Chapter Two: Ethical Relativism

1. Chapter Two:Ethical Relativism Ethical Relativism holds that there are no objective moral principles, but that such principles are human inventions.

2. Ethnocentrism • The prejudicial view that interprets all of reality through the eyes of one's own cultural beliefs and values

3. Moral Objectivism • The view that there are universal and objective moral principles valid for all people and social environments.

4. Ethical Nihilism • The doctrine that holds that there are no valid moral principles that exist. • Morality is a complete fiction.

5. Two Main Forms of Ethical Relativism • Subjective ethical relativism (Subjectivism): • All moral principles are justified by virtue of their acceptance by an individual agent him- or herself • Conventional ethical relativism (Conventionalism): • All moral principles are justified by virtue of their cultural acceptance

6. Subjective Ethical Relativism • Morality depends not on society, but rather on the individual. • Morality is like taste or aesthetic judgment. • Morality is in the eye of the beholder. • Does not help the minimal moral aim of preventing a Hobbesian state of nature • Implicitly assumes moral solipsism, a view that isolated individuals make up separate universes

7. The Diversity Thesis • What is considered morally right and wrong varies from society to society, so there are no universal moral standards held by all societies • An Anthropological theory that acknowledges that moral rules differ from society to society • Sometimes referred to as cultural relativism

8. Dependency Thesis • All moral principles derive their validity from cultural acceptance • Asserts individual acts are right or wrong depending on the nature of the society in which the occur • Morality must be seen in a context that depends on the goals, wants, beliefs, history, and environment of the society in question

9. Conventional Ethical Relativism • This view states that there are no objective moral principles, but that all valid moral principles are justified by virtue of their cultural acceptance. • This view recognizes the social nature of morality. • Treats the principle of tolerance as an absolute moral principle

10. Criticisms of Conventional Ethical Relativism • Undermines important values • Leads to subjectivism • Moral diversity is exaggerated • Weak dependency does not imply relativism

11. The Indeterminacy of Language • The indeterminacy of translation argument • Holds that languages are often so fundamentally different from each other that we cannot accurately translate concepts from one to another • Holds that language is the essence of a culture and fundamentally shapes its reality • Seems to imply that each society's moral principles depend on its unique linguistically grounded culture

12. Conclusion • Subjective ethical relativism seems to boil down to anarchistic individualism • Conventional ethical relativism fails to deal adequately with the problem of the reformer, the question of defining a culture, and the whole enterprise of moral criticism • Unless moral objectivism can make a positive case, relativism may survive criticisms