Moral Relativism

             At first glance, moral relativism appears to be an appealing, well though out philosophical view; the truth of moral judgments is relative to the judging subject or community. The basic definition of moral relativism is that all moral points of view are equally valid; no single person's morals are any more right or wrong than any other person's. As you look closer at the points that moral relativists use to justify their claims, you can plainly see that there are, more often than not, viable objections that can be made against the moral relativist's arguments. Moral, or ethical, relativism is made up of two types of relativism: cultural and individual relativism. Cultural relativism says that right and wrong, good and evil, are relative to a culture, to a way of life that is practiced by a whole group of people. Individual relativism says that right and wrong, good and evil, are relative to the preferences of an individual. Cultural and individual relativism support the claim that there are no "universal moral truths" in the world. Universal moral truths are morals that apply to all societies and cultures.
             There are three universal moral truths that James Rachels says apply to all societies: we should care for children, we should not lie, and we should not murder. Throughout history, the relevance of these moral truths has changed, but the main points still stand. Rachels believes that even telling the smallest lie is wrong and immoral, by today's standards; it is morally wrong to tell a small, "white" lie in order not to hurt someone's feelings. These universal truths are very relevant, but there is an exception to each one.
             Two key principles used to argue for moral relativism are 'primacy of de facto values' and 'cultural variation.' The definition of 'primacy of de facto values' states that our conceptions of morality should be based on...

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Moral Relativism. (1969, December 31). In MegaEssays.com. Retrieved 02:32, March 29, 2024, from https://www.megaessays.com/viewpaper/96159.html