Download Ethical Theories

Value Theory
Ethics:
moral goodness, obligations,
principles, justification; why be moral?
Social-Political Philosophy: justice,
rights, responsibilities, the state, law
Aesthetics: art, beauty
Meaning of life
Cultural Relativism:
Moral values are relative to one’s culture
There
are no universally held values
– Objection: this is simply false; universal
values are interpreted differently
Ethical Absolutism: one set of moral
values applies to all people and cultures
Relative vs. absolute
Subjective vs. objective
Ethical relativism:
no set of values ought to be applied to all
Objections:
(Naturalistic Fallacy)
• The existence of moral differences does not
justify them (“is does not imply ought”)
• If a culture’s values were always “right,” there
could be no moral development or progress
• We would have to tolerate even cruel cultures
• It is difficult to define the boundaries of which
culture or subculture a person’s acts reflect