Case Discussion
• Choose one of the cases that Rachels
discusses in Chpt. 1 and work through the
following:
Discuss the details
• What are the main details in the case?
• What is the moral problem or question?
Find the most relevant features
• Make a list of the features of the case that
you think are relevant to solving the moral
problem.
• Which of these features do you think are
most relevant? Why these?
Solution and Argument
• See if you can come to a conclusion about
what should be done in this case.
• Set out your reasons for this conclusion.
(If you disagree, set out reasons for
each…)
Objections
• Set out what you think is the most serious
objection someone could raise against
your reasoning.
• How do you respond to this objection?
Theories of Morality
– General questions about morality:
• What kinds of actions are morally right/wrong?
• Why? In virtue of what (are they right/wrong)?
• Are there objective truths about morality?
– Moral theories attempt to develop systematic
accounts of morality that answer these
questions.
Cultural Relativism
• Associated Claims
– “Different societies have different moral
codes”
-- “There is no objective standard that can be
used to judge one societal code better than
another”
– The moral code of our own society has no
special status; it is merely one among many
Cultural Relativism
• Associated claims (continued)
– “The moral code of a society determines what is right
within that society; that is, if the moral code of a
society says that a certain action is right, then that
action is right, at least within that society.”
– “It arrogant for us to judge other cultures. We should
always be tolerant of them.”
A (Weak) Argument for Relativism
(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
(Rachels, 18)
Problems with Cultural Relativism
1.
Moral criticism of other cultures (or one’s own?) is
impossible?
2. Right and wrong are determined just by consulting the
code of our society?
3.
There is no such thing as genuine moral progress
within a society?
(Rachels, 19-21)
Moral Disagreement in Perspective
1.
Surface disagreement masks agreement on underlying
principles:
--The dead should be treated with respect
--One should not eat one’s grandmother
2. Certain moral rules are socially necessary
--wrongness of arbitrary violence
--wrongness of lies and deception
Judging Cultural Practices
• Excision: The case of Fauziya Kassindja
• The crucial question:
“Does the practice promote or hinder the welfare of the
people whose lives are affected by it?”
Lessons of Cultural Relativism
1.
Moral humility:
--Our own moral beliefs may be based on cultural
prejudice, not sound reasoning.
2. Open-mindedness