Is It All a Matter of Opinion? Relativism versus Objectivism MS IN ETHICS: A CRI

Question

Is It All a Matter of Opinion? Relativism versus Objectivism MS IN ETHICS: A CRITIQUE OF RELATIVISM permeate West- em thinking in the late nineteenth century. At that time non euclidian geometry had begun to challenge the classical view “that all knowledge was unitary. If one found a kind of certainty in geometry Historians of science tell us that relativism began to Rela For is try then one could ology, in d hope for the same kind of certainty in physics, in bi ethics, or in religion. In conjunction with non- For s ous a likes he new so- ciology and anthropology made it possible by 1900 for William Gr ham Sumner to state categorically that there is no natural law: there are no natural rights, and there is nothing a priori. The only naturel right is the right to survival."2 The term "natural rights" was the tem tes such annil used for many years as an equivalent for "human rights," and natu when ting these two notions, him the relativist was rejecting any sort of objectivity in ethics. And if ethics cannot be regarded as, in some sense, "objective," then, in the words of Martin Luther King, Jr., there is no moral high ground. my most ularv As a consequence of this assault, relativism has become so preva yond lent in our day that it is not restricted to ethics or morality. It has rently worked its way into our everyday thought and appears in a variety Mari of guises. As Nancy L. Gifford tells us: Naive relativism is certainly alive and well in the idioms of our or his own," "everyone is entitled to his own opinion," "when in whatever feels good," to cite but a few examples We use dinary language. "True for you, true for me" is echoed in to cach Rome do as the Romans do" "different strokes for different folks," and these id it

Explanation / Answer

Relqtivism is one of the more prevalent topics as discussed in out day, and extends beyond morality and ethics. Another important concept is ethical relativism, as the concept covers more than one dimension in order to decide what is correct and what is wrong. In ethics,relativism plays a major role, as it has been present in the cultures that judgments of values and ethical judgements are relative. Ethical reasoning can take us out from bad situations and help many of the problems that would be confronted in the complicated world so as to take a person on a higher moral ground. The issue that surrounds ethical claims is about the fact that whether judgements should be about the subject or about the events that take place in the world, without affecting the subject or the culture. Whether making a judgment on the basis of a relative stance or a non relative stance, would depend on the reasons that are present in a claim in each case. According to cultural relativists, reasons might or might not support a claim, which may or may not expression of the feelings of a person about the events in question.

According to a subjectivist value judgements might be both correct or false, depending on their culture. But the philosopher’s perspective says that relativism may end discussions or the correct or incorrect even before the start. For the objectivist, value judgments may not be false and true at the same time, they may either be true or either be false, or reasons, that would still be determined. Differences between relativism and objectivism is that only hearing or listening the claims cannot be used to judge the claims.

In ethical reasoning, philosophies of Immanuel Kant laid guides for ethical judgements, such that judgements would be acceptable for a person who would consider them critically and sincerely.

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