Lec 4

Ethics in the news…

 “Morality differs in every society, and is a convenient term for socially approved habits.” Ruth Benedict

Protagoras: Moral Skeptic  "Man is the measure of all things: of the things which are, that they are, and of the things which are not, that they are not"

The main points of Protagoras’ moral skepticism: 1. There is no ultimate moral truth 2. Our individual moral views are equally true 3. The practical benefit of our moral values is more important than their truth 4. The practical benefit of moral values is a function of social custom rather than nature

The White Man’s Burden...  1899

The White Man’s Burden...  1890s

Franz Boas...  “...laid the groundwork for cultural relativism, which requires that a culture be understood on its own terms, without a hierarchy ranking some cultures as better or more advanced than others.”

William Graham Sumner’s Question:  What are standards, codes, and ideas of chastity, decency, propriety, modesty, etc., and whence do they arise?

William Graham Sumner’s Answer:  The ethnographical facts contain the answer to this question.... "Immoral" never means anything but contrary to the mores of the time and place. Therefore the mores and the morality may move together, and there is no permanent or universal standard by which right and truth in regard to these matters can be established and different folkways compared and criticised.

Relativism has attractions:  Fosters respect for ‘others’...  Massages our image of ourselves as tolerant and accepting...  Precludes our having to explain ourselves...  Avoids the hard work of wrestling with moral issues...

Beware:  If the relativist is right...then toleration is just another value... which is relative like any other.

King Darius of Persia Herodotus

Religion....

King Darius of Persia Herodotus

Extreme Moral Relativism:  It’s always wrong to make moral judgements….

Argument:  It’s wrong to make moral judgments  But...“It’s wrong to make moral judgments” is a moral judgment  Therefore, if it is wrong to make moral judgments it cannot be the case that it is wrong to make moral judgments

Argument:  If it is wrong to make moral judgments, then ‘it’s wrong to make moral judgments’ is not true.  It’s wrong to make moral judgments  Therefore, “it’s wrong to make moral judgments’ is not true.

Argument:  If A, then B  A  Therefore, B

 Relativism asserts that no ethical rules originate outside of cultures and individuals...

The Dinka of Sudan...

Absolutism...  The idea that there is a moral code that binds all people for all time...often associated with a deity.

Absolutism...  The idea that there is a moral code that binds all people for all time...often associated with a deity.

Absolutism...  The idea that there is a moral code that binds all people for all time...often associated with a deity...but interpreted by humans...

 Relativism is easier...

 Relativism is safer...

 Relativism is easier...  Relativism is safer...  But it has its down side...

Rachels, Page  Nazi army in Poland example...

Rachels 2.4  Consequences of taking cultural relativism seriously...  1)  2)  3)

Rachels 2.5  Why there is less disagreement than it seems...

Rachels 2.6  Some values are shared by all cultures...

Rachels 2.7  Judging a cultural practice to be undesirable...

Rachels, p. 26  Why, despite all this, thoughtful people may be reluctant to criticize other cultures...  1.  2.  3.

 What can be learned from cultural relativism?...  “Whether there be any such moral principles, wherein all men do agree, I appeal to any who have been but moderately conversant in the history of mankind, and looked abroad beyond the smoke of their own chimneys.”

Rachels 2.8 Back to the five claims (page 16)  1.  2.  3.  4.  5.

Rachels 2.9 What we can learn from cultural relativism

Teddy Bear Teacher...  Dec. 4, 2007  LIVERPOOL, England - A British teacher returned to her northern English hometown Tuesday after being pardoned in Sudan for insulting Islam by allowing her students to name a teddy bear Muhammad.

Honour Killings...  Montreal...on trial in Oct  A Canadian man has been charged with murdering his own daughter, and her friends say the two clashed over her refusal to wear a Muslim head scarf. Police have not commented on a motive.  Aqsa Parvez, 16, of Mississauga, Ontario, was rushed to hospital in critical condition Monday after a man made an emergency call in which he claimed to have killed his daughter, police said. She died late Monday night.

Kingston honour killing?

Roman Polanski...  Drugged and sexually assaulted a 13 year-old girl in 1977  Stood trial and pleaded guilty but fled the country before sentencing  Arrested in Switzerland this week

Attendance Question: Oct 5  One of the consequences outlined by Rachels as following from Cultural Relativism is that the idea of moral progress is called into doubt. He uses Feminism as an example of where we can say that, yes, today is better than yesterday. What kind of moral progress would you like to see in the next ten years?