Culture and Ethics

1. If ethical relativism is correct, then what is the point in doing

 

what is good?

If ethical relativism is correct, the point of doing good is for us to

be grounded with our morals and conscience.  To do good is to
choose what is best for everyone or for the common good. We are
born with an instinctive knowledge of what is right and wrong in the
world. It is our nature to see what we perceive to benefit us as being
good and right. It is also our nature to see that which harms us as
being bad and wrong. Hence, even though our values and morals are
profoundly influenced by culture, it is up to us to discern whether we
choose to follow a certain norm in our society or hold on to what we
believe is moral. 

2. What are some ethical values that are moral or proper in a

 

society or culture but not in another? 

Female infanticide or deliberate killing of newborn babies. It is

immoral in the USA, the Philippines, and other countries. Hence, in
China it is morally acceptable, people's behavior and attitudes today
are still shaped to a large degree by the teachings of Confucius, an
ancient Chinese sage. Among his teachings were the ideas that men
are superior to women and that sons have a duty to take care of their
parents when the parents grow too old to work.
Girls, in contrast, were seen as a burden to raise, just as they
were in India. They could not carry on the family name or bloodline,
inherit the family property, or perform as much manual labor on the
family farm. When a girl married, she was "lost" to a new family, and
in centuries past, her birth parents might never see her again if she
moved to a different village to marry. This makes the financial cost of
raising a girl less onerous.
3. Cannibalism is moral or proper in certain societies but not in
  

others. What do you think about it in terms of right and wrong?

 

Generally, Cannibalism is immoral but there are some

instances that it is not immoral, disgusting, or unnatural.  In some
parts of the world specifically in Papua New Guinea, it’s not
impossible that you might wander across a tribe of cannibals. You
must be familiar with their common practices. These people eat their
dead friends for their way of survival. For those in the rather more
civilized parts of the world killing another person is generally
considered wrong. 

.4. Do you think ethical relativism is defensible? Why or why

not?

Ethical relativism is defensible because our morals and values

are greatly influenced by our culture. Whether an action is right or
wrong depends on the moral norms of the society in which it is
practiced. This gives permission to diversity, to the extent that such
permission is rationally warranted. Ethical relativism reminds us that
different societies have different moral beliefs and that our beliefs are
deeply influenced by culture. It also encourages us to explore the
reasons underlying beliefs that differ from our own, while challenging
us to examine our reasons for the beliefs and values we hold.
 https://www.the-tls.co.uk/articles/eating-humans-cannibalism/

4. Do you think ethical relativism is defensible? Why or why not?