Philosophy Discussions: Exploring Ethics, Society, and Human Behavior

This assignment presents four philosophical discussions on various topics. The first discussion examines cultural relativism, arguing against the imposition of one culture on another and exploring the views of Paul Boghossian on moral relativism. The second discussion analyzes Martin Luther King Jr.'s vision of equality and the securing of human dignity, contrasting it with contemporary societal realities and the persistence of racial discrimination. The third discussion delves into the role of societal conditions and punishments in influencing criminal behavior, drawing on Hobbes' state of nature and providing the example of South Africa. The final discussion evaluates McGinn's virtues, suggesting that kindness and honesty should be replaced by opportunism and diplomacy in certain contexts. The assignment references key texts and authors to support the arguments presented.

Running head: DISCUSSIONS
DISCUSSIONS
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author Note

1DISCUSSIONS
Discussion 1
The customs and beliefs of a particular nation are a part of its culture, history and its state
of being, hence that getting overpowered by another culture, the American culture is wrong as by
that the very existence of the indigenous culture gets nullified. Secondly, imposition of American
culture on an indigenous culture is wrong as the beliefs and practices of a particular community
emanates from its society. Hence imposition of American culture on another indigenous set up is
wrong as American society and the indigenous society are fundamentally different from each
other. Finally, the challenging of the indigenous customs by American government is wrong as it
tends to challenge the cultural diversity of the world and bring about a cultural homogenization
that shall benefit only the American government albeit at the cost of eroding the cultural
specificities and the indigenous lifestyle and also the indigenous economy of the communities.
The position taken by Paul Boghossian is that of relativism and not that of absolutism as
he had necessitated that morality can neither be considered as absolute nor can it be
universalized. He had provided the example of eating beef which is considered as morally wrong
by the Hindus because of religious reasons, however if a hindu person consumes beef and does
not consider it to be morally incorrect then that liberty must be given to the person. He had also
cited the example of slurping, which is considered as uncouth in Buckingham Palace but as an
etiquette in Beijing, which once gain shows that the principles of morality are relative and not
absolute (Boghossian, 2011).
Discussion 2
The two rights which King was referring to was the right to equality and the securing of
the basic human dignities at par with the white people which can be precisely put as the removal

2DISCUSSIONS
of racial discrimination, in the social and the economic spheres of life, for the purpose of proper
integration of the people of coloured origin into the American society. On judging the
contemporary situations, it can be said that the rights are secured theoretically in the constitution
of the nation in form of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the Supreme Court of
the United States of America has also outlawed all forms of racialism. However the society has
its own system of functioning which cannot be governed exclusively by the documented laws as
the laws of the society are undocumented and has its basis in the norms, value predisposition and
the rule of majoritarianism. Hence the norm of hostility towards the negroes have not eroded as
the white supremacist attitude is very much prevalent in the American society and with the
upsurge of white wing nationalism in the nation, the attitude of racialism has also increased in
the nation (King, 1999).
Discussion 3
Punishments are designed in a way so that people refrain from any criminal activity
however it is the societal conditions which can influence the predisposition and the resolve of the
people to refrain from criminal activities, and thereby the relevance of Hobbes’ state of nature is
important. The example of South Africa can be given in this regard. There are laws which seek
to dissuade people from the path of crime but the rate of crime in the nation is excruciatingly
high as the social situations are hostile to survival which makes the people take up the path of
crime for securing the basic means of survival ("2. The Ring of Gyges: Morality and Hypocrisy",
2019).
Discussion 4

3DISCUSSIONS
Out of the four virtues outlined by McGinn kindness, honesty, justice, independence, in
the work, ‘Why Not Be a Bad Person,’ the virtues of kindness and honesty must be omitted and
replaced respectively by opportunism and diplomacy since the world is not a conducive place for
the proliferation and living up to the moral values of kindness and honesty, since they are signs
of weakness and makes a person vulnerable. Goodness is generally considered as a sign of
weakness but that does not mean that it can be refrained from as they must be and can be
channelized for the purpose of generating benefits for others and at the same time secure the
benefit of the self (McGinn, 1997).

4DISCUSSIONS
References
Boghossian, P. (2011). The Maze of Moral Relativism. Retrieved from
https://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/07/24/the-maze-of-moral-relativism/
King, M. L. (1999). " I Have a Dream" Speech. Project Gutenberg..
McGinn, C. (1997). Why Not Be a Bad Person?. Moral Literacy.
The Ring of Gyges: Morality and Hypocrisy. (2019). Retrieved from
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xTGc1Pyp-Jc.