ETHICS Moral Relativism

What is moral relativism? Moral relativism states that there are no moral absolutes. A moral absolute is a moral instruction that is true for all time such as ‘Do not kill.’ According to moral relativism what is right or wrong depends on culture, religion, time and situation.

Examples In Holland, Euthanasia is legal. It may be argued that if the legal system reflects the values of a society then the majority of Dutch people must hold the view that it is morally right to end the life of a terminally-ill person at their request. It is illegal in this country and if the law reflects what people believe is right then most people in Britain believe that euthanasia is wrong.

Examples A Muslim male may have more than one wife whereas Christians can only have one marriage partner at a time. In the 17 th Century, whites kept blacks as slaves. Slavery is now believed to be immoral by most people today as implied by the UN Declaration of Human Rights.

Examples Some people believe that abortion is wrong while others believe that a woman should have the right to choose whether or not to continue a pregnancy.

You can’t be wrong! A moral relativist would argue that what is right for one person is not necessarily right for another. Neither person is wrong! Is this being tolerant of the beliefs of others or so liberal that anything goes and moral decay results? Are there some things that are moral wrong regardless of the situation? Mackie argued, ‘There are no objective values’. He suggested that people follow different codes and this results in their living in different ways.

Cultural Relativism A cultural relativist would argue that moral rules reflect culture. Diversity of beliefs and values should be celebrated. The values of a society are right for that society and those outside that society should respect those values and not try to instigate change. In Britain, we no longer have the death penalty but in 38 states in the USA it is used to punish those who commit capital offences. This is right for Britain and right for those 38 states.

Strengths It explains moral diversity. It forbids a dominant culture from imposing its values on others. It encourages respect for the values of others by acknowledging that the norms of a society are right for that society.

Weaknesses The existence of different views does not make them equally valid as Socrates observed ‘one should regard the good ones and not the bad..’ Some things like genocide, are so evil they need to be challenged. Cultural Relativism reduces morality to that which is socially approved.

Situation Ethics An example of a moral relativist theory is Situation Ethics. This theory is associated with Joseph Fletcher who argued that when making a moral judgement the only principle is, ‘What is the loving thing to do?’ In the situation, what will produce the most loving outcome for all those affected by the situation? For Fletcher, agapeic love is the only ‘good’. Situation Ethics points to the example of Jesus, who was a law-abiding Jew but would break the rules if love was not served. Situationists do likewise.

Fletcher He rejected antinomianism, which states that there are no rules, laws or principles and that the situation will provide the solution which is found by intuition. He rejected legalism which provides rules for people to follow. For him, a person can only act morally if they have freedom to decide the right course of action.

Fletcher’s Ideas Situation Ethics has four working principles:- 1.Pragmatism- it must be practical, workable. 2.Relativism-decisions are made situationally, there are no fixed rules that must be followed. 3.Positivism-Situation Ethics depends on people giving first place to agapeic love based on their faith that God is love. 4.Personalism- people come first.

Fletcher’s Propostions 1.There is one intrinsic good-Love 2.Christian decisions are made on the principle of love. 3.Love and justice equate. Justice is love in action. 4.Love wants what is best for one’s neighbour regardless of whether or not we like him. 5.Only the end justifies the means- the most loving result makes an action moral. 6.Love’s decisions are made situationally are not prescribed.

Strengths Situation Ethics provides an alternative Christian Ethic that is consistent with the Gospel’s portrayal of Jesus. It is flexible and practical and can adopt the idea of the ‘lesser of two evils’ approach

Weaknesses It is subjective and it is not always possible to tell if your understanding of a situation is correct. It is teleological and results aren’t always predicted accurately. Also short-term and long- term outcomes need to be considered. Agapeic love is an ideal. Can humans act unselfishly at all times? Can a parent love other children the same as their own?