8: Moral Relativism

Question 1

What is the definition of ethics (moral philosophy)?

Answer 1

• Study of the concepts and principles that underlie our evaluations of a person’s action into the categories of
  
  • morally permissible (you may do)
  • morally impermissible (you may not do)
  • morally obligatory (you must do)

Question 2

Who are some moral philosophers?

Answer 2

1. Ancient
   
   1. Socrates = father of moral philosophy
   2. Plato
   3. Aristotle
   4. Epictetus
   5. Marcus Aurelius
   6. St. Augustine
2. Medieval
   
   1. St. Anselm
   2. St. Aquinas
3. Modern
   
   1. Hobbes
   2. Hume
   3. Kant
   4. J.S. Mill
   5. Nietzche
4. Contemporary
   
   1. Russell
   2. Hallie
   3. Mortimer
   4. Arthur
   5. Williams
   6. Rachels
   7. Pojman

Question 3

What are some features of moral theories?

Answer 3

• It has to do with persons
  
  • What a person does vs. what a person ought to do
  • ethics is concerned with what acts are praiseworthy or blameworthy
• Moral principle
• Rational principle

Question 4

What is the moral principle?

Answer 4

• articulates the reason or what is necessary for an action to be moral or right (“only if”)

Question 5

What is the rational principle?

Answer 5

• articulates how a person must use reason to discover how they ought to act in accordance with their moral principle

Question 6

What are the two types of moral theories?

Answer 6

1. Moral objectivist
2. Moral nonobjectivist

Question 7

What is a moral objectivist?

Answer 7

• some actions are ALWAYS impermissible or obligatory
• Objective truth:
  
  • applies to everyone, everywhere, all the time with no exception

Question 8

What are the three main types of moral objectivism?

Answer 8

1. Divine Command Theory
2. Virtue-based Ethics
3. Duty-based Ethics

Question 9

What is the divine command theory?

Answer 9

• An action is right only if it accords with God’s will
• Rational principle:
  
  • appeal to authority

Question 10

What is the virtue-based ethics?

Answer 10

• an action is right only if it is virtuous
• rational principle:
  
  • golden mean

Question 11

What is duty-based ethics?

Answer 11

• an action is right only if it is a duty
• rational imperative:
  
  • categorical imperative

Question 12

What is a moral nonobjectivist?

Answer 12

• NO action is ALWAYS permissible, impermissible or obligatory.

Question 13

What are the three main types of moral nonobjectivism?

Answer 13

1. Relativism
2. Consequentialism
3. Moral Nihilism

Question 14

What is relativism?

Answer 14

• an action is right only if someone considera the action right
• two kinds:
  
  • moral subjectivism
    
    • rational principle: “me”
  • moral relativism
    
    • rational principle: “we”

Question 15

What is consequentialism?

Answer 15

• an action is right only if the predicted consequences of performing that action are “good”
• two kinds:
  
  • moral egoism
    
    • you should do that which maximizes your best self-interest
    • rational principle: “my”
  • utilitarianism
    
    • you should do that which maximizes happiness for the greater number of people
    • rational principle: GHP

Question 16

What is nihilism?

Answer 16

• Everything is permissible

Question 17

What are two kinds of moral relativism?

Answer 17

• Cultural relativism
• Moral (ethical) relativism

Question 18

What are cultural relativism?

Answer 18

• the empirical fact that some actions are permissible or obligatory in some societies but not in others
  
  • slavery
  • female circumcision

Question 19

What is moral (ethical) relativism?

Answer 19

• the normative view that whether an action is permissible or obligatory ought to rest with the members of society in which the action is to be performed

Question 20

Who was Ruth Benedict?

Answer 20

• Anthropologist
• Patterns of Culture (1934)

Question 21

What is the difference between normal vs abnormal according to Ruth Benedict?

Answer 21

• Abnormal (deviant)
  
  • actions that fall outside the limits of expected behavior for a particular society

Question 22

What are some conclusions of Ruth Benedict?

Answer 22

• normality is culturally defined
• “most individuals are plastic to the moulding force of the society into which they are born”

Question 23

What is morality according to Ruth Benedict?

Answer 23

• “morally good” and “it is habitual” (customary) are the same thing

Question 24

Who is James Rachels?

Answer 24

• American moral philosopher

Question 25

What was his aim?

Answer 25

• “We will try to identify what is correct in cultural relativism, but we will also be concerned to expose what is mistaken about it.”

Question 26

What is the cultural differences argument?

Answer 26

1. Different cultures have different moral codes
2. Therefore, there is no objective “truth” in morality.

Question 27

What are Rachels criticisms to the cultural differences argument?

Answer 27

1. does it follow from the mere fact that they disagree that there is no objective truth?
2. customs ≠ values
   
   1. “We cannot conclude, merely because customs differ, that there is a disagreement about values.”
   2. All cultures have some values in common:
      
      • protecting infants
      • truth-telling
      • Prohibition of murder

Question 28

What are the consequences of taking CR seriously according to Rachels?

Answer 28

1. We would no longer say that the customs of other societies are morally inferior to our own.
   
   • condemining, critizicing slavery, genocide
2. We could decide whether actions are right or wrong just by consulting the standards of our society.
   
   • apartheid
3. The idea of moral progress is called into question.
   
   • reformers are immoral (MLK)