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Value Theory. Ethics: moral goodness, obligations, principles, justification; why be moral? Social-Political Philosophy: justice, rights, responsibilities, the state, law Aesthetics: art, beauty Meaning of life. Cultural Relativism: Moral values are relative to one’s culture.
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Value Theory • Ethics: moral goodness, obligations, principles, justification; why be moral? • Social-Political Philosophy: justice, rights, responsibilities, the state, law • Aesthetics: art, beauty • Meaning of life
Cultural Relativism:Moral values are relative to one’s culture • There are no universally held values • Objection: this is simply false; universal values are interpreted differently Ethical Absolutism: one set of moral values applies to all people and cultures Relative vs. absolute Subjective vs. objective
Ethical relativism:no set of values ought to be applied to all (Naturalistic Fallacy) Objections: • The existence of moral differences does not justify them (“is does not imply ought”) • If a culture’s values were always “right,” there could be no moral development or progress • We would have to tolerate even cruel cultures • It is difficult to define the boundaries of which culture or subculture a person’s acts reflect