Ethical RelativismEthical Relativism

I’m skeptical about cultural relativism

Concepts• Reductio ad absurdem argument

• False dichotomy

• Ethical Universalism

• Ethical Relativism

• Reflective Equilibrium

Subjectivism:Truth is relative to

individuals

• The view that…whatever anyone

believes is true.

• Plato: “Protagoras…admitting…that

everybody’s opinion is true, must

acknowledge the truth of his

opponents’ belief about his own

belief, where they think he is wrong.”

They can’t both be right

San Diego isnorth of Los

Angeles.You’rewrong!

Argument against subjectivism

1. Suppose subjectivism were true: If a person believes that P,

then P [assume subjectivism for reductio]

2. x believes that P and y believes that x is wrong in believing

that P, i.e. y believes that not-P [people disagree]

3. P and not-P [by 1 and 2]

4. Subjectivism is false [reducio: given that people disagree,

subjectivism implies a contradiction]

Is Ethics a Game Without Rules?

Ethical RelativismEthical Relativism

• There are no true universal moral judgments.

• Moral judgments:

– __ is wrong

– __ is right

– __ is obligatory

– __ is good

– __ is bad

– Etc.

Ethical Relativism

False Dichotomy

• The fallacy of false

dichotomy is committed

when the arguer claims that

his conclusion is one of

only two options, when in

fact there are other

possibilities.

• The arguer then goes on to

show that the 'only other

option' is clearly

outrageous, and so his

preferred conclusion must

be embraced.

If the Ten Commandmentsaren’t absolutely true with

no exceptions thenanything goes!

Thou shalt not lie.

What about white lies?

Cuteoutfit!

I wouldn’t becaught dead in

that rig.

Thou shalt not steal.

What about Jean Valjean stealing that loaf of bread when he was starving?

The Sabbath was made for man--not man for the

Sabbath.

Remember the Sabbath day and keep it holy.

And it came to pass, that he went through the corn fields on the sabbath day; and his disciples began, as they went, to pluck the ears of corn. And the Pharisees said unto him, Behold, why do they on the sabbath day that which is not lawful? And he said unto them…[Mark 2:23 -27]

NO!

Remember the Sabbath day and keep it holy.

I guess this means thatanything goes, right?

Ethical Relativism vs. Ethical Universalism

• Ethical relativists hold that there is no kind of action that is

always, everywhere and for everyone right or wrong.

• Ethical universalists hold that there is some (at least one)

kind of action that is always, everywhere and for everyone right

or wrong.

• This “kind” can be highly abstract!

• Ethical universalists do not claim that every kind of action is

either always right or always wrong!

Kinds of actionsAn action can belong to many different

kinds!

You break your promise to give a madman a gun on Tuesday.

• Promise-breaking

• Breaking a promise when keeping it would have very bad consequences

• Doing something on a Tuesday

• Doing an action that brings about the greatest good for the greatest number

• Doing an action with the intention of preventing someone else from being harmed…

What features of an action are morally relevant?

• We ask: what features of an action are morally relevant?

– Surely not, e.g. the day on which it was done

• We ask: what are the right-making or wrong-making features of actions?

• Every action belongs to many kinds

– Which kinds are morally relevant?

Kinds of actionsAn action can belong to many different

kinds!

Promise-breaking

Kinds of actionsAn action can belong to many different

kinds!

Promise-breaking

Promise-breakingwhen keeping the

promise would havevery bad consequences

Kinds of actionsAn action can belong to many different

kinds!

Promise-breaking

Promise-breakingwhen keeping the

promise would havevery bad consequences

Tuesday actions

Kinds of actionsAn action can belong to many different

kinds!

Promise-breaking

Promise-breakingwhen keeping the

promise would havevery bad consequences

Tuesday actions

Actions that bring about thegreatest good for the

greatest number

Kinds of actionsAn action can belong to many different

kinds!

Promise-breaking

Promise-breakingwhen keeping the

promise would havevery bad consequences

Tuesday actions

Actions that bring about thegreatest good for the

greatest number

Actions intended to prevent

others from being harmed

Ethical Universalism• To be a ethical universalist you only have to agree that there is some

kind of action that’s always right or always wrong.

