Write a concise essay that refutes moral relativism and defends objective morals. Give clear examples.
Life and death decisions are taken every day in courtrooms around the world over our concepts of right and wrong. Most people perceive something is right or wrong as a “gut feeling” but when asked to explain the origin of morality they often appeal to personal experience, society, or simply fail to provide a logical basis for their moral system. Morality then is understood as a human construct, relative to persons, and subject to change. This is commonly called moral relativism.
But if morality is to be grounded in society or individuals, then it becomes impossible to condemn, for example, the passing of the Nuremberg Laws that stripped Jews of citizenship and gave them the status of “subjects”; the submission of Jews—children,
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Let us analyze a few options that have been offered to explain the origin of morality:
1. - Morality is defined as that which assists the flourishing of society. If this is the case, then the advancement of human evolution trough the survival of the fittest would be the ultimate benefit to society. This ideology—supported by social Darwinism—is at home with the proceedings of the second and third Reich and can be used to justify genocide through the systematic elimination of the weakest and less privileged members of society; a sort of man-made “power boost” to natural selection.
2. – Morality is defined by the individual. But here, again, morality is simply reduced to a matter of opinion and any disagreement is to be settled by a majority. This method is also inadequate to determine if the atrocities of Nazi Germany where immoral for Hitler’s opinion would be as valid as any other. After all, he had the support of the majority of German citizens and German