Moral delema-Revalitism

Moral delema-Revalitism

Introduction

In America, nobody cares how you cross your legs when speaking to another person, but in the Middle East, it is a sign of great disrespect to point the sole of your shoe towards another. This is a tame example of relativism, the idea that each culture is different, and what may be “wrong” or unacceptable in one culture is not considered to be so in another. Lenn Goodman believes that despite relativism, there are certain acts that are, in fact, “wrong” no matter which culture looks at them. He puts his views forward in “Some Moral Minima,” stating that genocide, terrorism, and rape, to name a few, are specific examples of immoral acts. In this way, what he is talking about are human universals (Goodman, 2010). Universals are common traits in all humanity, such as kinship systems, myths, wariness or fear of snakes, and incest. In this context, relativism still exists, but these are constant through all human cultures. In regard to Goodman's specific claims, each of the examples would need to be looked at to determine if they truly are universals, or if relativism and ethnocentrism color his views. Specifically, are genocide, terrorism, polygamy, and clitoridectomy ever “right” in any culture? If they can be shown in any culture to be moral, the issue is subject to relativism, whereas if it cannot, it may be said to be a universal taboo.

Discussion

First to be discussed is genocide, the act of mass murdering people based on a specific trait, whether race, religion, or lifestyle. Initial emotivist response to genocide is definitely negative for most, but if it was negative for all, it would not exist. Take, for example, the tiny island of Tikopia. The Tikopia have continuously inhabited their tiny island for over three thousand years (Diamond, 2011). During ...