Transcript Bumper Sticker Ethics S Wilkens

Bumper Sticker Ethics S Wilkens
Cultural relativism: when in Rome do as a Romans do
From one culture to another, and from one of time to
another within the same culture, there is diversity on
what is considered right and wrong:
Greece BC 220 slavery is OK
Greece A D 2000 slavery is not OK
Papua New Guinea: Cannibalism is okay in some tribes
Great Britain YUK!!!!
C.R:
Is a form of ethical relativism. The belief that
there is no moral truth that applies to all peoples at all
times. There are no absolute moral standards for moral
judgement.
Cultural relativism is a recent form of ethical
relativism.
C.R.: It is not each person, but each person's culture
that is the standard by which actions are to be
measured.
Cultural relativism States:
No ethical system is better than any other. So, in
Rome, do as the Romans do.
Why do as a Roman? Societies need structure to
survive. This includes ethical standards. So,
follow the norms of the culture in which you
live!
Cultural relativism looks at what is common
practice with in a society. This is what should
guide our actions.
Laws and rules: these provide stability and order in
life. But they are relative to be given culture.
Cultural relativism: abortion?
Abortion may be wrong in one society but
abortion may be okay in another
Moral Standards vary from side society to
society i.e. boiling lobsters, drinking
animal blood.
Can you give good examples?
Female circumcision?!!!!!
Cultural relativism states that we should not
impose our Standards on outsiders. Our
feelings to acts like infanticide do not
originate from knowledge of an absolute
moral measure.
Our feelings on infanticide are simply a
reflection of our culture.
Positives of cultural relativism
It promotes Tolerance.
It recognises differences but does not judge them by
some measure outside the culture in question.
There are no absolute truths as regards morality.
Cultural relativism promotes intercultural
tolerance:
Live and Let Live attitude.
Cultural relativism
reminds us that our
way and what is
familiar cannot be
assumed to be the
right and only way.
I am very
angry.
It must be
my way!
Cultural relativism warns us to be careful
not to load-down Christianity with so
much of our cultural baggage that
someone from another culture is
forced to accept Our social values
along with the Gospel, the key
message of Christianity.
Social values: dressed music architecture
etc are
When you
proclaim the
Gospel:
Love one
another.
You must wear a
Kilt like me!
Potential Problems:
Who gets to be God?
C.R is built upon the belief:
Truth is always relative to a nonabsolute standard; ones own
culture.
Where does this leave God?
Relativism seems to put ones
culture in the place of God.
God: 10 Commandments
Our own cultural values
Even if you believe in God, if you follow Cultural relativist thinking you
arrive at denying that we can know up the what God's moral will for
all people is.
There is No absolute universal standard
Our understanding of God’s universal will is shoved to the sidelines.
A. Yet Christianity regards moral truths as Trans cultural - across cultures.
Matt 28: 19 ‘..go and to all nations’.
B. Relativism argues that what a culture does is right because it considers
it right.
The book of Amos: condemns practices of nations who are neighbours to
Israel. God holds these neighbouring, Gentile peoples, to standards that
transcend their culturally accepted ideas.
God has no ethical relevance in C.R.
Do moral principles vary?
The cornerstone of C.R:
Ethical norms differ from one culture
to another culture.
Is actually true? There is good reason to doubt that
there is in fact Cultural disagreement on ethical
principles
A tribe can believe in principles like you shall not steal.
At the same time it may encourage stealing from
outsiders for survival or on grounds that outsiders
are perceived as less than human.
The counter Argument here is:
All cultures embrace certain basic moral principles.
Be careful: this point usually confuses!!!!
Is C.R self contradictory, incoherent?
A problem arises from two foundation stones
There is no absolute truth
Intolerance is wrong
In practice these tends to lead to:
Tolerant intolerance!
Absolute relativism!
Example:
1.
A culture has an intolerant world view!
2.
Culture relativism: ‘We must be a tolerant of all the
standards of cultures.’
3.
Cultural relativism: ‘But intolerance is wrong!’
4.
Self contradiction: affirms two mutually exclusive
things at the same time!
Is moral improvement possible?
The concept of Change presents serious problems for relativism
If truth and rightness are relative to cultures then what is the
motivation to change.
How do we evaluate change when it has occurred?
In a slave culture a relativist cannot argue or moral grounds that
slavery should be abolished. To do so would require appeal to
some standard other than the existing social mores, which
allow slavery.
Since relativism accepts that what the society believes at the time
is better, there can be no possible reason ever offered for the
rightness of changing slavery. In any event why change
slavery?
No one set of ethics is better than another.
In addition if this is true, even if we do move from slavery to none
slavery, we cannot call it progress. No single practice his
superior to another.
Is tolerance always good? C.R. promote tolerance
But what basis do you have for calling on countries to stop
things like racism and, torture, genocide, child labour.
Such an appeal would be intolerant, even arrogant. No
truth is more true than that of the truth in cultures we
would criticise.
So: we cannot appeal to human rights!!! There are no
absolutes
P. 42 at the core of our discomfort is the relativists belief
that whoever controls the culture is the final judge of
truth. This can be frightening even in a democratic
society when rules are decided by majority, because
Most believe that it is possible for the majority to be
wrong.
What of a tyrannical minority?
Conclusion:
Relativism = Offers no frontal assault and Christianity.
But it undermines Christianity!
‘ Instead of attacking, it trivialises. Instead of rejecting Christianity as false, it
grants it relative truth. The faith is true for Christians but not necessarily
from anyone else.
Relativism changes the word truth
TRUTH equals ‘comfortable to fact or reality’
becomes what a given culture believes to be true.
It seems counter-intuitive to believe that no basis exists for judging certain
practices better or worse than any other practices and that people should
tolerate any practice accepted in a given society.