Morality Is Relative Essay, Research Paper
James Rachels’ article, “Morality is Not Relative,” is incorrect, he provides arguments that cannot logically be applied or have no bearing on the statement of contention. His argument, seems to favor some of the ideas set forth in cultural relativism, but he has issues with other parts that make cultural relativism what it is.
The first mistake is in his comparison following the example of there being different moral codes. In outlining and explaining the cultural differences argument, he gives an example that he began the article with regarding the Callatians and the Greeks, and their differences in funerary practices. Rachels asks that “from the mere fact that they disagreed, that there is no objective truth in the matter?” His answer is that “no,” and that the answer one could derive is that one of those beliefs is altogether incorrect and wrong. Here Rachels’ statement seems to negate that which he wants to negate but it is through manipulation of the parties involved and the adding of “facts’ that aren’t there. These two cultures in his example to not disagree about anything, there are simply two different ways they deal with death. Because they are different, doesn’t necessarily imply there is any disagreement. So my answer is yes, this example does mean that there is no objective truth, because we cannot say that their practice (Greeks vs. the Callatians) is incorrect or immoral as much as they can say our practices are immoral. To label a culture’s belief in certain practices as possibly being “mistaken,” doesn’t sound very openminded in any way at all.
The next example Rachels uses to make his point clearer, is that in certain societies, because they believe that the earth is flat, and factually the earth is not, by default the those that believe that it is flat are wrong. By itself this argument makes sense, and I would agree, but in how Rachels applies it, it doesn’t make sense. He is comparing and trying to relate two things so dissimilar that it boggles the mind to think of comparing them in the first place. To begin with, Rachels seems to be implying that since, one is obviously wrong and that we have factual evidence to the contrary, that is what makes them wrong. That works, but when it’s applied to something like morality and ethics like he is trying to do, it makes no sense. Since when and where has there ever been a fact based moral code? Who says morally what is correct and what is not within society or for that matter for the good of humankind? Reading further, he states that the whole point is that the original conclusion does not follow from the premise laid forth by the cultural relativists. This is true based on what he gives in the second example, but his example is construed in order to get such results. Next Rachels goes on to further try and prove cultural relativism has some problems. In the next section, he evaluates the seriousness of the cultural relativist and what that exactly entails. Looking at the consequences, he says that we, as cultural relativists, would have to condone the actions of another culture as not being less inferior. There is no problem there. Where the problem begins is when he brings up slavery and genocide, things that are considered immoral to our society in particular. On a personal note, I do not wish to downplay any of these things in our history, I am looking at this through my point of view and that is all. Genocide and slavery are pretty immoral to me personally, but if condoning it means that we wouldn’t push our own beliefs on another then so be It. It’s evil but a necessary means. This example he gives is an extreme, brought on by events in the world’s past history, again Rachels uses those constructions of our own moral code to judge that to do such things is wrong. I know Rachels didn’t necessarily say there was or wasn’t a objective truth, but here he suggests that there is one, at least in this context regarding genocide and slavery.
The objections I have to Rachels’ argument against morality being relative are pretty much limited to the way he applies his examples. He applies them in a way to win the support of the reader, but looking further into them, they don’t seem to be accurately applied or in some cases even seem hypocritical to those ideas of cultural relativism that he does support. There are some glaring problems I have with Rachels’ argument, otherwise he does bring up some good points about what he thinks is right regarding cultural relativism, and several of those examples that he does use are illustrated in a way to be understood by someone as simple as myself.
1.”Morality is Not Relative,” by James Rachels, edited by Louis Pojman, collected in Philosophy: The Quest for Truth. Wadsworth Publishing 1999.
Другие работы по теме:
The Endless Quest For The Universalization Of
Morality Essay, Research Paper The Endless Quest for the Universalization of Morality Throughout history, philosophers have been preoccupied with the notion of a universal “right” and “wrong”. Philosophers want to have a sort of morality measuring stick that would enable them to judge a person’s decision as being morally right or wrong, independent of the situation and circumstances that led to that decision.
Vietnam Essay Research Paper Harold
Vietnam Essay, Research Paper Harold “Light Bulb” Bryant’s portrayals of life in the Vietnam War offend the human race. Not so much the actions Bryant displayed, but the demeanor of the U.S. armed forces. Through Bryant’s stories one comes to the conclusion that war made these people completely mad, and lost every bit of morality.
