Relativism
Shrinking the scope of truth and
objectivity to fit the boundaries of
custom and culture
Relativisms
• Descriptive relativism: The Callatians and the
Greeks. How to dispose of ancestor remains.
• Jesus or Judas?
• Americans cheer the empathetic sage; the
Sawi of New Guinea cheer the “master of
treachery.”
• Obedience to authoritative tradition or
autonomy?
• Kinky Eskimo customs
Cultural Relativism
• There is no
independent standard
of morality by which to
judge the customs of
other cultures.
• The notion of right is in
the folkways….
Whatever is, is
right….the authority of
the ancestral ghosts.
PEACE CHILD
Five Relativist Claims
• Different societies have
different moral claims
• The moral code of a
society determines
what is right
• There is no objective
standard for judging
cultural norms
• Our society’s moral
code has no special
status
• It is arrogant to judge
other cultures, since
moral beliefs are
culturally determined,
tolerance is a more
appropriate attitude
than condemnation.
What’s wrong with relativism?
• Diversity of moral belief
is not sufficient to
establish that no
objective criteria for
moral decision making
exists.
• Seems to imply that UN
attempts to end human
rights violations are
misguided.
• Seems to imply that we
cannot critique Fox
News and the Tea Party
Patriots.
• Seems to deny the
reality of moral
progress.
• Seems to deny the
value of moral
reformers.
Values common to all cultures
• Promoting human welfare
seems to have many
common elements across
diverse cultures.
• How moral beliefs can be
based on empirically false
claims.
• Violations of human
rights must be
condemned. (Implies a
standard)
Fauziya
Kassindja
Universal Declaration on Human Rights
• All human beings are born free and equal in
dignity and rights. They are endowed with
reason and conscience and should act towards
one another in a spirit of brotherhood.
• Everyone has the right to life, liberty and
security of person.
• No one shall be held in slavery or servitude;
slavery and the slave trade shall be prohibited
in all their forms.