Ethical Relativism Strengths And Weaknesses Essay

The Strength and Vulnerability of Different Moral Views

Over centuries of fervent discussion in the moral world, there is still nothing like a consensus on a set of moral views. This essay attempts to outline and critically evaluate two moral views, namely ethical objectivism and cultural relativism. It is crucial to understand that both moral theories cannot be true at the same time as it results in contradictions, contributing to false beliefs. Additionally, it is essential that we discuss these issues with an open-mind so as to gain deeper insights from them.
First and foremost, we will be looking at the prominent view of ethical objectivism. “Ethical objectivism is the meta-ethical view that there is at least one objective moral standard and that some

In general, on a popular argument for ethical relativism would be the untenability of objectivism. It is a persuasive justification for moral relativism because it is the best alternative following the failure of objectivism. The fact that moral objectivists themselves are uncertain, incongruent and unsettled on a standard moral system is the primary catalyst encouraging moral skepticism (IEP, Argument for Moral Relativism).

Cultural relativism outlines that “an action is morally right, relative to a culture, just because it is right according to the moral code which is generally accepted in that culture.” Conversely, if “an action is morally wrong, relative to a culture, just because it is wrong according to the moral code which is generally accepted in that culture.” (Luco, Week 3 Notes, p.9)
Cultural Relativism is simply a combination of the following three theses:
1. The only criterion of moral truth or falsehood is the moral code of a cultural group.
2. A moral claim is true, relative to a culture’s moral code, if and only if the claim is generally accepted within that cultural