Moral Relativism, By James Rachels

In the book, “The Element of Moral Philosophy”, James Rachels explores the several criticisms of Utilitarianism. In this essay, I will touch on these criticisms, outlining the major implications they propose to Utilitarianism. I will also explain why many of the notions proposed against Utilitarianism are self-serving, and instead serve to improve the general good of a minority population, which contradicts the Utilitarian theory of equating moral aptitude to the general good of a majority population…

Introduction Cultural relativism is a certain perspective, which was adopted by the anthropologists in the course of the early years of 1900’s. Cultural relativism basically states that every culture is equal to any other culture and all cultures are legitimate expressions of the human spirit. In accordance to the specifications of cultural relativism, people are expected to attempt to gain an understanding of the other culture by basically viewing them through their individual “cultural lens”…

Relativism, defined by Rachel’s is the differentiation of cultural codes among societies, in respect to morality. Insofar the problem that is faced is whether or not there is a universal moral code all people can abide too? In explaining Rachel’s and Williams standpoint on Relativism and what they argue for, I on the other hand, will argue for relativism, in using some of Rachel’s views, in rejecting Williams conclusion of relativism. For Williams perceives no one outside of a society should impend…

There are two different branches of moral realism. One, moral absolutism which means that in any situation a person is in, no matter the circumstances their morals stay the same every single time. Two, moral pluralism and this can be described as a person having all of their moral values. In addition to, abiding by their moral values, they also have to abide by their moral guidelines. This can be hard because at times they can conflict, but if any situation where you have to provide yourself with…

The definition of moral relativism is that the moral judgments of true or false is relative based on many factors and there is no universal moral judgment is absolutely right or wrong. In this paper, I want to argue for moral relativism. In my opinion, there is no objective morality that all morality is made of people’s opinion, which influenced by different culture, time, and all the factors around individuals. Different society has different moral codes because of their diverse culture, which influence…

In “The Challenge of Cultural Relativism”, James Rachels presents six claims that have been made by cultural relativists. One of the six claims that Rachels presents in section 2.2 of the article is that different societies have different moral codes. I believe that Rachels thinks this claim is true. Section 2.1 of the article does a good job at explaining this idea. In this section, Rachels gives several examples of the differences that can be found in moral codes of different people groups throughout…

against moral relativism as the correct way to judge human morality. There are several issues with moral relativism, and I will focus on why moral relativism’s argument is false and also consider the implications of accepting relativism. I will propose an alternative framework for making moral judgments about right and wrong and consider relativist objections. Philosophers often vary in their usage of moral relativism, so, for the purpose of this paper, I will be considering moral relativism to be…

September 2015 First Exam 1.) The theory of cultural moral relativism is based on the beliefs that it is arrogant to judge the moral codes of other cultures and that people should be tolerant towards the practices of other cultures (Rachels 19). By holding these beliefs, the theory implies that all cultures are equal and should be treated as such. Cultural moral relativism is also based on the idea that there is no universal truth in ethics (Rachels 18). If a certain standard exists in a society, that…

Tutor: Date of Submission: Moral Relativism vs. Moral Absolutism Moral relativism and moral absolutism have attracted a lot of philosophical, scientific and religious debate since the early years of civilization. As Ruth Benedict writes, moral relativism is “is culturally defined,” and what ought to be a good act in one place may be the wrong in another place and vice versa. Therefore, moral relativism attempts to challenge the belief or doctrine that there is a common moral law that applies to the…

“The Challenge of Cultural Relativism, “James Rachels describes cultural relativism, the concept that all cultures have different moral codes and that there is no true moral code, and he also provides six claims that are related to cultural relativism, in which some of these he believes are true and the rest false. One of the main objections Rachel’s makes is against the claim of cultural relativism that states that right and wrong come directly from culture. In Rachels eyes this statement means…