Relativism versus Ethical Absolutism
Relativism versus Ethical Absolutism
Relativism is the denial of any absolute or objective values (truth, moral goodness, beauty, etc.) and the affirmation of the individual, community or culture as the source of values.
Absolutism is the view that values (truth, beauty, and/or moral goodness) are independent of human opinion and have a common or universal application.
The absolutist's view is that some statements are "objectively true," that is, true independent of whether anybody recognizes their truth. Objectivism is another name for absolutivism.
The general relativist denies that are any objectively true statements; general relativism is the view that statements are true only from a point of view (individual, community, or culture).
Relativism and Absolutism About What?
As with skepticism and dogmatism, many people are relativists only about some areas, and dogmatists or epistemological optimists about others. You might be a relativist regarding ethical matters--saying that moral correctness is merely in the mind of the individual, or maybe the dominant group in the society, but remain an absolutist about mathematics, saying that 1+1=2 regardless of whether you or I or anybody else thinks so.
Relativism related to moral issues is called ethical relativism: the denial of any absolute or objective moral values and the affirmation of the individual, community or culture as the source of moral values. A relativist might say that there are no absolute moral rights for women to walk the streets unaccompanied by men; they do have that right in the U.S., but not in Afghanistan, and who are we to judge what another society believes?
The opposite of ethical relativism is ethical absolutism: there are universal moral standards--not in the sense that everybody accepts them, but in the sense that those who do not accept them are wrong. Thus, a person who defends universal human rights is an ethical absolutist, on at least some ethical issues. An ethical absolutist might say, "Women have the human or moral right to walk unaccompanied by men, even if this right is not recognized by others. So the current practice in Afghanistan is wrong."
There are aesthetic relativists too. An aesthetic relativist will say that beauty or coolness or awesomeness or whatever is in the eye of the beholder. "My kid may think Ace Ventura is cool, but that's his opinion, not mine. But nobody is absolutely right or wrong--it just depends on who you are, what your background is, your personal perspective,...