Up@dawn 2.0

Tuesday, January 29, 2013

Simon Blackburn on Relativism

Section 14 - 3
        In our group we talked about Simon Blackburn on Moral Relativism but we focused on Abortion, whether abortion is acceptable or not. As we discussed some think abortion is acceptable and some think it is not. We all agreed that abortion is permissible if the person was raped but it is not permissible if that person goes around and have sex with everybody. Simon also talked about how some people think that assisted euthanasia is permissible and how others think it isn't. Some people think the will of Allah has to be done and other people think it is of any relevance at all. So people have different views, different positions, and the potential for conflict. So it is all subjective. So, moral relativism would be any theory which encapsulates the idea that there are individual differences in morality for which there may be a cultural explanation and there are no absolute truths about any moral judgment that we make. Like Blackburn said 'Torturing babies is wrong' is subjective; it's just a matter of taste. Simon Blackburn pointed out how the subjectivist is a relativist and i agree with Blackburn because i can say truly that abortion is permissible and you can say it is not, and we can both have our own truth. And the i can protect the idea by saying "I am  just describing my own reaction." I can say i am approve of abortion and you're saying of yourself that you don't.  And we could both be true. So,  moral relativism is merely the positive or descriptive position that there exist, in fact, fundamental disagreements about the right course of action even when the same facts hold true and the same consequences seem likely to arise. It is the observation that different cultures have different moral standards. Also,  moral relativists believe not only that people disagree about moral issues, but that terms such as "good," "bad," "right" and "wrong" do not stand subject to universal truth conditions at all; rather, they are relative to the traditions, convictions, or practices of an individual or a group of people.  In addition, moral relativism is  a theory that says that there is no absolute moral truth and that all moral views are subjective, helps to explain why different cultures have different ideas about right and wrong. According to this view every individual has their own moral 'truth'. After all,  Blackburn maintains that moral relativism is not an accurate account of the world because it doesn't fully explain moral disagreements and conflicts. In a conflict a relativist says that everyone has their own truth and that is the end of the story, essentially saying that there is no disagreement. Overall, the main idea is that everybody has their own opinion about something, you cannot say someone is wrong just because of their point of view about something.
While i was writing this there were a couple questions running through my head. Such as:
How do we know what we know is "TRUE"? 
Can you say someone is horrible just because they have different point of view about something?

Favorite Quote:





Great Video, it relates to our topic.


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