ETHICAL RELATIVISM AND PLURALISM

Case No 1

Eating the dead

Case No 2

Eskimos infancticide
Case No 3

Stealing in Ik’s culture

Ethical Relativism

The claim that there is no objective moral standard of right

and wrong, and that moral values are relative to a person’s
cultural or individual background or to a certain situation.
TYPES OF ETHICAL RELATIVISM
CULTURAL ETHICAL RELATIVISM
• Chinese and westerners have
different concepts of human
rights. They should not
intervene with each other’s
moral practice
• “Polygamy is wrong in western
societies but not so in the
Middle East. The ethics of
marriage is just a matter of
social norm.”
INDIVIDUAL ETHICAL
RELATIVISM
A family man would be
deeply guilty for committing
adultery. But a sexual
liberation simply finds this an
expression of personal
freedom. Just why argue
about its right or wrong?
TYPES OF ETHICAL RELATIVISM
CULTURAL ETHICAL RELATIVISM
• “X is right” = “My society
approves of X.”
INDIVIDUAL ETHICAL
RELATIVISM
• “X is right” = I approve of X

• “X is wrong” = My society • “X is wrong” = I disapprove of X

disapproved of X
 Cultural relativism:
• Customs
• Tradition
• Language
Determinants of • Ideology
moral values: • Politics
• Religion
 • Anthropological and
sociological concerns
Why is cultural • the need for common moral
relativism more codes within a nation/culture
attractive than • the value of tolerance in
individual
international politics
relativism?
SO WHY BELEIVE IN ETHICAL
RELATIVISM?
First argument: diversity of moral codes
Structure of the argument:

Individual cases of moral disagreement

Inductive generalization

Denial of moral objectivity

 • The Greeks believed it was
CASE 1: wrong to eat the dead,
Illustration whereas the Callatians
(Rachels, 1995) believed it was right to eat the
dead
• Therefore, eating the dead is
neither objectively wrong, but
rather, a matter of opinion
 • The eskimos see nothing
CASE 2: wrong with infanticide,
Illustration whereas Americans belive
infanticide is immoral
• Therefore, infanticide is
neither objectively wrong , but
rather, a matter of opinion
 • After generalization
– Different cultures have different
moral codes
Illustration
– Therefore, there is no objective
`truth` in morality. Right or
wrong are only matters of
opinion, and opinions vary from
culture to culture
Second argument: moral uncertainty
• We are not always certain about the truth of our own
moral beliefs
– Example:
~I can not say whether liberal-conservatism is the best
political ideology even if I am one
• Just in case that we feel certain that a moral claim is true, we
still can conceive that it is not objective
• Therefore, we have no right to say moral rules are universal
or absolute
Third argument: situational differences
• We tend to be more tolerant of people’s behavior
because of their exceptional situations.
– Examples:
~ It seems less objectionable to eat dogs in the
time of famine
~ Killing in the time of war is not always wrong
• Different culture have different `existential conditions`
• Therefore, our moral rules cannot be applied in a different
culture
Consequences of cultural relativism
• One cannot criticize the moral practices of other societies
• Cultural/social norms become the basis of moral
judgement
• There is no moral progress
• We should be tolerant to other societies moral practices if
they do not harm us
Problem with relativist reasoning
• Can we conclude that `X is so and so` cannot be true or
false simply because people disagree about the truth of
the statement?
– Example:
• The earth is flat
• Aliens exist
• Women are second class citizens
• I am Batman!
Moral practice vs Moral belief:
• Seemingly conflicting behaviors can in fact be motivated by the
same moral belief/value
• For example:
– Collatians believed that eating their fathers was
right because they thought this could preserve
their father’s souls
– Greeks believed that burning their fathers’
bodies was right because mother nature was the
best place for dead persons to go to
Moral practice vs Moral belief:
• It follows that both their actions were motivated by their respect
for the dead persons
• Therefore, their actions are based on the same moral values.