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Activity 1
Read William Sumner’s “The Case
for Ethical Relativism” in
Philosophy: The Basic Is-
sues, pp. 496-511, and then answer
the questions below based on what
you understood
from the reading.
1. How do you develop your notion
of ‘what is the right thing to do’ in
society?
2. What is the connection between
your choices as an individual and
that of your society?
Page ! of !2 15
———————————————
———————————————
——————
Activity 1
Read William Sumner’s “The Case
for Ethical Relativism” in
Philosophy: The Basic Is-
sues, pp. 496-511, and then answer
the questions below based on what
you understood
from the reading.
1. How do you develop your notion
of ‘what is the right thing to do’ in
society?
2. What is the connection between
your choices as an individual and
that of your society?
————————————————————————————————————
Activity 1
Read William Sumner’s “The Case for Ethical Relativism” in
Philosophy: The Basic Is-
sues, pp. 496-511, and then answer the questions below based on
what you understood
from the reading.
1. How do you develop your notion of ‘what is the right thing to do’ in
society?
2. What is the connection between your choices as an individual and
that of your society?
Page ! of !2 15
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ETHICS 1 - Ethics and Moral Reasoning in Everyday Life

3. To what extent do the mores of your society shape your notion of
“good/bad” or
“right/wrong”?
4. Do mores change? How? Cite an example.!
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Even as society defends and preserves its mores, these same mores
may change to adapt to
new conditions. The changes in the mores of a particular society do
not happen in an in-
stant, but they happen unconsciously over time. For example, during
the Spanish period,
women wore dresses that covered them from head to toe, and it was
thought that seeing a
woman’s ankles was tantamount to seeing her naked. But women’s
fashion has changed
so much through the years that our Spanish ancestors might well be
rolling in their graves
at the way women are dressed today. According to Sumner, this point
can be summarized
thus: “The ‘morals’ of an age are never anything but the consonance
between what is done
and what the mores of the age requires.”
Consequently, with regard to morality one always has to consider two
points of view —
the point of view of society, together with its customs, social rules,
and social sanctions,
and that of the individual or the free moral agent who develops habits
in the course of
following the social norms established by society. Ultimately, it is still
the individual, in
his/her capacity as a rational and free moral agent, who will decide
whether to follow
these norms.
On the other hand, society is not homogenous, because there is an
interplay of varying
views and groups where the individual belongs. The factors that may
affect the individ-
ual’s choices are varied and even contradictory at times. The
individual may belong simul-
taneously to different groups, and these groups could exert varying
and sometimes con-
trasting degrees of influence on him/her. For example, individuals can
be influenced by
their family, peer groups, church, school, the mass media, and social
media. Ultimately,
however, it is still the individual who would make his/her own moral
decisions.
As mentioned, the notion of morality develops with the interplay
between society and the
individual. Here, society would be composed of different groups that
directly or indirectly
shape the values of the individual. These values serve as the
individual’s guide in his/her
pursuit of what he/she believes to be the moral or the ‘good’ life. Note
that the individual
is assumed to be a free moral agent who can make choices and
deliberate or reflect before
acting or making a decision. Moreover, as society grows and becomes
more complex, the
different groups that comprise it could put forward competing values,
including different
notions of ‘what is good’. In this case, it is the rational individual who
can decide for him/
herself which moral principles to uphold, based on his/her upbringing
and the influence of
various groups in his/her society (family, church, school, peer groups,
social media, mass
media, etc.). Therefore, the individual plays a pivotal role as a free
moral agent in analyz-
ing, choosing, and valuing what he/she considers as most important
when he/she makes
his/her choices.