Absolutism and Relativism
Quick revise
Absolutism
Absolutism is making normative ethical decisions based on objective rules. It maintains that
some things are always right and some things are always wrong. They are fixed for all time,
places and people.
A common example of Absolutism is Kantian Ethics.
Advantages of Absolutism
It allows moral rules to be evaluated critically.
It is fair as people are treated the same as the rules are the same for everyone.
If a moral rule is right, then there would be no need to have different rules for different
people because the absolute rules are universal.
Disadvantages of Absolutism
Sometimes it is not appropriate to treat people the same due to circumstances that
arise due to situations.
Life is not simply 'black and white' and as this is the case, it is simply not right to make
everyone live by the same rules.
Relativism
Relativism says that nothing is intrinsically right or wrong.
It is popular in the present day because there is a belief that everyone should be tolerant
towards others' beliefs and views; this idea for freedom of speech implies that there are no
‘real’ absolute truths.
Some believe that all human circumstances are different and therefore there is a need to have
different moral rules for people.
Cultural Relativism
says that different countries - or even areas within a country - have different values, for
example, Muslims expect women to cover up (at least some of) their bodies.
It affirms the idea 'when in Rome do as the Romans do'.
It allows there to be variety in different cultures.
However, as there are no overriding standard to compare cultures to, noone can say
that one culture is better than another because of what they believe - this could be
either an advantage or a disadvantage.
Moral truths are no more than subjective feelings about behaviour which can therefore
never achieve the status of fact as they are the result of ways of life and opinions
which vary from culture to culture or person to person depending on circumstances.
Historical Relativism
This says that what was right one hundred years ago may not be right in the present
day because times and society have moved on.
100 years ago, women did not have the vote but due to changing opinions in society
they now do and hold principal positions in parliament, etc.
Society also accepts the need to change sets of rules which used to be sufficient in
previous times.
Advantages of Relativism
It allows for the diversity that is present in the world.
It understands that life is not black and white.
Cultures may believe that their practices are more justifiable than other cultural
practices, but by using a relativist approach, this will allow for acceptance between
different peoples.
Disadvantages of Relativism
Just because there are different moral views, it doesn’t necessarily mean that they are
all of equal value. For example, the Nazis believed that they were right to kill
millions of Jews, homosexuals and disabled people: surely it would be wrong to say
that this had the same worth as other moral views. Cultural Relativists would not be
able to criticise the Nazis as they believe that all cultures have views of equal worth.
Cultural Relativism also ultimately reduces the meaning of what is ‘good’ to ‘what is
socially acceptable’. For example if a culture allows wife-beating, then cultural
relativism would also have to say that wife-beating is morally acceptable.
It may be more difficult to decide when the rules need changing in different
circumstances.
Absolutism versus Relativism
Ethical Absolutists can condemn practices such as the Nazi persecution of the Jews because
Absolutist views give definite guidelines as to what is right and wrong.
Relativism can take into account the reasons why something happens. Absolutists would have
to condemn a mother who steals food for her starving children because in their eyes all
stealing is wrong, whereas Relativists can say stealing is wrong usually but as the mother
needed to feed her children, what she did was right and should therefore not be condemned.
Absolutists can appear to be intolerant to views of others, for example, if they are against
cruelty of animals, they would be against the Islamic practice of sacrificing lambs, but
Relativists would be able to see the religious significance and the importance of that practice
to the Islamic community and will therefore not condemn it.
Absolutism and relativism are two concepts that are associated with many terms
although there is a key difference between these two words. Absolutism
approaches things in an objective manner and considers an action as right or
wrong. In this sense, there is no middle ground. An action can be either right if not
wrong. On the other hand, relativism rejects this stance of objective analysis
and elaborates that human actions cannot be put into rigid categories as right
or wrong. Instead, relativism highlights that the action is always relative hence,
what might appear right to me is based on my point of view, context, and
experience. This can differ from person to person. This article attempts to give a
comprehensive understanding of absolutism and relativism highlighting the
differences that each stance has. However it must be stressed that when we use
these concepts, they can be used within various fields such as ethics, morality,
politics, etc. The article uses a holistic approach.
What is Absolutism?
Absolutism approaches things in an objective manner and considers an action as
right or wrong. According to this principle, the context in which an action takes place
is given very little significance. The focus is only on the action. Based on this, it is
considered as right or wrong (even good or evil). Even if the conditions in which the
action occurs are harsh, this is disregarded.
To clarify this further, let us use a branch of absolutism known as moral
absolutism. According to moral absolutism, all moral questions have a right or
wrong answer. The context is not considered as important, making the actions
inherently moral or immoral. One of the key features of absolutism is that it
disregards the individual’s or group’s intentions, beliefs, or goals. This is why
throughout history absolutism is favored even by legal systems as it is easier to
uphold the laws when there is a rigid right or wrong answer. This can be noticed in
most religions as well.
What is Relativism?
Relativism rejects the objective analysis of actions and elaborates that human
actions cannot be put into rigid categories as right or wrong. Relativism stresses the
importance of the context in which an action takes place and pays attention to the
intentions, beliefs, and goals of the individual or the group. This is why it can be
stated that the approach is not excessively objective.
If we focus on moral relativism to engage in a comparison with absolute relativism,
one of the key differences is that it does not dictate any universal moral truths, but
recognizes the relative nature of circumstances (cultural, individual, social).
What is the difference between Absolutism and
Relativism?
Definitions of Absolutism and Relativism:
Absolutism: Absolutism approaches things in an objective manner and considers
an action as right or wrong.
Relativism: Relativism rejects the objective analysis of actions and elaborates that
human actions cannot be put into rigid categories as right or wrong.
Characteristics of Absolutism and Relativism:
Context:
Absolutism: In absolutism, the context is ignored.
Relativism: In relativism, the context is recognized.
Objectivity:
Absolutism: Absolutism is very objective.
Relativism: Relative does not have a very objective approach.
Rigidity:
Absolutism: Absolutism consists of rigid right or wrong answers.
Relativism: Relativism does not consist of rigid right or wrong answers.
