Ethical relativism refers to lacking absolute moral laws that govern the whole society. Every deed done cannot be judged by one universal moral standard but should be judged according to the norms of that culture. In one culture, it may be right to kill, but in another, killing may be heinous and a sin. These different cultures cannot then form one moral law regarding the murder of people. And that is the basis of ethical relativism. Over the years, there have been arguments of whether relativism is wrong or right, and the answer to this question mainly depends upon a person’s background, religion and culture; hence the answer is also relative. Nonetheless, the main points to both sides provide sufficient knowledge to bring to light the main arguments about this issue. However, it is worth noting that not all practices can be considered relative in the society; hence, ethical relativism is not applicable in all instances.
Ethical relativism denies the existence of absolute moral standards (Slick, 2019). These moral standards may not only come from God as most ethicists argue but are natural and work to advance human society. For instance, if one comes from a culture where racism is permissible, they end up believing it as being morally right. In reality, it leads to infringing the rights of others, making it impossible for people to live together. One cannot reform such a person if they believe ethical relativism is right (Slick, 2019).
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Moreover, ethics is an in-depth inquiry of the correctness or wrongness of an action. Therefore, the underlying principles and beliefs in an action must be carefully considered. Hence it naturally comes out that different cultures have more significant reasons for their beliefs and practices than others (University, 1992). Also, despite the differences that occur in cultural beliefs, some truths cannot be refuted by ethical relativism. For example, the slavery that occurred in the pre-civil war USA was wrong; the treatment of the Jews by the Nazis was heinous and morally wrong. Hence there are acts such as slavery and oppression that can only be judged by absolute moral standards.
However, it is worth noting that different cultures have different practices stemming from different beliefs. For instance, the idea of marriage in western culture has been initially founded on serial monogamy. Therefore if a man gets another woman as a second wife, it might be considered as adultery. On the other hand, Koryak women invite the idea of their husbands marrying other women. They view the concept of denying their husband the chance to love another woman as selfish, and they enjoy the company of a second wife in their homes (Ruggiero, 2011). We can, therefore, conclude that individual moral standards are strictly dependable on culture. The situation is also seen in the case of homosexuality. In western culture, it is not morally acceptable to be homosexual. In some island cultures, however, homosexuals are viewed as being of higher status as they can display affections of both a man and a woman (Ruggiero, 2011).
To sum up, ethical relativism is oblivious of certain fundamental facts about human relations. Certain acts that directly infringe the rights of others to a point of making them hurt cannot be ignored. Justifying criminal activities and torture of other communities in the name of satisfying a cultural belief is wrong. Nonetheless, trivial issues that include local customs such as marriage, dressing and religious practices can be applicable to relativism. Different communities have different beliefs pertaining certain issues. Nonetheless, as long as these issues do not affect the wellbeing of other people they can be applied.
References
Ruggiero, V. (2011). Beyond feelings: A guide to critical thinking . McGraw-Hill Higher Education.
Slick, M. (2019). Ethical Relativism | CARM.org. Retrieved 23 August 2019, from https://carm.org/ethical-relativism
University, S. (1992). Ethical Relativism. Retrieved 23 August 2019, from https://www.scu.edu/ethics/ethics-resources/ethical-decision-making/ethical-relativism/
