Universal Moral Rules example essay topic

How to deal with moral differences. (4 ways) The first way is to believe there are no morally right or wrong viewpoints. The moral issue is just a cultural game and neither your opinions or mine matters. Therefore there is no right or wrong. This view is called moral nihilism. Related to this idea is moral skepticism, which holds that we cant know any moral truths, and moral subjectivism, which holds that moral views are merely inner states in a person and that they cant be compared to the inner states of another person.

However believing in the above solves no problems, if nobody is right and nobody is wrong. The second way is to believe that there is no universal truth, that each culture has its own set of rules that are valid and apply to that culture, they dont interfere with our rules and we dont interfere with theirs, this is called ethical relativism. This belief is viewed as an attitude of tolerance. This belief solves conflicts in the idea that whatever the majority deems to be the moral rule is the rule to follow. The third belief is that deep down in spite of all the cultures differences we call all still agree on a certain moral basics, that people everywhere have basically the same human nature but that we just adapt it into our environment, this idea is called Soft Universalism.

Universalism because it perceives that there are some universal moral rules; soft because it is not as radical as hard universalism. This belief can solve problems because its main goal is to seek common ground beneath the variety of opinions and mores. The fourth belief is called hard universalism, this is the absolute opposite of moral nihilism stating that there is only one universal moral code. This belief solves problems with hard evidence and reason. Problem with Ethical Relativism: (1) No Criticism or Praise of Other Cultures, we need to criticize or praise other cultures morals to maintain our own moral integrity. (2) Majority Rule, the idea of the majority always being right is just not rational.

(3) Professed or Actual Morality this is the idea that a certain kind of behavior is normal, but what is normal for example when a group was asked about infidelity the majority was against it but when the same group was asked if they had committed it, the majority had. (4) What is a Majority In the instance of euthanasia if a law is passed tomorrow the majority would think it was morally right, however just a week ago it was morally wrong, and maybe in a year it will be considered wrong again by the majority. Therefore the majority is in a way inconsistent. (5) What is a Culture there is nothing that determines what a culture is if we dont know what the norm is within a culture if we dont even know what the culture is. (6) Can Tolerance Be a Universal Value If all values are culture- relative then tolerance is also culture- relative, therefore just because tolerance is good for us what makes it good for other cultures.

Three Universal Values 1) A policy of caring for enough infants to ensure the continuation of the group. 2) A rule against lying. 3) A rule against murder..