What is Ethical Relativism?

Summary

Ethical relativism posits that moral values are subjective and vary among individuals or societies. It encompasses personal and cultural forms, where personal relativism emphasizes individual perspectives, and cultural relativism asserts that moral judgments are contingent on societal norms. The script discusses examples like the Inuit's practice of abandoning the elderly and the Indian tradition of sati, illustrating how actions deemed moral in one culture may be seen as immoral in another. It also outlines reasons supporting relativism, such as moral diversity, uncertainty, and situational differences, challenging the notion of universal right and wrong.

Takeaways

• 📚 Ethical relativism is the perspective that moral values and beliefs are relative to individuals or societies, with no objective right or wrong.
• 🔍 There are two forms of ethical relativism: personal or individual, and social or cultural.
• 🧑 Personal ethical relativism argues that moral judgments are based on individual perspectives, with no universal standard of right and wrong.
• 🌐 Social or cultural ethical relativism posits that moral values differ among societies, and moral judgments should be based on societal norms.
• 🏔️ An example of individual ethical relativism is the Inuit practice of abandoning the elderly in extreme situations, which is seen as morally dependent on individual beliefs.
• 🔥 An example of social ethical relativism is the ancient Indian practice of Sati, where the morality of the act is judged within the cultural context.
• 🤔 Ethical relativism suggests that moral judgments can vary greatly due to differences in personal beliefs and societal norms.
• 🌈 Ethical relativists may argue that the diversity of moral values indicates the absence of objective moral truth.
• 😕 Moral uncertainty, where it's difficult to know what is morally right, supports the ethical relativist's stance against objective right or wrong.
• 🌍 Situational differences across different people's lives imply that what is right for one may not be right for another, reinforcing the relativity of moral judgments.
• 📝 The script concludes with the assertion that ethical relativism offers a framework for understanding the variability and subjectivity of moral judgments.

Q & A

What is the core concept of ethical relativism?

Ethical relativism is the view that ethical or moral values and beliefs are relative to individuals or societies, and there is no objective right or wrong.

How does personal or individual ethical relativism differ from social or cultural ethical relativism?

Personal ethical relativism holds that ethical judgments are expressions of individual moral outlooks, while social or cultural ethical relativism asserts that ethical values vary from society to society and are based on those social or cultural views.

What is the example given in the script to illustrate individual ethical relativism?

The example of 'sin by the side' or 'Gionta side', where the Inuit people of North America might leave their elderly on ice to die during famines, is used to illustrate individual ethical relativism.

How does the script explain the concept of 'sati' in the context of social or cultural ethical relativism?

The practice of 'sati', where a wife was burned alive on her husband's funeral pyre in ancient India, is used to illustrate social or cultural ethical relativism, showing that what is considered right in one culture may not be in another.

What are the three reasons supporting ethical relativism mentioned in the script?

The three reasons are the diversity of moral values, moral uncertainty, and situational differences, which suggest that objective moral truth is inconceivable due to these factors.

How does the script address the issue of moral disagreements in the context of ethical relativism?

The script suggests that the presence of disagreements on many ethical issues supports the idea that objective truth in morality is unattainable, thus supporting ethical relativism.

What is moral uncertainty, and how does it relate to ethical relativism?

Moral uncertainty refers to the difficulty in knowing what is morally right, which ethical relativists argue makes the attainment of objective right or wrong impossible.

How does situational differences support the argument for ethical relativism?

Situational differences imply that what is right or wrong can vary greatly depending on the circumstances and life of different people, suggesting that there cannot be a universal standard of right and wrong.

What is the script's stance on the right of outsiders to judge the moral practices of another culture?

The script suggests that, according to ethical relativism, outsiders, especially those from different cultures, do not have the right to judge the moral practices of another culture as right or wrong.

How can the script's discussion on ethical relativism impact one's understanding of moral judgments?

The script challenges the notion of universal moral standards, encouraging individuals to consider that moral judgments are subjective and dependent on cultural or individual perspectives.