James Watt Essay Research Paper James Watt
James Watt Essay, Research Paper James Watt was born February 19, 1736 and died on August 19, 1889. As a child he was often sick. This kept James out of school. His mother had to teach
James Clerk Maxwell Essay Research Paper IntroductionHave
James Clerk Maxwell Essay, Research Paper Introduction Have you ever left a football outside? If you have you probably noticed it got smaller. And when you took it inside and set it next to a furnace or a vent blowing hot air, the ball tends to get a little bigger. This process can be best described by the Kinetic Molecular theory.
Is Morality Relative
? – Benedict And Rachels Essay, Research Paper Is morality relative? Ruth Benedict and James Rachels have opposing views on this conroversial question. Benedict, “a foremost American anthropologist who taught at Columbia University” (Pojman 370) believes that morality is relative to one’s culture and that one’s behavior which is deemed moral or immoral is dependent upon cultural norms.
Catholic Morality Essay Research Paper Morality can
Catholic Morality Essay, Research Paper Morality can be defined as being able to be good in character or conduct; virtuous according to civilized standards of right or wrong; each person has their own ?moral standards? which they consider to be right. The Catholic Church also has a version of what being moral entails.
Archetyple Heros Essay Research Paper In literature
Archetyple Heros Essay, Research Paper In literature, the term archetype refers to a pattern or model of an action, a character type, or an image that recurs enough in life and literature to be considered universal. Medival heroes and modern ones share many characteristics; however, their approaches to dangers are quite different.
King James Essay Research Paper Chapter Two
King James Essay, Research Paper Chapter Two of William James’s Pragmatism called “What Pragmatism Means” begins with the famous metaphysical question: Does the man go round the squirrel or not? What he means by this is if a man walks around a tree in a full circle, and a squirrel is one of the tree branches, how come it never occurs to the man to say that he not only walked around the tree, but the squirrel as well?
Civil War Essay Research Paper Fatoorechi ShivaPer
Civil War Essay, Research Paper Fatoorechi, Shiva Per. 5 H. History 11-10-99 The Civil War leads to the Glorious Revolution The civil war lasted from 1642 to 1649. Directly after the civil war came the
James Bartlett Essay Research Paper James Bartlett1240
James Bartlett Essay, Research Paper James Bartlett 1240 NW 175 terr Miami, Fl 33169 305 621 4377 Ms. Latcna My pouch was taken, at the Winn Dixie store. At that time I called First Union to tell them about it, I talked to a lady in the fraud division. She called the bank that I use and, I was told not to change the account.
James Bond Essay Research Paper James Bond
James Bond Essay, Research Paper James Bond Phenomenon James Bond has gone through a lot of changes in the years with 19 films. James Bond has been played by Sean Connery, Roger Moore, Timothy Dalton, George Lazneby, to Pierce Bronsman. All being great James Bond characters. The best of them being Sean Connery, why? I don’t know why, he has always just been a better actor in every movie he has been in.
Morality Does Need Religion Essay Research Paper
Morality Does Need Religion In his essay, C. Stephen Layman clashes two views of morality: that of the secular point of view and the religious point of view. Layman starts out by defining the two different stances. The secular point of view states that there is no after life and that morality was an emergent phenomenon.
William James Essay Research Paper William James
William James Essay, Research Paper William James, in the first lecture of his work the varieties of religious experiences analyzes the origins of religious phenomena. The theory mostly debated among others is that of medical materialism.
Revolutions Essay Research Paper One of the
Revolutions Essay, Research Paper One of the six revolutions that I have studied independently is the Glorious Revolution. The Glorious Revolution took place in England during 1688 to 1689. James II and the Catholic
Turn Of The Screw Is An Allego
Essay, Research Paper The Turn of the Screw Henry James The Turn of the Screw is an incredibly complicated and hard to understand story; it hints at much, but explains little. The fact that the story is open to so many interpretations is, in some ways, the point of the story. The Turn of the Screw is a classic example of the Gothic novel, which depends on a sound concept of evil.
Burdens Of Poverty Essay Research Paper Burdens
Burdens Of Poverty Essay, Research Paper Burdens of Poverty In the short story ?The Sky is Gray?, Ernest J. Gaines shows the struggles, inflicted by poverty, in an eight-year-old boys life. This poor, Negro boy, James, lives with his mother and five other relatives while his father is away. The fact that his father is gone to war, his mother is a very proud woman, and James? not wanting to be a financial burden on his mother, all take a toll in making James? life tougher.
