Ethics Theory and Practice Jacques P Thiroux Keith

Ethics: Theory and Practice Jacques P. Thiroux Keith W. Krasemann Copyright © 2012 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

Chapter Five Absolutism Versus Relativism Copyright © 2012 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

Two Extremes • Absolutism maintains that there absolute truths and, especially, absolute moral truths to which all human beings must adhere if they are to be moral Copyright © 2012 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

Two Extremes • Relativism maintains that there are no absolutes of any kind, but that everything, especially morality, is “relative” to specific cultures, groups, or even individuals Copyright © 2012 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

The Meaning of Absolute • Absolute essentially means “perfect in quality; complete; not limited by restriction or exceptions; not to be doubted or questioned – positive, certain, unconditional” – We apply this word to supernatural beings (e. g. gods); to laws of nature; to propositions; to law and morality; and, most important, to propositions, truth, and falsity Copyright © 2012 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

The Meaning of Relative • Relative essentially means that there are no values that cut across all cultures and peoples that are not relative to the specific place or person in and by which they are held Copyright © 2012 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

Cultural Relativism • Anthropological “facts” in support of cultural relativism: – Studies of both primitive/modern cultures revel an extreme variation in customs, manners, taboos, religions, moralities, daily habits, and attitudes – The moral beliefs and attitudes of human beings are absorbed from their time – what is socially accepted or sanctioned in their culture Copyright © 2012 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

Cultural Relativism • Anthropological “facts” (cont’d): – People in different cultures tend to believe not merely that there is only one true morality, but also that one true morality is the one they hold Copyright © 2012 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

Cultural Absolutism • Anthropological facts supporting cultural absolutism: – Similar moral principles exist in all societies, such as those concerning the preservation of human life, governing sexual behavior, prohibiting lying, and establishing reciprocal obligations between parents and children – People in all cultures have similar needs, such as the need to survive, to eat and drink, and to have sex Copyright © 2012 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

Cultural Absolutism • Anthropological facts supporting cultural absolutism (cont’d): – There a great many similarities in situations and relationships in all cultures, such as having two parents of opposite sexes, competing with brothers and sisters, and participating in the arts, languages, religion, and family – There a great many intercultural similarities in the areas of sentiment, emotion, and attitude, as with jealousy, love, and the need for respect Copyright © 2012 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

Criticisms of Anthropological Facts • Just because cultures differ about what is right and wrong does not mean that one culture is right whereas another is wrong • Just because a belief is learned from or accepted by a culture does not mean that it is true or false or that truth is relative only to specific societies Copyright © 2012 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

Criticisms of Anthropological Facts • Just because moral principles are similar in all societies does not mean that they are valid or absolute • Even if people have similar needs, sentiments, emotions, and attitudes, there is still a question of whether these should or should not be satisfied Copyright © 2012 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

Criticisms of Anthropological Facts • Just because there are similarities in cultural situations and relationships, it does not mean that these are the only morally correct situations and relationships in existence or that they are morally correct at all Copyright © 2012 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

Propositions and Truth • Truth applies to propositions that are meaningful statements describing states of affairs – A state of affairs is an occurrence, an event, or a happening – It is neither true or false – It either occurs or it does not occur Copyright © 2012 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

Propositions and Truth • A true proposition describes a state of affairs that was, is, or will be occurring • A false proposition describes a state of affairs that did not occur, is not occurring, or will not occur • Only propositions are true or false, never states of affairs – they either occur or do not occur Copyright © 2012 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

Are There Any Absolute Truths? • Truth is absolute and not relative to belief, knowledge, person, place, or time • If propositions are stated accurately, this will always hold – We may not know which propositions are true or false, but that really has nothing to do with whether propositions really are true or false Copyright © 2012 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

Types of Propositions • Analytic Propositions are truths that are known to be absolute, because we know the definitions and meanings of words – Ex. All triangles have three sides Copyright © 2012 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

Types of Propositions • Internal sense or intern state propositions are propositions we know to be true merely because we have the experience – we alone truly know our own internal states – Ex. I have a headache Copyright © 2012 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

Types of Propositions • Empirical, or external sense, propositions describe a state of affairs that occurs in the external world of which we have evidence through our external senses – There is a controversy in philosophy as to whether such propositions can be known to be true, but my own assumption is that some empirical propositions can be known to be absolutely true Copyright © 2012 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

Types of Propositions • Moral propositions are propositions about morality or those that have moral import – Ex. Human beings should never kill other human beings Copyright © 2012 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

The Emotive Theory • Are moral propositions ever absolutely true, and, further, can any human being know whether they are or not? • Some philosophers state that moral propositions have only emotive or noncognitive meanings; that is, they express only feelings or attitudes Copyright © 2012 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

General Problems with the Emotive Theory • John Hosper – Moral propositions have three aspects: – The purpose or intention of the person who utters moral propositions – The effect the propositions have on their hearers – The actual meaning of the propositions Copyright © 2012 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

Moral Propositions as Types of Empirical Propositions • These are empirical and rational in form • They are found in the larger class of propositions called “empirical” Copyright © 2012 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

Moral Propositions as Types of Empirical Propositions • Differing views: – Moral statements are not propositions at all; they are merely emotive utterances – Moral statements are propositions but cannot be known to be true or false because they are not based on fact Copyright © 2012 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

Moral Propositions as Types of Empirical Propositions • We are still confronted by the problem of matching propositions with the complexity of human thoughts, feelings, and actions; to do this, we must move from the concept of absolutes to that of “near or almost absolutes, ” or “basic principles” Copyright © 2012 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

Moral Propositions as Types of Empirical Propositions • A basic principle, or near or almost absolute, because it is based upon an absolute moral proposition, should be adhered to unless some strong justification can authorize an exception to it Copyright © 2012 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.