Moral Absolutism can Never be Justified. Discuss

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Jonathan Inglis        Moral Absolutism can Never be Justified

Moral Absolutism can never be justified

The black and white, deontological dualism of moral absolutism has laid the foundations of our ethics, and has orientated the needle of the human moral compass. As with any durable structure, the base must be solid, thus justifying the use of moral absolutism in order to build a community. Deontological ethics is the basis for Teleological ethics, and without absolutism, relativism cannot exist. For example, without the principle that murder is wrong, it would be impossible to argue that there are mitigating circumstances in which it is right. However, now that societal laws have been built, can moral absolutism still be justified?

Moral Absolutism is frequently associated with Christianity, since it reflects the immutability and perfect judgement of God. Like Christianity, moral absolutism offers answers which nothing else can explain, thus it is more applicable to everyday situations. For example, in the case of a snap decision, it makes sense to utilise the deontological ethics instilled in us from childhood, and perhaps even before then. Each human carries an intrinsic ethical manual of absolute rights and wrongs to apply to dilemmas, so that we may act confidently and decisively. The use of relativism in such circumstances would leave us in a moral limbo, wasting valuable time assessing the situation.

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Moral Absolutism protects us from slipping into the moral anarchy inflicted by relativism. Relativism is spineless, as it cannot protect the human rights of everyone, just those living within “civilised” cultures. For example, when Sakineh Mohammadi-Ashtiani was sentenced to death by stoning in Iran, moral absolutism came to her rescue in the form of human rights organisations, celebrities and the British government campaigning for her humane treatment. Here it is clear that moral absolutism is justified, as such a brutal form of execution is always wrong. As well as this, relativism allows one to create a culture within which murder ...

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