James Moody Essay Research Paper James Moody
James Moody Essay, Research Paper James Moody is a world-renowned saxophone player. He has played with many famous musicians, such as: Dizzy Gillespie and Miles Davis. In this past concert he played with Tim Jenkins on piano, Dwayne Dolphin on bass, and Roger Humphries on drums. This jazz band was the best I have ever seen.
What Does It Mean To Be Moral
Essay, Research Paper What does it mean to be moral? Our morality is used every day in every situation and decision we make. Morality is very much a part of who you are. To be a person who is moral you know what is right and wrong on your own.
Nietzsche Essay Research Paper The Morality of
Nietzsche Essay, Research Paper The Morality of Passions by Nietzsche presents a view of man s relationship with passion contrary to the tradition and thought of major religion and proclaimed moral gurus. His main criticism of the way the church deals with passion is that it does not suggest spiritualizing the feelings that we all have approaching them as beautiful and good, but makes a thoughtless and quick judgement immediately.
Errors Essay Research Paper Absolute Errors Since
Errors Essay, Research Paper Absolute Errors Since no measurement is exact, there will always be the possibility of an error. Numbers are often rounded off to a certain number of significant figures or
Rumble Fish Essay Research Paper SummaryRumble fish
Rumble Fish Essay, Research Paper Summary Rumble fish is a narrative story where a boy named Russell-James meets up with his old friend Steve and remembers the past. It all started with Russell-James (Rusty-James was his nickname) saw his old friend Steve. They talked for a while when Russell-James is reminded about the knife fight he had 5 years ago because of his reunion with Steve. {Flashback} His story started out with him being told that he would be killed in the yard behind the ally by Biff in the late afternoon.
Plato Vs Nietzche- The Nature Of
Good Essay, Research Paper Plato Vs. Nietzsche: The Nature of Good Plato and Nietzsche have opposing views on the nature of good. Plato, as demonstrated in the “The Cave” and “Apology,” believes that Good is absolute. This means that he is of the opinion that there is one perfect version of Good for all people, whether they are rich or poor, powerful or weak.
RL Stine Essay Research Paper splashing in
R.L. Stine Essay, Research Paper splashing in the water. The climax is showdown between James and Christina on the cliff. Christina had James cornered, and then suddenly Terri appears and flicks Christina down off the cliff and into the pool soon to become fish food.
Sky Is Gray Story Essay Research Paper
The story The Sky is Gray was a very interesting and somewhat sad story for me to read. I was very interseted in James and his plight as a young colored boy in the south. I was very impressed with the courage and fortitude in young James.
Morality Essay Research Paper Morality is the
Morality Essay, Research Paper Morality is the cooperation of the part to the whole in order to instill conformity in everyone. How does society place morality on people? One of the major methods is through religion. Using the Devil as a catharsis, the single-shared belief in some type of God brings people together in conformity, ethically.
Nick Vs Tom Essay Research Paper NICK
Nick Vs. Tom Essay, Research Paper NICK vs. TOM There are numerous types of people in this world. Apart from physical features, it is the characteristics of a person that makes him/her unique. Nick Carraway the narrator of The Great Gatsby has characteristics, which are the total opposite of those of Tom Buchanan, his cousin-in-law.
Rumble Fish Essay Research Paper Rumble Fish
Rumble Fish Essay, Research Paper Rumble Fish by S.E. Hinton Rumble Fish, by S.E. Hinton is the sequel to The Outsiders. The characters names are different, but it is still taken place in the same time period. In the story Rumble Fish, Rusty James is a greaser who has a lot of fights in and out of school. He meets up with the Motorcycle Boy and whenever Rusty is in a big situation or fight, the Motorcycle Boy always helps him out.
Henry James Essay Research Paper Asesyan 1Son
Henry James Essay, Research Paper Asesyan 1 Son of the religious philosopher henry James, Sr., and brother of the psychologist and philosopher William, Henry James was born in New York City, April 15, 1843. His early life was spent in America; on and off he was taken to Europe, especially during the impressionable years from twelve to seventeen.
Spanking Essay Research Paper In western society
Spanking Essay, Research Paper In western society, spanking is often not seen as a suitable way to discipline youth. In fact, spanking is a good way to discipline by helping to build self-awareness and morality, it is beneficial to
The Great Gatsby Morality And Gatsby Essay
, Research Paper The Great Gatsby: Morality and Gatsby Morality is a very controversial issue. That is one of the reasons what people are interested in reading about it. Morality can lead to many questions
The Last Of The Mohicans By James
Fenimore Cooper (1789 – 1851) Essay, Research Paper Shortly after the birth of James Fenimore Cooper, his father came into possession of a vast tract of land around