• The relevant kind may be something very general, e.g. “doing

something that brings about the greatest good for the greatest

number.”

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Ambiguity 1

• When people talk about universalism, some mean a universal rule (thou shalt not kill) and others a universal principle (like love, or respect for others’ feelings, or, as in the previous slide, the good of the greatest happiness for the greatest number.

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Is ethics a game without rules?

• Reflective equilibrium: theory construction in ethics is

comparable to theory construction in science

• We get data--our “moral intuitions” about real and imaginary

cases

• We generalize

• We test our generalizations against further data

• We keep going back and forth until we achieve a “reflective

equilibrium”

A sample theory to test

The Wiccan Rede: Harm none

A case of easy rescue

What is “harm”? Failing to help in some cases when we don’t actually do harm can be wrong.

Setting a bad example

Even when an action doesn’t directly harm anyone it maystill make others worse off by setting a bad example,establishing a bad precedent or undermining institutionsthat are in the public interest.

Another sample theory: Utilitarianism• Principle: an act is right if it maximizes utility.

• “Utility” is understood as desire-satisfaction,

pleasure or happiness.

• Consider moral intuitions that support the theory.

• Consider those that are go against the theory

(example: the promise to the dead man problem).

• What should we do if intuitions go against the

theory:

– reject the intuitions and keep the theory?

– reject the theory in favour on one that explains

our intuitions?

– modify the theory to accommodate our

intuitions?

The Promise to the Dead Man Case

Promise that when I’m dead you’ll give me a decent burial

Maximizing utility

A good Utilitarian cuts up the body and uses it as fish bait.

The greatest goodfor the greatest number!

The Moral of this Story

• Even if end we agree to disagree, we can

reason about moral issues.

• Ethics is not a game without rules

– It is not merely “subjective”

– It is not just a matter of personal feelings

– It is not something we have to take on faith

“Cultural Relativism” means different things…

T 1. People’s beliefs, attitudes, tastes, etc. are significantly

affected by their culture--and people in different cultures

have very different beliefs, attitudes, tastes, etc.

T 2. Methodological cultural relativism: cultures should be

studied on their own terms.

F 3. Actions are right or wrong to the extent that

they conform or don’t conform to cultural norms.

Cultural Relativism: reflections

• Actions that are wrong may be excusable and people

that do them may not be blameworthy.

• Even if an action is wrong, it doesn’t follow that it

would be right to stop people from doing it.

• Practices that produce good results in one culture

may not produce good results in another, e.g.

polygamy.

Countries where polygamy is legal

Would legalizing polygamy maximize utility in the UK?

Asking these questions assumes a universal standard!

• An ethical universalist may consistently hold that

polygamy is ok in one context but not ok in another.

• Because he may hold that what makes an action

right is something that holds across all cultures . . .

• But that whereas a given kind of action has that right-

making property on one context it doesn’t have that

property in another.

Human Rights: the hard question

Different Questions

Can you blame them?

Should you stop them?

Is it wrong?

Quine speaks…

Truth, says the cultural

relativist, is culture-bound. But

if it were, then he, within his

own culture, ought to see his

own culture-bound truth as

absolute. He cannot proclaim

cultural relativism without

rising above it, and he cannot

rise

above it without giving it up.

Problems with Cultural Relativism

• Who is my neighbour? (The problem of

overlapping cultures)

• Some practices are just plain wrong

• The paradox of tolerance

The Paradox of Tolerance

• The ethical relativist cannot hold that everyone

everywhere should be tolerant without

contradicting himself!

• If the ethical relativist holds that actions are right

if they conform to cultural norms then he must

hold that people in intolerant societies ought to

be intolerant!

When in Rome…do as the Romans do

The Moral of the Story

• Relativism isn’t as good as its cracked up to

be: “a little learning is a dangerous thing”.

• Some forms of relativism are logically

problematic.

• We can accommodate our intuitions and

commitments (about tolerance, about not

being dogmatic, etc.) without buying into any

form of relativism.

Don’t wish for Ethical Relativism…Don’t wish for Ethical Relativism…

…you might just get it…you might just get it

The EndThe End