By: RaeAnne Smith and Kristin Lowe

What is Moral Relativism?Definition:

Moral relativism can be 3 different types of positions, descriptive, meta-ethical, or normative, depending on the differences of moral judgments amongst a certain people or culture.– Descriptive: describes the way things are, without suggesting a

way they should be. This is to say that people frequently disagree over what is the most “moral” course of action.

– Meta-ethical: is the position that the truth or the falsity of moral judgments is not objective. Justification for moral judgments is relative to the traditions, convictions, or practices of an individual or group of people. Ex: “It’s moral to me because I believe it is”.

– Normative: is the position that because there is no universal moral standard by which we can judge others, we should tolerate the behavior of others, even when it is against our personal or cultural moral standards.

What is Moral Relativism?• Moral Relativism- values are determined by the

society we grow up in, and there are no universal values.

What is Moral Relativism?Two forms of Moral Relativism:Ethical Subjectivism- morality is relative to

individualsCultural Relativism- morality is relative to culture

-Both forms deny the existence of moral absolutes.

Examples

• Although most people and cultures consider lying to be wrong, according to moral relativism, lying is only wrong if the individual doing the lying feels that it is wrong.

• Some cultures eat pork while others prohibit it.• Some are monogamous, others are

polygamous.