Transcript The Argument - stevewatson.info

Ethical Relativism
Cultural Relativism

Herodotus
One might recall, in particular, an anecdote
of Darius. When he was king of Persia, he
summoned the Greeks who happened to be
present at his court, and asked them what they
would take to eat the dead bodies of their
fathers. They replied that they would not do it
for any money in the world. Later, in the
presence of the Greeks, and through an
interpreter, so they could understand what was
said, he asked some Indians, of the tribe
called Callatiae, who do in fact eat their
parents’ dead bodies, what they would take to
burn them. They uttered a cry of horror and
forbade him to mention such a dreadful thing.
One can see by this what custom can do, and
Pindar, in my opinion, was right when he
called it ‘king of all’.
The Argument

P1.
P2.

C1.

This culture judges practice A to be good
Our culture judges practice A to be no good
-----------------------------------------------------------There is no objective ground for our moral
judgement respecting practice A.
The Argument

P1.
P2.

C1.

C2.

This culture judges practice A to be good
Our culture judges practice A to be no good
-----------------------------------------------------------There is no objective ground for our moral
judgement respecting practice A.
There is no objective ground for their moral
judgement respecting practice A.
The Argument

P3.

C3.
Different cultures make different moral judgements
---------------------------------------------------------------There is no objective ground for moral judgements
The Argument

P4.

C4.
Different cultures make different judgements with
respect to X.
--------------------------------------------------------------There is no objective ground for judgements with
respect to X.
The Argument

HP.

P4.

C4.
If there is an objective ground for judgements with
respect to X then different cultures will not make
different judgements with respect to X.
Different cultures make different judgements with
respect to X.
--------------------------------------------------------------There is no objective ground for judgements with
respect to X.
The Argument

HP.

B
P4.

C4.
If there is an objective ground for judgements with
respect to X then different cultures will not make
different judgements with respect to X. If A then not
Different cultures make different judgements with
respect to X.
B
--------------------------------------------------------------There is no objective ground for judgements with
respect to X.
Not A
The Argument

The Hidden Premiss
The Argument

The Hidden Premiss
There is a truth about the nature of the sun
The Argument

The Hidden Premiss
There is a truth about the nature of the sun
The Argument

The Hidden Premiss
There is a truth about the nature of the sun
The Argument

The Main Premiss

Do different cultures really have different ethical systems?
The Argument

The Main Premiss

Do different cultures really have different ethical systems?

Infanticide:
Bad for us, good for nomads
The Argument

The Main Premiss

Do different cultures really have different ethical systems?

Infanticide:
Bad for us, good for nomads
because
We have the same moral system but
Stricter circumstances have changed the balance for them
The Argument

The Main Premiss

Do different cultures really have different ethical systems?

Bean-eating:
Good for us, bad for Pythagoreans
The Argument

The Main Premiss

Do different cultures really have different ethical systems?

Bean-eating:
Good for us, bad for Pythagoreans
because
We see the actions as belonging to different categories
The Argument

The Main Premiss

Do different cultures really have different ethical systems?

Eating our dear departed:
Bad for Greeks, good for Callatians
The Argument

The Main Premiss

Do different cultures really have different ethical systems?

Eating our dear departed:
Bad for Greeks, good for Callatians
because
The expression of the same moral law differs
The Argument

The Main Premiss

Do different cultures really have different ethical systems?

Some say there is a Universal Grammar of ethics
The Argument

The Main Premiss

Do different cultures really have different ethical systems?

Some say there is a Universal Grammar of ethics




Thou shalt not steal
Thou shalt do no murder
Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbour
etc.
The Argument

The Conclusion

The argument is bad. Should we believe the conclusion
anyway?
The Argument

The Conclusion

The argument is bad. Should we believe the conclusion
anyway?

We are sure that we can judge other cultures
The Argument

The Conclusion

The argument is bad. Should we believe the conclusion
anyway?

We are sure that we can judge other cultures
The Argument

The Conclusion

The argument is bad. Should we believe the conclusion
anyway?


We are sure that we can judge other cultures
It can’t be a duty not to do so
The Argument

The Conclusion

The argument is bad. Should we believe the conclusion
anyway?



We are sure that we can judge other cultures
It can’t be a duty not to do so
We want to be able to criticise our own societies
The Argument

The Conclusion

The argument is bad. Should we believe the conclusion
anyway?




We are sure that we can judge other cultures
It can’t be a duty not to do so
We want to be able to criticise our own societies
We want there to be moral reform, progress, heroes