Absolutism+and+Relativism

7/23/2019 Absolutism+and+Relativism

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Principles of EthicsKIMEP

Fall 2015

Dina Sharipova


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Cultural Relativism (CR)

Absolute values or relative values?

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=K3mCswL!mc
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Cultural "elativism

oral relativism ac#nowle$%es thatmorality is solely contin%ent upon $ifferentmoral conte&t

'()escriptive *$ifferent cultures: practicesan$ beliefs(

+(,ormative *norms are le%itimate for thatculture(

3(Epistemolo%ical *no cross-cultural$iscourse(


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)efinition of Ethical "elativism

oral ri%ht an$ wron% *%oo$ an$ ba$ usticean$ inustice virtue an$ vice( are alwaysrelative to a choice of moral framewor# .0hat is morally ri%ht in relation to onemoral framewor# can be morally wron% inrelation to a $ifferent moral framewor#.

1n$ no moral framewor# is obectivelyprivile%e$ as the one true morality *2ilbertarman(.


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Cultural Ethical Relativism

1.Different cultures have different moral codes

Relativism claims that ethics is relative to

individuals, groups, cultures and societies

Some Eskimo Cultures :

Less regard for human life: infanticide was

common a woman had !" children #ut killed

1" of them at #irth$ %en had more than one wife, and would

share their wives with guests seen as

hospitalit&$


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!. 'here is no o#(ective standard that can

#e used to (udge one societ&)s code as

#etter than another)s

*. 'he moral code of our own societ& has

no special status

+. t is arrogant for us to (udge othercultures. -e should alwa&s #e tolerant of

them

. 'here are no moral truths that hold for

all people at all times


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So, ethical Relativism maintains that

1)any moral judgment we make is dependent

on our specific moral framework

2) It is valid only within that framework


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Responses to Relativism

/ut is it true0-hat if another societ& favors

intolerance0 a2ism in 3erman& in

14*"$05ccording to CR, we cannot

critici2e the a2is for #eing

intolerant if the& are following their

moral codeSame with slave6owners, genocide,

child marriages, honor killings, etc.


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E&ample: Chil$ marria%esE&ample: Chil$ marria%es

In some parts of the orl! marr"in#In some parts of the orl! marr"in#

"oun# is a so$ial norm"oun# is a so$ial norm

I% S&'() Asia an! sub*Saharan Afri$aI% S&'() Asia an! sub*Saharan Afri$a

+,- of omen marr" before the" are+,- of omen marr" before the" are1, "ears ol!. /hil! marria#es as1, "ears ol!. /hil! marria#es as

!efine! b" '%I/EF the 'nite! %ations!efine! b" '%I/EF the 'nite! %ations

$hil!rens a#en$" are those un!ertaen$hil!rens a#en$" are those un!ertaen

b" omen un!er the a#e of 1, an!b" omen un!er the a#e of 1, an!

in$lu!e unions here a oman an! ain$lu!e unions here a oman an! a

man live to#ether as if the" ereman live to#ether as if the" ere

marrie!.marrie!.


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EthicsEthics

A$$or!in# to a '%I/EF mostA$$or!in# to a '%I/EF most

$hil! marria#es tae pla$e$hil! marria#es tae pla$e

beteen the a#es of 15 an! 1,beteen the a#es of 15 an! 1,

but in three $ountries %i#erbut in three $ountries %i#er

/ha! an! 3an#la!esh more/ha! an! 3an#la!esh more

than a thir! of omen a#e! 20*than a thir! of omen a#e! 20*

24 ere alrea!" marrie! b" the24 ere alrea!" marrie! b" thea#e of 15.a#e of 15.


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Chil$ arria%esChil$ arria%es

&ne ne#ative effe$t of earl"&ne ne#ative effe$t of earl"

marria#e is the e$lusion of omenmarria#e is the e$lusion of omen

from e!u$ation in favor of !omesti$from e!u$ation in favor of !omesti$

or an! $hil! rearin#.or an! $hil! rearin#.

