Transcript PHIL 2525 Contemporary Moral Issues

Lec 4

“Morality differs in
every society, and is
a convenient term
for socially approved
habits.”
Ruth Benedict
Protagoras: Moral Skeptic
 "Man
is the measure
of all things: of the
things which are, that
they are, and of the
things which are not,
that they are not"
The main points of Protagoras’
moral skepticism:
1.
There is no ultimate moral truth
2.
Our individual moral views are equally true
3.
The practical benefit of our moral values is
more important than their truth
4.
The practical benefit of moral values is a
function of social custom rather than
nature
The White Man’s
Burden...

1899
The White Man’s
Burden...

1890s
Franz Boas...

“...laid the groundwork
for cultural relativism,
which requires that a
culture be understood
on its own terms,
without a hierarchy
ranking some cultures
as better or more
advanced than others.”
William Graham Sumner’s Question:

What are standards, codes,
and ideas of chastity,
decency, propriety,
modesty, etc., and whence
do they arise?
William Graham Sumner’s Answer:

The ethnographical facts contain the
answer to this question. . . . "Immoral"
never means anything but contrary to the
mores of the time and place. Therefore the
mores and the morality may move
together, and there is no permanent or
universal standard by which right and truth
in regard to these matters can be
established and different folkways
compared and criticised.
Relativism has attractions:

Fosters respect for ‘others’...

Massages our image of ourselves as
tolerant and accepting...

Precludes our having to explain
ourselves...

Avoids the hard work of wrestling with
moral issues...
Beware:

If the relativist is right
...then toleration is
just another value...
which is relative like
any other.
King Darius of Persia
Herodotus
Religion....
King Darius of Persia
Herodotus
Extreme Moral Relativism:
 It’s
always wrong to make moral
judgements….
Argument:
It’s wrong to make moral judgments
 But...“It’s wrong to make moral
judgments” is a moral judgment
----------------------------------------------- Therefore, if it is wrong to make moral
judgments it cannot be the case that it is
wrong to make moral judgments

Argument:
If it is wrong to make moral judgments,
then ‘it’s wrong to make moral judgments’
is not true.
 It’s wrong to make moral judgments.
------------------------------------------- Therefore, “it’s wrong to make moral
judgments’ is not true.

Argument:
If A, then B
A
---------------- Therefore, B


Relativism asserts that no ethical rules
originate outside of cultures and
individuals...
The Dinka of
Sudan...
Absolutism...

The idea that there is
a moral code that
binds all people for all
time...often
associated with a
deity.
Absolutism...

The idea that there is
a moral code that
binds all people for all
time...often
associated with a
deity.
Absolutism...

The idea that there is
a moral code that
binds all people for all
time...often
associated with a
deity...but interpreted
by humans...

Relativism is easier...

Relativism is easier...

Relativism is safer...

Relativism is easier...

Relativism is safer...

But it has its down side...
Rachels, Page 17...

Nazi army in Poland example...
Rachels 2.4

Consequences of taking cultural
relativism seriously...
1)
 2)
 3)

Rachels 2.5

Why there is less disagreement than it
seems...
Rachels 2.6

Some values are shared by all cultures...
Rachels 2.7

Judging a cultural practice to be
undesirable...
Rachels, p. 26
Why, despite all this, thoughtful people
may be reluctant to criticize other
cultures...
 1.


2.

3.

What can be learned from
cultural relativism?...

“Whether there be any such moral
principles, wherein all men do agree, I
appeal to any who have been but
moderately conversant in the history of
mankind, and looked abroad beyond the
smoke of their own chimneys.”
Rachels 2.8
Back to the five claims (page 16)
1.
 2.
 3.
 4.
 5.

Rachels 2.9
What we can learn from cultural relativism
Teddy Bear Teacher...
Dec. 4, 2007
 LIVERPOOL, England A British teacher
returned to her northern
English hometown
Tuesday after being
pardoned in Sudan for
insulting Islam by
allowing her students to
name a teddy bear
Muhammad.

Honour Killings...

Montreal...on trial in Oct. 2010

A Canadian man has been charged
with murdering his own daughter,
and her friends say the two clashed
over her refusal to wear a Muslim
head scarf. Police have not
commented on a motive.
Aqsa Parvez, 16, of Mississauga,
Ontario, was rushed to hospital in
critical condition Monday after a
man made an emergency call in
which he claimed to have killed his
daughter, police said. She died late
Monday night.

Kingston honour killing?...2009
Roman Polanski...
Drugged and sexually
assaulted a 13 year-old
girl in 1977
 Stood trial and pleaded
guilty but fled the country
before sentencing
 Arrested in Switzerland
this week

North Bay soup kitchen:
The Gathering Place