relativism.ppt

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Moral RelativismGustav Borstad

CST110November 15, 2004



Cannibalism in Germany

“Mr Meiwes advertised on the internet for awell-built male prepared to be slaughteredand then consumed.… The victim, 43-year-old Bernd-Jurgen Brandes, answered theadvert in March 2001.”

-excerpt from article on BBCNews.com

on December 3, 2003

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/3286721.stm







Goodwill Statement

I hope that this presentation will give youan insight into relativism and itsimplications.



Purpose

Today, I hope to persuade you that moralrelativism is a destructive and dangerousidea for any society to embrace.



Definition of Relativism

“Everything I have said and done in theselast years is relativism by intuition….If relativism signifies contempt for fixed

categories and men who claim to be thebearers of an objective, immortaltruth…then there is nothing more relativistic

than fascistic attitudes and activity….Fromthe fact that all ideologies are of equalvalue, that all ideologies are mere fictions,

the modern relativist infers that everybody…



Definition of Moral Relativism

(Cont.)

…has the right to create for himself his ownideology and to attempt to enforce it with allthe energy of which he is capable.”

-Benito Mussolini,

In his Diuturna (pgs. 374-377) as cited byPeter Kreeft, in A Refutation of Moral Relativism (pg. 18)



Problems of Moral Relativism

Moral Relativism:

Is Not Coherent with How We Live

Is Self-refuting Not Supported by the Differences Between Various Moral and Legal Codes







Relativism is Self-Refuting

“First of all, if someone holds that there isno truth, then there's at least one thingthat's true: the statement they just uttered

that there is no truth. It's one of thoseawkward situations for a person making aclaim, because there's no way their claim

can be true. If it's true, it's false, and if it'sfalse, it's false. Obviously, if the statement

„There is no truth‟ is false, then it's false.

But even if it's true that there is no truth,…




…then it's also false, because that becomesa true statement, which nullifies it.”

Greg Koukl

on his website, Stand to Reason

http://str.org/free/commentaries/apologetic

s/relativism/thereisn.htm

http://str.org/free/commentaries/apologetics/relativism/thereisn.htm







Another of Koukl‟s examples: “I cannotspeak a word of English.”

Why should anyone accept a statementthere is no truth as true?

Why should a person, who claims there isno truth that applies to anyone else, carewhat others believe?



Similarities of Different Legal and

Moral Codes

On the survey, about 88% of you said thatyou believed that the laws and values of different cultures and countries had varied

greatly throughout history.

I would like to suggest that the opposite istrue.




Moral Codes

“There have been differences between their[different civilization‟s] moralities, but thesehave never amounted to anything like a

total difference. If anyone will take thetrouble to compare the moral teachings of,say, the ancient Egyptians, Babylonians,

Hindus, Chinese, Greeks, and Romans, whatwill really strike him will be how very likethey are to each other and to our own. (…)

I need only ask the reader to think what a…




Moral Codes (cont.)

…totally different morality would mean.Think of a country where people wereadmired for running away in battle, or

where a man felt proud of double-crossingall the people who had been kindest tohim.”

-C.S. Lewisin Mere Christianity (pgs. 5 and 6)






Moral Codes (cont.)

Can a society where courage, honesty, self-control, and justice are considered evil exist?

Can a society where cowardice, betrayal,

selfishness, and hate are considered good exist? All societies are based on similar moral

assumptions.

Ex: Dueling may be legal and moral in some

cultures, but premeditated murder, in its mostgeneral sense, has always been consideredwrong.



Conclusion

Moral Relativism:

Is Not Coherent with How We Live

Is Self-refuting Not Supported by the Differences Between Various Moral and Legal Codes



Conclusion

Do we realize that relativism compromisesour ability to protect our rights?

Relativism destroys any ethical framework.

Your beliefs on this topic matter.



Conclusion

If any of you would like to further discussthis topic, I am willing to do so. I live in325 White Hall (Telephone: 789-4457)

Any Questions?



References

BBC News (2003, December 3) German cannibal tells of fantasy.Retrieved November 13, 2003, fromhttp://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/3286721.stm

Kirk, R. (1985). The Conservative Mind. Washington, DC: Regnery. Koukl, G. (1996). Stand to Reason - There is no Truth? Retrieved,

November 13, 2004, fromhttp://www.str.org/free/commentaries/apologetics/relativism/thereisn.htm

Kreeft, P. (1999). A Refutation of Moral Relativism: Interviews Withan Absolutist. San Francisco: Ignatius Press.

Lewis, C.S. (2003). Mere Christianity and The Screwtape LettersComplete In One Volume. New York: HarperCollins.

Lewis, C.S. (1947). The Abolition of Man. New York: MacMillanPublishing.

McDowell, J. (1999). The New Evidence That Demands a Verdict.Nashville: Thomas Nelson Publishers.



http://www.str.org/free/commentaries/apologetics/relativism/thereisn.htm






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