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If We Assume That Our Ethical Ideas Will Be Shared by All Peoples at All Time, We Are Merely Naïve

The document discusses cultural relativism and how there is no universal moral truth, as different cultures have different ethical codes. It challenges the idea that one's own moral code has a special status and is instead just one among many cultural codes. It also discusses how this means societies can no longer say other cultures are morally inferior or criticize less benign customs of other societies.

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37 views9 pages

If We Assume That Our Ethical Ideas Will Be Shared by All Peoples at All Time, We Are Merely Naïve

The document discusses cultural relativism and how there is no universal moral truth, as different cultures have different ethical codes. It challenges the idea that one's own moral code has a special status and is instead just one among many cultural codes. It also discusses how this means societies can no longer say other cultures are morally inferior or criticize less benign customs of other societies.

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If we assume that our ethical ideas will be shared by all peoples at all time, we are merely naïve.

Cultural relativism challenges our ordinary belief in the objectivity and universality of moral truth. IN
effect, there is no universal truth in ethics; there are only various cultural codes.

Our own code has no special status. It is merely one among many.
There is no reason to think that if there is moral truth everyone must know it.

The conclusion does not follow from the premise.

There is no measure of right and wrong other than the standards of society – William Graham Summer

1. We could no longer say that the customs of other societies are morally inferior to our own.
- Stop condemning other societies merely because they are different.
- Stop from criticizing other less benign practices
o Slavery
2. We could decide whether actions are right or wrong just by consulting the standards of our
society
- It stops us from criticizing our own society code
3. The idea of moral progress is called into doubt

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