Cultural Relativism and Subjectivism in Ethics

1. Cultural Relativism and Subjectivism in Ethics

2. Charles Taylor’s 3 Questions of Ethical Theory • Charles Taylor is one of Canada’s most influential contemporary philosophers • He suggests that all theories of ethics must provide answers to 3 basic, but fundamentally distinct questions: • What do I owe others? • In what consists my own dignity? • Why be moral?

3. “Tradition” • http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gRdfX7ut8gw

4. Relativism • What do I owe others? • Whatever your culture expects from you in terms of laws and customs of “right” behavior • In what consists my own dignity? • Emulating the models of behavior presented by the major conveyors of culture in your society • Why be moral? • No one can avoid the process of “enculturation”

5. Main Arguments for Cultural Relativism • Cultural Differences Argument • Different cultures have different moral codes, therefore, there is no objective “truth” in morality. • Supports Tolerance • It is arrogant (even imperialistic) for us to judge other cultures. The moral code of our own society has no special status; it is but one among many • Supports Cultural Humility • There is no objective standard that can be used to judge one society’s code as better than another’s

6. Main Objections To Cultural Relativism • Problems with the Cultural Differences Argument • Seems to overlook the fact value distinction • The fact of ongoing disagreement can be explained by other explanations • There is less disagreement than there sometimes seems • Self contradictory? • Is the statement “There are no universal truths about ethics” itself a universal truth about ethics?

7. Other Difficult Questions • What if another society’s code calls for intolerance towards your society? • What if there is something “unjust” that is taught by your society? What grounds can one use to criticize it? • Is there such a thing as moral progress? Or do norms just change through time as societies change?

8. Subjectivism in Ethics • What do I owe others? • To each their own taste • In what consists my own dignity? • Following and expressing your most deeply held sentiments (your gut reaction to things) • Why be moral? • People just have different feelings and opinions about different things in life

9. Emotivism • Made popular in mid 20th century by Charles L. Stevenson (a member of the logical positivist movement) • Asserts that the only kinds of statements that can be judged true or false are empirical statements • So what are ethical statements (which seem to also make claims to truth) about? • Should be translated as commands (not meant to convey information, but merely to direct others)

10. Main Arguments for Subjectivism • The “there are no proofs in ethics” Argument: • Either there are moral facts in the same way that there are facts about planets and trees and spoons (decidable by straightforward empirical tests) or our values are nothing more than the expression of our subjective attitudes. There are no such moral “facts” therefore…. • As David Hume notes, no matter how hard you look (or engage your other senses) you can never find “goodness” as a sensible quality of nature

11. Some Obvious Objections • No way of being wrong ethically as long as you are reporting your attitudes and feelings in a sincere fashion • For the purposes of ethical argument, anything that makes other people change their attitudes to be the same as yours are acceptable reasons (including racist, sexist, reasons)

12. Main Objections To Subjectivism in Ethics • The “no proof” argument might be a fallacious argument • A false dichotomy? Either A or B, not A, so B (But when there are also other options like C) Either there are moral facts, or our values are merely the expression of subjective feelings… • But might truths of ethics be a result of a different kind of reasoning process than the kind found in science? • Perhaps in ethics, rational thinking consists in giving reasons, analyzing arguments, setting out and justifying principles, and so on

13. Question for 1st Minor Essay Topic (750 words) • Is it wrong for people from Western societies to criticize the practice of female circumcision? • To find out more about female circumcision, consider the case of FauziyaKassindja (pp. 24-25) • Focus on the issue of the condemnation of excision by western institutions like the New York Times and ask yourself whether it can be right for people in one country to morally condemn practices considered acceptable in another country • Essay instructions: http://faculty.capebretonu.ca/jgerrie/essay.html