Relativism and Morality



Relativism and Morality

Introduction

Relativism is a theory which holds that the judgment criteria are relative. Judgments differ depending on the individuals and the environments they are in. The theory states that no matter what culture a person is from, no matter what place he is from, there are certain things that are considered as wrong all over the world. These things or issues are not accepted by any culture as an act of right doing. Goodman, in 'some moral minima' presented what he believes is universally wrong, and must not be argued to be right. This theory holds that every culture has a right to have their own definitions of what is wrong and what is right, (Goodman, 1983).

In our discussion, we will be focusing on what Goodman considered to be acts of wrong doing, and we will be speaking on the reality of those issues. We will also be giving our justifications for what he believes to be right, is actually right.

Discussion

Goodman clearly states the four areas that are wrong, irrespective of the cultural background. He labels terrorism, genocide; rape and clitoridectomy; polygamy and slavery as those activities that are wrong by any definition. He also states that no matter what, people all over the world will agree on the idea that these four are not right, and under no circumstances are to be justified.

Genocide is when one group of people believes that it is a good act to cleanse out another group. The group feels that it can wipe out the other group for gender, religious or ethnic purposes. It is considered to be worse than murder. Genocide is a deadly act as the killer group will always be looking forward for killing the other group as they feel it as their duty, the group that commits genocide will never be satisfied until and unless it completely destroys every single person of the other group. I agree with this as I, like any other thinking people believe that this act violates the sanctity of the life itself. An example of this is that of the rampage carried out by the Nazis against the Hebrew ethnicity, which was wrong.

Terrorism is also what is considered wrong by any group of people in any part of the world. It is considered as such because it creates fear and causes terror among the poor, the oppressed ...