Moral Relativism

Moral Relativism Moral relativism is an essential aspect of life. Although in excess it can be a social and moral poison. Moral relativism is the position one must hold on what is wrong and what is right in life. On the other aspect, the thought is fundamentalism. It is more a less a very dictated way in which every person knows their right and wrong’s. In every way fundamentalism is a very much a one way street with no exists. Therefore, it is very straightforward and there is no room for moral relativism in it. The true answer is that both fundamentalism and moral relativism is wrong for humans. Such as in Why Can’t We Be Good? where states, “Both relativism and fundamentalism in their tyrannical forms are born from an incipient moral impulse that sees the surface truth...” (Needleman, p.200) Although moral relativism is essential for each and every one of us, it can be over used. Moral relativism helps create morals because of the connection that takes place during the act of reaching the inner Self. When one is first experiencing the inner Self people may discover the right and wrong’s in life. As one lives their life, one learns more and more about the way humans interact. This creates a basis on which to make a decision. But in some instances can be completely opposite. Such as how Berit Brogaard states in “The Philosophical Quarterly”, “If right and wrong are relative expressions, then they have the same somatic content relative to any context.” (Brogaard, Vol. 58, No.232, 1) This is because with having this longing which searches for individualism in oneself, it creates different morals for each individual. Everyone’s experiences are different, therefore the outcome of their thought process and standpoint on moral issues will vary. This longing to find oneself is described by Needleman, “Here is the root of that anguished cry from one’s young voice and in the young eyes of the thinking world.” (Needleman, p.199) Without the morals that people find through moral relativism there would be many different sets of morals. This in the large picture, would create mass confusion in society due to nobody knowing the general set of morals. This shows how important moral relativism really is. No matter where someone may come from, society has the same basic moral guidelines with a few exceptions. This is because of ideas ranging from the human language to everyday morals are created from our desire to transcend our isolation and have some sort of connection with one another. Humans as a species, has been able to communicate since day one when they came up with words for “water” and “Let’s hunt I’m hungry”, but when it gets really interesting is how we now try to share all of the intangible and abstract ideas that relate back to morals. Once we have heard what another person has to say about such feelings, we may feel like we understand; but how do we know when such ideas are so intangible. Due to the constant longing to find oneself’s set of morals however, it can also be positively applied. With longing to find one’s deep and inner self, there is a great chance of finding more than just one’s self. Therefore different views are created, questions surrounding life and asking why questions. This can be productive because the truth that is found in these activities one may be able to find one’s Self. The Self is the soul that is in everyone that rarely comes about in one’s life. This could lead to many things. Such as in the “Cave Story” where a man is finally brought out of the cave. Due to residing in a cave for so long, his eyes could not easily adjust to the sun. Therefore, he walked around the world being blind to everything that was in front of him. But during the night he was amazed around him to how much was in world (outside of the cave) and with time his eyes adapted to the sunlight. This excerpt from the Cave Story has a lot to do with moral relativism figuratively. The sun represents the truth in the story. The man was blinded to it because of the constant darkness of the cave. Nobody can stare directly at the sun which is the truth in life. The darkness of the cave represents society because finding the inner Self is frowned upon because of the ideas that come from it. Many frown at these rather abstract ideas because of the radicals it may infringe on society. Therefore, moral relativism is neither good nor bad for people. It is a rather difficult subject to address due to its complexity. As Needleman stated in Why Can’t We Be Good?, “On sthe surface of truth, both relativism and fundamentalism are right. But beneath the surface neither is right.” (Needleman, p.200) In this quote Needleman mentions fundamentalism, which is completely different from what moral relativism is. Fundamentalism is the idea that everything is very structured and there is no such thing as moral relativism involved with it. This is also very wrong because with this type of theory, one is not supposed to think about subjects like life. All of the ideas that surround fundamentalism are very set in concrete. In conclusion, moral relativism is essential to human life to reach the inner being inside every one of us. On the flip side, too much of moral relativism is what ruins people. This can lead to the separation in society. With many philosophers giving their stance it is what creates confusion throughout the philosophical community.