1. What is right for you may not be right for someone else. Ethical Relativism

3. What is Ethical Relativism? No moral standard exists Moral values are grown by one’s own culture All points of views are equally valid

4. Continue… Individuals determine what is true and relative to them Truth is different for different people What is right for you, may not be right for someone else

5. Continue No moral absolutes No moral right and wrong One thinks and acts by own cultures and knowledge

6. Contributions Friedrich Nietzsch Rejected the idea that human beliefs mirror reality Each persons belief is grounded by a perspective

7. Continue… No evidence of proving one argument over another Try to understand ethical morality by education There are no moral facts, but moral interpretation

8. Criticism of Ethical Relativism Suicide – positive if you mean well Kamikaze Differing Religions – give to higher power, self sacrifice Americans and Christians believe it as sin

9. C.S. Lewis C.S. Lewis argued that the existence of rules, which determine what is right and wrong, is evidence for universal morality.

10. R.M. Hare (1919-2002) Moral preposition remain subject to human logic Not solely by cultural or religious standard Doesn’t deny moral facts, but human logic applies to moral decisions

11. Current Dilemma Japanese Case Study 35 year old Japanese woman living in CA Japanese culture Murder of her children Attempted suicide

12. What caused this to happen?Why was this right for her? Husband was having an affair relationship Honorable thing to do in her culture (boshi-shinju) Not live with the lack of dignity Why was this wrong? She drowned her (2) children, murder She lives in the United States, not Japan

13. Why was this wrong? She drowned her (2) children, murder She lives in the United States, not Japan

14. QUESTIONS What is a society? What is considered to be normal and justifiable? Is it right to judge someone’s actions if they believe that it is right or because it is part of their culture?

15. Sources http://www.japanpsychiatrist.com/Abstracts/Shinju.html http://en/wikipedia.org/wiki/Moral_relativism#What_constitu tes_a_society.3F http://en/wikipedia.org/wiki/Moral_relativism#What_constitu tes_a_society.3F http://www.scu.edu/ethics/practicing/decision/ethicalrelativis m.html http://www.scu.edu/ethics/practicing/decision/ethicalrelativis m.html http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/194016/ethical- relativism/242045/critisisms-o... http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/194016/ethical- relativism/242045/critisisms-o