e thical r elativism learning plan 5- ethical theories tom mccormick, lindsay rozek, jenna hofman,...
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ETHICAL RELATIVISM
Learning Plan 5- Ethical theoriesTom McCormick, Lindsay Rozek, Jenna Hofman, and Jamie SabishOctober 27, 2008
SUMMARIZE
The doctrine that states that there are no absolute truths in ethics and that what is morally right or wrong varies from person to person or from society to society.
SUMMARIZE
In ethics, the belief that nothing is objectively right or wrong and that the definition of right or wrong depends on the prevailing view of a particular individual, culture, or historical period.
CRITICISMS
Relativism doesn’t allow for the existence of an absolute set of ethics.
CRITICISM CONT.
Relativism deprives us of any means of raising moral objections against social customs, provided that those customs are approved by the codes of the societies in which they exist.
SOME IMPORTANT INSIGHTS:
Relativism is tolerant and understanding.
We should not pass judgment on practices in other cultures when we don’t understand them.
Sometimes reasonable people may differ on what’s morally acceptable.
BENEDICT SPINOZA
“Nothing is inherently good or evil.”
One of the greatest rationalists of the 17th century.
18th century Enlightenment
IMPORTANT PEOPLE Franz Boas, and his students, Ruth
Benedict, Melville J Herskovits, and Margaret Mead challenged the fact that Western culture was the norm.
They explicitly articulated influential forms of moral relativism in the twentieth century. Making it aware that every culture is different with either own morals.
FRIEDRICH NIETZSCHE
Naïve Faith Our beliefs = our
perspective No moral FACTS
CURRENT ETHICAL DILEMMA
How different cultures view healthcare. Muslims Americans Chinese
ETHICAL DILEMMA CONT.Genital Mutilation in Northern Africa and Southern Arabia
QUESTIONS
Should we let other people live the way they want to, or should we be concerned with what they are doing in other countries? Such as Indonesia, Africa ect.
Video Clip
QUESTIONS
Do we need fully understanding to judge someone, or something done in a different culture?
QUESTION
Does Tolerance seem like a good policy where differences between cultures are concerned?
Remember our morals are not just personal they’re also social.