Relativism

Relativism

Cultural Relativism

Relativism: Whether or not a certain behavior is ethical depends on the culture within which it is performed, or the person who performed it..

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Cultural Relativism

Relativism is intuitive:

• Different cultures have different practices.

• Different cultures have different values.

• Moral disagreements seem difficult to resolve.
Ex. Abortion

Cultural Relativism

Cultural Differences Argument

(1)Different cultures have different moral codes.

(2)Therefore, there is no objective truth in morality. Right and wrong are only matters of opinion, and opinions vary from culture to culture.

Cultural Relativism

Can we infer:

(1)There is disagreement about the facts.

(2)Therefore, there are no facts, only opinions.

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Cultural Relativism

Consider the following:

(1)Some physicists believe that the universe is finite, while others believe that it is infinite.

(2)Therefore, there is no fact/truth about whether the universe is infinite, only opinions.

Variation vs Relativism

VARIATION vs RELATIVISM

Just because there is variation in practice or opinion, it does not follow that there is variation in moral truth.​

Cultural Relativism

What if relativism were true?

  1. We could no longer criticize other cultural practices.
  2. We could no longer criticize our own cultural practices.
  3. We cannot claim to achieve moral progress.

Cultural Relativism

Further considerations against relativism:

  1. There are moral universals.
  2. Many moral disagreements are really factual disagreements.
  3. What exactly defines the moral rules of a culture? Is it possible? What about internal conflicts?

Cultural Relativism

Does rejecting relativism imply cultural chauvinism/imperialism?

“If we criticize other cultures, we are imposing our own culture onto others.”

How can we be objective about ethics without being imperialist?

3 - Relativism

By Jesse Rappaport

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3 - Relativism

Cultural relativism

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