PHILOS 2YY3 Lecture Notes - Lecture 12: Moral Relativism, Cultural Relativism, Relativism
16 May 2018
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PHILOS 2YY3 – Jan 25 2018
A Defence of Objectivism
Cultural, Moral and Subjective Relativism
• The Diesity Thesis → Cultural Relativism: the descriptive claim that there exists
currently and historically different cultures with different moral values
o There seems to be, if I look around, and I see that I can catalogue many different
cultures that have different moral, cultural practices... these are the morals
o This ist that otoesial of a lai, ut it sees to e the ase ith thigs
o This is what IS the case
• The Depedey Thesis → Moral Relativism: the normative claim that the form and
content of any moral judgement is reducible to the relative social conventions acting as
the condition of their operation
o Given this descriptive claim, now I make a normative claim about the status of
morality as such
o Prescriptive
• Subjectivism → moral judgements are relative to the individual; i.e. moral principles
depend on subjective prescriptions with each individual establishing their own peculiar
standard
o Species of relativism
o Idiidual ho deides, you do you, Ill do e
o Incoherent thesis, which makes the category or morality insignificant
Difficulties with Moral Relativism
• The virtues of cultural relativism aside, moral relativism as a normative claim on the
status of moral judgements leaves as much to be desired
• 1. Caot pesie toleae fo oetioal oalities ithout giig toleae a
universal value
o No ethnocentrism, we ought to tolerate all other cultures and their moralities
o Cross-ultual alue, ut thats soethig that the oal elatiist says is ot
possible
o Universal prescription for moral viewpoints and their values
• 2. There is no basis for the relativist to criticize the practices of anyone outside their
culture
o If you find yourself within a culture, the rule of law, CORAF
• 3. There is an identity of law and morality and therefore no room for dissent, civil
disobedience, or moral reform within a culture
o If it comes to the level of conventional standard and becomes codified into law,
morality and legality become the same
o Unjust law is no law at all, no force that it has for us to be obedient to it
o If this ist possile, if the oetioal stadad is hat outs as oal, the
iil disoediet idiidual dot hae any basis to do so
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Document Summary
I(cid:374)di(cid:448)idual (cid:449)ho de(cid:272)ides, you do you, i(cid:859)ll do (cid:373)e. Incoherent thesis, which makes the category or morality insignificant. Difficulties with moral relativism: the virtues of cultural relativism aside, moral relativism as a normative claim on the status of moral judgements leaves as much to be desired, 1. There is no basis for the relativist to criticize the practices of anyone outside their culture. If you find yourself within a culture, the rule of law, coraf: 3. There is an identity of law and morality and therefore no room for dissent, civil disobedience, or moral reform within a culture. If this is(cid:374)(cid:859)t possi(cid:271)le, if the (cid:272)o(cid:374)(cid:448)e(cid:374)tio(cid:374)al sta(cid:374)da(cid:396)d is (cid:449)hat (cid:272)ou(cid:374)ts as (cid:374)o(cid:396)(cid:373)al, the (cid:272)i(cid:448)il diso(cid:271)edie(cid:374)t i(cid:374)di(cid:448)idual do(cid:374)(cid:859)t ha(cid:448)e any basis to do so: 4. There is a fracturing of morality according to the subcultures existing within any dominant culture, leading to power struggles for dominance: cultures exist within a dominant culture, power struggles.