So $ountries ith a hi#h prevalen$eSo $ountries ith a hi#h prevalen$e

of $hil! marria#es also ten! to haveof $hil! marria#es also ten! to havelo litera$" rates for "oun#lo litera$" rates for "oun#

omen.omen.


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!ample

"arius was a king of ancient #ersia, wholiked to travel

$n one of his travels he meets the

%allatians, who ate the &odies of their

dead fathers

"arius remem&ered that the 'reeks donot eat their dead

(e asked some 'reeks if theyd do it*

they were horrified &y the idea


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Evaluate the 5rgument3reeks #elieve it is wrong to eat the deadCallatians #elieve it is right to eat the dead

o universal moral standards e7ist

'herefore, there is no o#(ective truth in

moralit&.

Right and wrong are onl& matters ofopinion, and opinions var& from culture to

culture

-hat is the pro#lem with the argument0


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Conse8uences of Cultural Relativism1)%ross+%ultural udgments as -eaningless .e could no longer say that the customs of

other societies are morally inferior to our own

!ample* /he killing of students on the/iananmen S0uare is not wrong &ecause %hina

has a long history of repressing a political

dissent

2) .e could no longer criticie the moral code of

our own society

!ample* &ride a&duction in 3' and southern 34,

or cast system in India, child marriages


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5) /he idea of moral progress is called into dou&t

.e think some social changes are for the &etter!amples* emancipation of women, slavery,

racism, and more6

/emporal Relativism 7 /his means that any claims

regarding moral improvement or moral regression

are meaningless

.e cannot make valid moral judgments across time8torture in the -edieval times in urope and now)


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9) $ther pro&lems* (ow do we esta&lishwhat is the norm in a culture: -ust this

&e the opinion of the majority: $f those in

power:.hat do we mean &y culture: .hat

constitutes a culture: ;nd what a&out

su&cultures within a culture, such asminority groups within a culture:

%R ignores the su&+group pro&lem7 .e

&elong to different groups < nation, state,

city , family, etc7


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Cultural "elativism

4( Cultural "elativism can lea$ to a

moral anarchy = each in$ivi$ualsets the stan$ar$ for his an$ herown morality or as ,orman ailercalls this 5absolute relativity6wherein each one of us is thearbiter of our own morality


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Is =socially approved> ? =good>: @or instance,

intolerance and ridicule toward people of othercultures can &e socially approved 8racism in the

AS; or in Russia) &ut is it good:

Bride a&duction is socially approved &y somesu&cultures &ut is it good:

%R does not esta&lish common norms &etween

societies

"o differences in peoples life situations make it

unlikely or impossi&le for them to have any

common morality:


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.hy do some ethicists support %ultural Relativism:

1) /he diversity of moral values and cultures7 /here

is a disagreement on #asic moral values orprinciples among philosophers who are

stud&ing ethics. ndeed evidence suggests that

moral principles differ across culture

2) Situational differences

9eople and cultures differ in significant wa&s

across times and spaces different

circumstances


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;re you a cultural relativist:Respecting a range of cultural

differences does not make you a

cultural relativist7

.hat makes you a cultural relativist is

the claim that anything that is socially

approved must there&y &e good7

Calues might &e universal although the

&elief systems not


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5/SL;'S%

'here are some moral rules that all societies

must em#race, #ecause those rules are

necessar& for societ& to e7ist.

%oral rules or principles have no e7ceptions

and are conte7t independent.

Similar moral principles e7ist in all societiessuch as the preservation of human life, truth6

telling, etc.


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C;L';R5L 5/SL;'S%9eople in all cultures have similar

needs, such as the need to survive, to

eat and drink'here are man& cultural similarities


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Su#(ectivism

Rejects %ultural Relativism

/he morality is a matter of sentiment rather thanfact 8(ume)

;dvocates moral freedom

I like doing D D is good

Calue judgments are &ased on feelings, emotions

-oral truth are relative to the individual

Calues e!ist only in the preference of individual

people


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Eou have your preferences, I have mine

Fo preferences are o&jectively correct or

incorrect

Su&jectivism implies that we are alwaysright &ecause our judgments are &ased on

feelings

But this is not a good argument

.hat is a good argument:

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