Cultural Relativism

Different Cultures have VERY different Moral CodesAND

There is no such thing as an objective & universal morality

The Cultural Difference Argument(As Rachels interprets it)

P1: Different Cultures have different moral codes

------------------------------------C: Therefore, there is no objective truth in morality. Right and wrong are only matters of opinion, and opinions vary from culture to culture

P1: Different Cultures have different views of how the earth is shaped

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C: Therefore, there is no objective truth about earth’s shape, it’s just a matter of opinion, and opinions vary from culture to culture

The Cultural Difference argument defended

P1: Different Cultures have different moral codes

P2: If there are no objective moral truths, then we cannot say that any culture's moral codes are wrong

P3: There are no objective moral truths

---------------------------------------------------------

C: So, we cannot say that any culture’s moral codes are wrong

A Tale of Two Cultures

Smurfs believe in

1) Free-love

2) Consuming drugs

3) Blue is better!

Muppets believe in

1) absolute monogamy

2) no drugs at all!

3) All colors are equal

But now suppose?

Smurfs believe in absolute dictatorship:

Muppets believe in democracy

or

Smurfs believe in Slavery, Genocide, and war-mongering

But the Muppets oppose this all in favor of peace, love, and inclusion

Problems with Cultural Relativism

1) We could no longer say that any cultural practices are morally inferior to any others

2) We could not criticize the code of our own society

3) We cannot believe in moral progress

Also

There really is not as much difference as it might seem between cultures. And, furthermore, some values are shared by all cultures.

The Harm Standard