1 / 17

Consider these questions:

Consider these questions:. Why does Rachels focus on cultural relativism, subjectivism, and religious ethics towards the beginning of The Elements of Moral Philosophy ? And why did we skip these chapters?.

liam
Download Presentation

Consider these questions:

An Image/Link below is provided (as is) to download presentation Download Policy: Content on the Website is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use and may not be sold / licensed / shared on other websites without getting consent from its author. Content is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use only. Download presentation by click this link. While downloading, if for some reason you are not able to download a presentation, the publisher may have deleted the file from their server. During download, if you can't get a presentation, the file might be deleted by the publisher.

E N D

Presentation Transcript


  1. Consider these questions: • Why does Rachels focus on cultural relativism, subjectivism, and religious ethics towards the beginning of The Elements of Moral Philosophy? • And why did we skip these chapters?

  2. A short answer: Because these are examples of “ethics-avoidance disorders” that obstruct creative, constructive, ethical thinking. • Relativism and subjectivism can sometimes lead to “a kind of ethical laziness,” which could be called “rationalizing” or “offhand self-justification” (e.g., one often hears excuses such as “That’s just what I think”). • Religious ethics can sometimes lead to dogmatism.

  3. Metaethics • What is the status of moral values? Is ethics a viable intellectual enterprise? • Is the current state of moral discourse one of grave disrepair? (as suggested by Alasdair MacIntyre)

  4. “Through the Moral Maze: TheChallenge of Cultural Relativism” • Thinking about the Callatians, Greeks, and Eskimos may lead to the view that there are no absolute values, or no “universal truth in ethics.” This is cultural relativism. • In short, the “Cultural Differences Argument” infers from the premise that “different cultures have different moral codes,” that “there is no objective truth in morality.” • Is this argument valid and sound?

  5. Problems with Cultural Relativism Whose view do you sympathize with more, Calvin’s or Hobbes’?

  6. Problems with Cultural Relativism • 1. No blame of other cultures for “wrong” or “evil” deeds. Are cultures morally infallible? • 2. No criticism of our own culture. • 3. No idea of moral progress. • 4. In a relativist society the view of the majority rules. Is this fair? • 5. Is tolerance a universal value, in which case relativism is paradoxical? • 6. Isn’t relativism paradoxical in another sense? • 7. Don’t we all instinctively believe that some things are universally right and wrong?

  7. Soft Universalism • The view that all cultures have at least some values in common, even if they are buried beneath layers of different behavior patterns and systems of belief. • Such values commonly cited are not lying, not stealing, and allowing enough young of the culture to live (i.e., not killing) in order to preserve the culture. • As Rachels states: “there are some rules that all societies must embrace, because those rules are necessary for society to exist.” (23) • A common standard: “Does the practice promote or hinder the welfare of the people affected by it?”

  8. Benefits of Cultural Relativism • 1. It teaches us to be cautious about “assuming that all our preferences are based on some absolute rational standard” when “they are not.” (29) • 2. It teaches us to be open-minded and to avoid dogmatism. • Pluralism (diversity of points of view) is a view related to relativism that is generally viewed more positively by philosophers.

  9. What do you know about Friedrich Nietzsche?

  10. Friedrich Nietzsche (1844-1900) • Some Major Works • The Birth of Tragedy (1872) • Thus Spoke Zarathustra (1883-58) • Beyond Good and Evil (1886) • Twilight of the Idols (1888) • The Antichrist (1888) • Some Major Ideas • “God is Dead.” • DerÜbermensch (the “Overman”) • Master and Slave morality

  11. Some Key Points • Nietzsche’s Aim: Towards a Revaluation of All Values • Philology and Perspectivism: every view is only one among many possible interpretations. • “Truth is a necessary lie.” • Dionysus: the central metaphor for Nietzsche’s affirmative philosophy

  12. How do you interpret Z’s proclamation that god is dead? • No absolutes, transcendental values or absolute principles, e.g., Judeo-Christian tradition as ultimate moral authority • Emphasizes individual freedom in creation of values • “Once the sin against god was the greatest sin, but god died, and these sinners died with him.” • Forget otherworldly salvation • “…there is no devil and no hell. Your soul will be dead even before your body: fear nothing further.”

  13. How do you interpret Z’s teaching of the overman? • “I teach you the overman. Man is something that must be overcome. What have you done to overcome him?” • “The overman is the meaning of the earth.” • “He is this lightning, he is this frenzy” • Man as a bridge from “beast to overman” • A “creator” • Essentially metaphorical • Refers to humanity’s capacity for achieving a self-transformation of itself

  14. Nietzsche, The Natural History of Morals in Beyond Good and Evil • Project: A Theory of Types of Morality • Against moralists, such as Kant: ”moral systems are only a sign-language of emotions” • Moral systems are against Nature and Reason: they constrain freedom and narrow perspectives

  15. Moral values originate in the ruling caste Good and Bad Good=noble, one who arouses fear, necessary to have enemies Duty to equals, faith in oneself, hard-hearted, no sympathy, pride Moral values originate in those who are ruled Good and Evil Evil: one who arouses fear Sympathy, kindness, warm-hearted, patience, humility Master vs. Slave Morality

  16. For Self-Reflection • Who is the source of your values? Do they come from within yourself or through a reaction to others? • Do your values make you stronger or able to flourish or do they just help you cope in a cruel world?

More Related