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Moral Relativism

Philosophy Series. Moral Relativism. Introduction. I n this age, we have lost the confidence that statements of fact can ever be anything more than just opinions. The word "truth" now means true for me.

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Moral Relativism

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  1. Philosophy Series Moral Relativism

  2. Introduction • In this age, we have lost the confidence that statements of fact can ever be anything more than just opinions. The word "truth" now means true for me. • Whether we realize it or not, this concept - Moral relativism - is the air we breathe, the background noise in our culture today. In this sort of cultural climate the only heresy is telling someone else that they are wrong. Tolerance has become the ultimate virtue, not "truth". • According to the Barna Research Group, 81% of young Americans have adopted a view that "all truth is relative to the individual and his/her circumstances".1

  3. Moral Relativism Definition • We can all decide what is right for ourselves. You decide what's right for you, and I'll decide what's right for me. Moral relativism says, "It's true for me, if I believe it.“ • Moral relativism asserts that morality is not based on any absolute standard. Rather, ethical “truths” depend on variables such as the situation, culture, one's feelings, etc. • Moral Relativism says that there is more than one right answer or way. More than one absolute truth. • Truth is not objective or universal but relative to the specific group, culture, time.

  4. Moral Relativism Definition • there is no universal moral standard by which to judge others, we ought to tolerate the behavior of others even when it runs counter to our personal or cultural moral standards.[

  5. Moral Relativism Definition • Pleasure as Ethics • When morality is reduced to personal taste, people exchange the moral question, what is good? For the pleasure question, what feels good? • Instead of morality constraining pleasure (I want to do that but I really should not), the pleasure defines morality (I want to do that and I am going to find a way to rationalize it). • William McGuffey, author of the McGuffey's Readers, which were the mainstay of America's public school system from 1836 till the 1920's, wrote: "Erase all thought and fear of God from a community, and selfishness and sensuality would absorb the whole man." Where do you think the world is heading today?

  6. Tenets of Moral Relativism What do you think? True or False? • The claim to objective, absolute, universal knowledge leads to intolerance. • The sincerity of religious believers means they cannot be wrong. • Having individual rights means I can determine my own truth. • Humility requires relativism; otherwise dogmatism and bigotry. • Relativism leads to tolerance.

  7. Moral Relativism Tolerance

  8. Moral Relativism • The main argument relativists appeal to is that of tolerance. They claim that telling someone their morality is wrong is intolerant, and relativism tolerates all views. • First of all, evil should never be tolerated. Should we tolerate a rapist's view that women are objects of gratification to be abused? • Second, it is self-defeating because relativists do not tolerate intolerance or absolutism. • Third, relativism cannot explain why anyone should be tolerant in the first place. The very fact that we should tolerate people (even when we disagree) is based on the absolute moral rule that we should always treat people fairly—but that is absolutism again! In fact, without universal moral principles there can be no goodness. Tolerance

  9. Moral Relativism There is an inherent logical fallacy in it, any guess ? • How can there be a way to determine if absolutism is “wrong” if everything is relative!? • If tolerance is the right thing to do because everything is relative then there is a logical contradiction inherent in this because that would propose the “right” moral scheme—the one we all ought to follow: Tolerance. But this itself is absolutism.

  10. Moral Relativism: what does this have to do with me? • It comes down to how we view the world, our “WORLD VIEW” • Essentially, moral relativism says that anything goes, because life is ultimately without meaning. Words like "ought" and "should" are rendered meaningless. In this way, moral relativism makes the claim that it is morally neutral.  • In a 2002 column from Fox News analyst Bill O'Reilly, who asked "Why is it wrong to be right?" In his article, O'Reilly cites recent Zogby poll findings regarding what is being taught in American universities. Studies indicate 75% of American college professors currently teach that there is no such thing as right and wrong. Rather, they treat the questions of good and evil as relative to "individual values and cultural diversity." The problem with this, according to O'Reilly, is that "they see the world not as it is, but as they want it to be. And annoying questions about moral absolutes and unacceptable behavior are usually left unanswered."

  11. Moral Relativism - Where Do You Stand? To determine for yourself which position to hold where morality is concerned, you must first determine what you believe about the origin of life. Do you believe life evolved or do you believe life was created? Evolution and moral relativism go hand-in-hand, for evolution teaches that life is accidental, without meaning or purpose. 

  12. Moral Absolutism • Absolutism claims that morality relies on universal principles (natural law, conscience). Christian absolutists believe that God is the ultimate source of our common morality, and that truth, therefore, is unchanging as He is. • The Golden Rule, where did it originate? C.S. Lewis points to the nature of most quarrels as a clue to what we truly believe. Inherent in those quarrels is a concept of fairness, as in "how would you like it if someone did that to you?" When we make that statement, we are appealing "to some kind of standard of behavior [we] expect" the other person to know about. Where do you think that standard originates? • even so-called relativists reject relativism in most cases. They would not say that a murderer or rapist is free from guilt so long as he did not violate his own standards. • Going above tolerance, doing what’s good and right: Bishop Abraam of Fayoum and Giza Love of enemies - Even gave to the hostile Arabs in the region.

  13. Absolute Truth The premise of this world is that there is no God – If there is no God, there is no Absolute Truth. If there is no God, there is only the individual…. Each individual can, then, make up his own truth. We want, if we may, to construct our own reality. We don't want to be compelled to submit to a reality that lies beyond us We ask Our Heavenly Father to help us overcome this monstrous challenge that is rooting itself in the fabric of our society. We ask Him to help us “buy the truth and do not sell it” (Pro 23:23) so that we can walk in the Truth (Ps 86:11, 3 John 1:4) for we “belong to the truth" (1 John 3:19). Our Father is the Truth (John 14:6) and our Mother is the pillar and ground of truth. (1Tim 3:15).—GLORY BE TO GOD FOREVER AMEN

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