Transcript Ruth Benedict - cloudfront.net

Moral Relativism
(Day 3)
Discussion Questions

 Do you agree with Benedict’s assertion that
“normality” is completely culturally defined? Can
you think of anything that might be considered
“abnormal” in all human cultures?
 Benedict says that, “Mankind has always preferred
to say, ‘It is morally good,’ rather than ‘It is habitual,’
and the fact of this preference is matter enough for a
critical science of ethics. But historically the two
phrases are synonymous.” What does she mean by
this? Why would humans prefer one phrase over the
other?

 Do you think that the two phrases (“morally good”
and “habitual”) really are “synonymous”? If you
don’t believe they are, why not?
 Benedict ends her piece by stating that “most
individuals are plastic to the moulding force of the
society into which they are born.” Do you agree or
disagree? If you do, does this also suggest that
morality or ethical behavior is not subject to our free
will? Explain.
Relativism v.
Subjectivism

 Ethical Relativism: The belief that there are no
universal moral standards and that each society or
culture determines its own moral code.
 Ethical Subjectivism: The belief that there are no
universal moral standards and that each human
individual must determine his or her own moral
code.
Discuss in Small Groups

 Scenario 1:
Janey is raised in Nazi Germany. She is taught that Jews, Homosexuals, and
Gypsies are inferior beings who are destroying Germany. She is taught that these
inferior beings are worthless garbage that should be exterminated.
One day, Janey discovers that her neighbor, Hans, is hiding a Jew in his basement.
She notifies the German police, and both Hans and the Jew are killed.
 Scenario 2:
Timmy is raised on a southern plantation. He is taught that Africans are inferior
beings and should be bought and sold as slaves.
However, Timmy disagrees and believes that all humans are equal. Timmy frees
twelve slaves before he is caught and imprisoned for theft.
 Is Janey ethical? Is Timmy unethical? Why or why not?
Homework

 Sartre Worksheet- Answer the questions and
generate some of your own.
Jean-Paul SartreBiography

 French Intellectual
 Active in the French resistance to Nazi occupation
 Influenced by Marx but never accepted communism
 Considered to be the father of existentialism and he
was the first to directly define the term
existentialism. He, however, was not the first person
to be considered an existentialist.
Videos

 Existentialism for five year oldshttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kvz0CjtwH2k
 Biography of Sartre
http://documentarystorm.com/human-all-toohuman-jean-paul-sartre/