Ethical Relativism: Examining Its Strengths and Weaknesses Critically

This essay examines the concept of ethical relativism, which posits that moral truths are relative to a particular society or individual. The essay explores the idea that right and wrong are not absolute but are instead determined by cultural norms and societal beliefs, emphasizing how different communities have varying sets of rules that govern their members. It discusses the advantages of ethical relativism, such as promoting peaceful coexistence and open-mindedness, while also addressing criticisms and potential drawbacks, including the challenge of defining universal moral standards. The essay uses examples such as differing marriage rites and slavery to illustrate the complexities of ethical relativism and argues that despite its challenges, it is a valid concept because it allows people to coexist and understand each other. The essay concludes that ethical relativism is correct, as it allows for critical thinking and consideration of individual rights, while also acknowledging the evolution of moral views over time.

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IS ETHICAL RELATIVISM CORRECT
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Ethical relativism is the evolution of morals with time based on believes of the
society. The wrongs and rights can be viewed differently depending on the circumstances.
These circumstances include time, society and the effect on others1. Ethical relativism can
therefore be explained as this, there is nothing morally, totally correct. Instead all rights and
wrongs are based on their acceptance by the society.
Every community has its own set of unwritten rules that govern its people. These
rules help the members to co-exist peacefully. Different cultures have different rules and
beliefs which can be contradicting at times and any inter-relations among the communities
may result to either disagreements or compromise in the earlier belief. Different people react
differently in such cases2. This is because different people have different views when it
comes to social norms. This therefore brings up the question, is ethical relativism really right?
Ethical relativism is advantageous since it helps people co-exist peacefully. People
who believe and support ethical relativism are open minded to changes and to the ideas of
others. One is able to embrace other people’s behaviours and understand their reasons when
they accept to learn their norms with an open mind. This in turn can result to changes in the
society and even open doors to development. A case example is how different communities
carry out the marriage rite. Some marriages are carried out in religious places and involve
praying and blessing the couple’s union while others are carried out in the family’s home and
involve casting out evil spirits and celebrating the couple’s union while some marriages have
1 Wreen, Michael. "Moral Relativism and Majority Rule." Metaphilosophy 50, no. 3
(2019): 361-376.
2 Pojman, Louis P., and James Fieser. Cengage Advantage Ethics: Discovering Right
and Wrong. Nelson Education, 2017.

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no formalities at all. This depends on one’s culture but all of them signify union of two
people who want to be together.
Some people take relativism to mean no law and order or moral decadency which is
not true since all these changes advocate for is logical and critical thinking. Consider murder
of an innocent human being. Any normal human being has a conscience which guides them
on what is wrong or right3. In every society taking an innocent man’s life is considered
immoral despite one’s background and culture. Therefore ethical relativism cannot be
considered to be lack of morals it is just allowing people co-exist and understand each other
despite where they come from
With time views of an individual may change depending on the time, education, and
one’s background. In the early days slavery was a habit widely practiced and considered
morally right but with time this practice was abolished and considered morally wrong to the
society4. However, it is still practiced in some communities which means some people have
resisted the abolishment of slavery.
Change is necessary since the voice of reason is greater than the community laws.
The only requirement is one to employ critical thinking to avoid interfering with the rights of
others. Things like stealing, murder and lying are considered immoral and are constant.
Therefore ethical relativism is considered right.
Bibliography
3 Shaw, William H. Business ethics: A textbook with cases. Nelson Education, 2016.
4 Bowie, Norman E. "Relativism, cultural and moral." Wiley Encyclopedia of
Management (2015): 1-4.

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Bowie, Norman E. "Relativism, cultural and moral." Wiley Encyclopedia of
Management (2015): 1-4.
Pojman, Louis P., and James Fieser. Cengage Advantage Ethics: Discovering Right and
Wrong. Nelson Education, 2017.
Shaw, William H. Business ethics: A textbook with cases. Nelson Education, 2016.
Wreen, Michael. "Moral Relativism and Majority Rule." Metaphilosophy 50, no. 3 (2019):
361-376.