Bumper Sticker Ethics S Wilkens

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Bumper Sticker Ethics S Wilkens

• Cultural relativism when in Rome do as a Romans
  do
•  
• From one culture to another, and from one of
  time to another within the same culture, there is
  diversity on what is considered right and wrong
• Greece BC 220 slavery is OK
• Greece A D 2000 slavery is not OK
•  
• Papua New Guinea Cannibalism is okay in some
  tribes
• Great Britain YUK!!!!
•  
• C.R Is a form of ethical relativism. The belief
  that there is no moral truth that applies to all
  peoples at all times. There are no absolute moral
  standards for moral judgement.
•  

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•  Cultural relativism is a recent form of ethical
  relativism.
•  
• C.R. It is not each person, but each person's
  culture that is the standard by which actions are
  to be measured.
• Cultural relativism States
• No ethical system is better than any other. So,
  in Rome, do as the Romans do.
• Why do as a Roman? Societies need structure to
  survive. This includes ethical standards. So,
  follow the norms of the culture in which you
  live!
•  Cultural relativism looks at what is common
  practice with in a society. This is what should
  guide our actions.
• Laws and rules these provide stability and order
  in life. But they are relative to be given
  culture.

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• Cultural relativism abortion?
• Abortion may be wrong in one society but
  abortion may be okay in another
•  
• Moral Standards vary from side society to society
  i.e. boiling lobsters, drinking animal blood.
• Can you give good examples?
• Female circumcision?!!!!!
•  
• Cultural relativism states that we should not
  impose our Standards on outsiders. Our feelings
  to acts like infanticide do not originate from
  knowledge of an absolute moral measure.
• Our feelings on infanticide are simply a
  reflection of our culture.

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Positives of cultural relativism

• It promotes Tolerance.
• It recognises differences but does not judge them
  by some measure outside the culture in question.
• There are no absolute truths as regards morality.
  Cultural relativism promotes intercultural
  tolerance
• Live and Let Live attitude.
•  

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• Cultural relativism reminds us that our way and
  what is familiar cannot be assumed to be the
  right and only way.

I am very angry. It must be my way!
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• Cultural relativism warns us to be careful not to
  load-down Christianity with so much of our
  cultural baggage that someone from another
  culture is forced to accept Our social values
  along with the Gospel, the key message of
  Christianity.
• Social values dressed music architecture etc are
•  

• When you proclaim the Gospel
• Love one another.
• You must wear a Kilt like me!

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 Potential Problems

• Who gets to be God?
•  
• C.R is built upon the belief
• Truth is always relative to a non- absolute
  standard ones own culture.
•  
• Where does this leave God? Relativism seems to
  put ones culture in the place of God.
•  
• God 10 Commandments
•  
• Our own cultural values

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• Even if you believe in God, if you follow
  Cultural relativist thinking you arrive at
  denying that we can know up the what God's moral
  will for all people is.
•  
• There is No absolute universal standard
• Our understanding of Gods universal will is
  shoved to the sidelines.
• A. Yet Christianity regards moral truths as Trans
  cultural - across cultures.
• Matt 28 19 ..go and to all nations.
• B. Relativism argues that what a culture does is
  right because it considers it right.
• The book of Amos condemns practices of nations
  who are neighbours to Israel. God holds these
  neighbouring, Gentile peoples, to standards that
  transcend their culturally accepted ideas.
• God has no ethical relevance in C.R.

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•  Do moral principles vary?
•  The cornerstone of C.R
• Ethical norms differ from one culture
• to another culture.
•  
• Is actually true? There is good reason to doubt
  that there is in fact Cultural disagreement on
  ethical principles
• A tribe can believe in principles like you shall
  not steal. At the same time it may encourage
  stealing from outsiders for survival or on
  grounds that outsiders are perceived as less than
  human.
•  
• The counter Argument here is
• All cultures embrace certain basic moral
  principles.

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Be careful this point usually confuses!!!!

• Is C.R self contradictory, incoherent?
• A problem arises from two foundation stones
• There is no absolute truth
• Intolerance is wrong
• In practice these tends to lead to
• Tolerant intolerance!
• Absolute relativism!
• Example
• A culture has an intolerant world view!
• Culture relativism We must be a tolerant of all
  the standards of cultures.
•  
• 3. Cultural relativism But intolerance is
  wrong!
•  
• 4. Self contradiction affirms two mutually
  exclusive things at the same time!

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•  Is moral improvement possible?
•  
• The concept of Change presents serious problems
  for relativism
•  
• If truth and rightness are relative to cultures
  then what is the motivation to change.
• How do we evaluate change when it has occurred?
•  
• In a slave culture a relativist cannot argue or
  moral grounds that slavery should be abolished.
  To do so would require appeal to some standard
  other than the existing social mores, which allow
  slavery.
•  
• Since relativism accepts that what the society
  believes at the time is better, there can be no
  possible reason ever offered for the rightness of
  changing slavery. In any event why change
  slavery?
•  
• No one set of ethics is better than another.
• In addition if this is true, even if we do move
  from slavery to none slavery, we cannot call it
  progress. No single practice his superior to
  another.

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• Is tolerance always good? C.R. promote tolerance
•  
• But what basis do you have for calling on
  countries to stop things like racism and,
  torture, genocide, child labour.
• Such an appeal would be intolerant, even
  arrogant. No truth is more true than that of the
  truth in cultures we would criticise.
•  
• So we cannot appeal to human rights!!! There are
  no absolutes
•  
• P. 42 at the core of our discomfort is the
  relativists belief that whoever controls the
  culture is the final judge of truth. This can be
  frightening even in a democratic society when
  rules are decided by majority, because Most
  believe that it is possible for the majority to
  be wrong.
• What of a tyrannical minority?

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Conclusion

• Relativism Offers no frontal assault and
  Christianity.
•  
• But it undermines Christianity!
• Instead of attacking, it trivialises. Instead
  of rejecting Christianity as false, it grants it
  relative truth. The faith is true for Christians
  but not necessarily from anyone else.
•  
•  
• Relativism changes the word truth
• TRUTH equals comfortable to fact or reality
• becomes what a given culture believes to be
  true.
•  
• It seems counter-intuitive to believe that no
  basis exists for judging certain practices
  better or worse than any other practices and
  that people should tolerate any practice accepted
  in a given society.