturbs the social harmony and a moral objectivist would beg the question of whether it is right to murder and rape others because one or culture views it as acceptable. Same question can be asked about Hitler, as Pojman did, does it make it acceptable and justifiable that because Hitler and the

    Read More

  • Moral Relativism and Problems Associated With this Philosophy

    824 Words  | 2 Pages

    Moral relativists believe that no one has the right to judge another individuals choice, decisions, or lifestyle because however they choose to live is right for them. In addition everyone has the right to their own moral beliefs and to impose those beliefs on another individual is wrong. At first glance moral relativism may appear ideal in allowing for individual freedom. After all why shouldn’t each individual be entitled to their own idea of moral values and why should others force their beliefs on anyone else. “American philosopher and essayist, Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803-1882), tells us, what is right is only what the individual thinks is right. There is no higher court of appeals, no higher, universal, or absolute moral standard.” (pg 121) Moral relativism means if does not feel wrong than it must be right.

    Read More

  • Utilitarianism Vs Moral Relativism

    559 Words  | 2 Pages

    For example, say if a building was on fire and a fire man ran back in the building for his son’s dog and refused to save the other children in the building, and there was an ex-convict who ran back in the same burning building to save his son’s dog but not the other children in the building; then the ex-convict is the one who is more morally relative. The reason for this is because the firefighter is trained to rescue people in those kinds of emergency situations. It is insane and cruel for him not to try and rescue the children left in the building. As for the ex-convict no one expects him to care to go back in the building and rescue anyone, so the fact that he was able to save a life even if it was a dog, shows good character for him doing a good deed. See in this situation both the firefighter and ex- convict ignored the children in the burning building, but the fact that it is the firefighter’s duty to save others and he did not he was morally wrong. So, moral relativism is not so much the result but more so the expectations/ realism of the actual situation. As you can see both examples of utilitarianism and moral relativism fits the outcome of a good act that is meant to please someone; while both examples fit a different theory because the way the way the situation was

    Read More

  • Moral Objectivism Vs Moral Relativism

    1352 Words  | 3 Pages

    In ones adolescent years, an important figure or role model taught the values of morality, the importance between right and wrong and the qualities of good versus bad. As the years, decades, and centuries have passed by, the culture of morality and the principles that humankind lives by have shifted and changed over time. In the article, “Folk Moral Relativism”, the authors, Hagop Sarkissian, John Park, David Tien, Jennifer Cole Wright and Joshua Knobe discuss six different studies to support their new hypothesis. However, in order to understand this essay, one must comprehend the difference between moral objectivism and moral relativism, which is based on whether or not the view of what someone else believes in, is morally correct or incorrect. For instance, moral objectivism is not centered on a person’s beliefs of what is considered right and wrong, but instead, is founded on moral facts.

    Read More

  • Thesis Statement On Moral Relativism

    1003 Words  | 3 Pages

    Moral relativism is the concept that people’s moral judgement can only goes as far a one person’s standpoint in a matter. Also, one person’s view on a particular subject carries no extra weight than another person. What I hope to prove in my thesis statement are inner judgements, moral disagreements, and science are what defend and define moral relativism.

    Read More

  • What Is Cultural Relativism?

    1065 Words  | 3 Pages

    Every individual is taught what is right and what is wrong from a young age. It becomes innate of people to know how to react in situations of killings, injuries, sicknesses, and more. Humans have naturally developed a sense of morality, the “beliefs about right and wrong actions and good and bad persons or character,” (Vaughn 123). There are general issues such as genocide, which is deemed immoral by all; however, there are other issues as simple as etiquette, which are seen as right by one culture, but wrong and offense by another. Thus, morals and ethics can vary among regions and cultures known as cultural relativism.

    Read More

  • Moral Relativism

    1958 Words  | 4 Pages

    ...bly in the world today. The creation of global moral standards would start the slippery slope to imperialism where the dominating moral codes would rule the rest of the world and therefore corrode the cultures of the lesser states. Every society could take a lesson from moral relativism by being tolerant and understanding of other’s beliefs.

    Read More

  • Ethical Relativism and Cultural Relativism

    714 Words  | 2 Pages

    In explaining Cultural Relativism, it is useful to compare and contrast it with Ethical Relativism. Cultural Relativism is a theory about morality focused on the concept that matters of custom and ethics are not universal in nature but rather are culture specific. Each culture evolves its own unique moral code, separate and apart from any other. Ethical Relativism is also a theory of morality with a view of ethics similarly engaged in understanding how morality comes to be culturally defined. However, the formulation is quite different in that from a wide range of human habits, individual opinions drive the culture toward distinguishing normal “good” habits from abnormal “bad” habits. The takeaway is that both theories share the guiding principle that morality is bounded by culture or society.

    Read More

More about The Relationship Between Ethical Relativism And Ethical Absolutism

Open Document