Absolutist and Relativist

-Rules that are true in all suituations

DeontologicalUniversalObjective 

-Judging a situation depending on the circumstances. There are no Universal Rules

TeleologicalSubjectiveConsequences 

Focuses on the final outcome of a action

Focuses on the action itself, and not consequences

Strengths-It provides a universal code to measure everything, making laws and order easily applicable-One culture can judge the actions of another - allowing statements such as 'Genocide is wrong' and then act upon that judgement.-It enabled us to have a Declaration of Human Rights-It is simple to apply

Weaknesses-It does not consider different circumstances of each situation-It can seem intolerant of cultural differences-How can we all decide on the same absolute morals? Morals are all open to human interpretation and are all influenced by different cultures, religions and upbringings-It is not concerned with the motive or outcome of an action

Strengths-It is flexible to meet the best outcome or an individual or group-It allows people to take responsibility-In the decline of religious authority there is more of a place for Relativism 

Weaknesses-It is difficult to apply and thoroughly judge every statement and action of everyone-It can hold back a societies progress eg Causing a genocide - People will disagree on what is right or wrong - making decisions that all agree with difficult

All principles and values are relative to particular cultures or ages.There is no objective basis for the truth,

-What is right or wrong depends on the culture

Diversity thesis - due to diversity across and within cultures there can be no one true morality. eg In our culture it appears obscene to chop off a mans hand as punishment for theft, or to stone someone for committing adultery however to many Muslims this is simply to required punishment. 

Dependency thesis - what is right or wrong depends upon the nature of the society. No one can judge another's culture as different cultures create different values. We cannot be objective about another culture once we are all a product of out own culture.

Example - King of Persia asked the Greeks and the Callatians to perform the same funeral practices. 

Absolutist views on Cultural Relativism 

British missionaries went to Africa and Asia they opposed their Western absolutes as being correct upon local customs. For example a female converted to Christianity would be made to cover her breasts, which is more a sign of Victorian prudery than any moral code.

Absolutism implies that there is a universal right and wrong and therefore cultural Relativism causes a problem.  For example:

Historically we can find support of the Relativist position, over Cultural Relativism - forms of behavior that were condemned in the past are now considered acceptable. For example we no longer allow acts of cruelty for public entertainment, unmarried mothers are no longer put in mental institutions, slavery is no longer legal. Therefore attitudes of society have changed on many issues. 

Strengths -It gives us a greater understanding and acceptance of other cultures - therefore promoting harmony-It prevents the unacceptable acts of interference within others culture - leading to the possible destruction of cultures or racist acts

Weaknesses-It implies that there is no real evaluation or criticism of practices such as burning witches, human sacrifice, slavery, the Holocaust or torture. -Relativism does not allow societies to progress eg the realization the slavery is unacceptable was slow, but no one can doubt that progress has been made. -Relativism seems to give little reason foe behaving morally -except to be socially acceptable. -Just because cultures vary in their beliefs does not mean there is no universal 'good' or 'bag' eg 'it is wrong the torture innocent children' -Ethical beliefs can change when challenges - primitive practice do stop and human morals can advance, no culture is totally without immoral acts or beliefs

Normative ethics is where actions are assessed according to ethical theories - it is about what is actually right or good and not simply about cultural diversity and cultural dependency. A relativist will normally hold at least one absolute principle: it is wrong to impose moral rules.

Utilitarianism and Situation ethics are both examples of Normative theories, but they are different in the way they understand this.Ultilitarianism recongise happiness, pleasure or well being as the result of good actions, but accept that this may differ form culture to culture. Suituationalist, like Flecher, reject the use of words like 'never' ' always' 'absolute' and adopt a pragmatic approach the decision making. He only exception is that love should be seen as absolute.Normative relativist reject the principle of objectivity  or absolutism and see morality as something which evolves and changes.

Situation Ethics

Joesph Fletcher developed Situation ethics in the 1960's in reaction to Christian legalism and antinomianism (the belief that there are no fixed moral principles, but that morality is the result of individual spontaneous acts)Fletcher argues that each individual situation is different and absolute rules are too demanding and restrictive.The Bible shows what good moral decisions look like in specific situations, but it is not possible to know what Gods will is in every situation.Fletcher says 'I simply do not know and cannot know what God is doing.' As it is not possible to know God's will in every situation, love or agape is Situation ethics only rule.So it is not just the situation that guides what you should do but the principle of agape and the guiding maxims of the Christian community. Christians should make the right choices without just following rules and by thinking for themselves.Christians should base their decision making on one single rule - agape. This love is not merely an emotion but involves doing what is best for the other person, unconditionlly. This means that other guiding maxims could be ignored in certain situations if they do not serve agape. For example Fletcher says it would be right for a mother with a 13-year-old daughter who is having sex it break the rules about under-age sex and insist her daughter uses contraception. The right choice is the most loving thing and it will depend on the situation. 

Four Working Principles

- Pragmatism - what you propose must always work in practice- Relativism - words like 'always' 'never' ' absolute' are rejected. There are no fixed rules, but all deciions must be relative to agape.- Postivism - a value judgement needs to be made, giving the first place to love- Personalism - people are put in first place, morality is personal and not centered on laws

The Six Fundamental Principles

1) Love (agape) is the only absolute. It is the only thing which intrinsically 'good', 'right', regardless of situation. 2) This love is self-giving love, which seeks the best interests of others but allows people the freedom and responsibility to choose the right thing for themselves3) Justice will follow from love because 'justice is love distributed'. If love is put into practice , it can only result in justice. Justice is concerned with giving everyone their due - its concern is with neighborus, not just out neighbour4) Love has no favorites and does not give those whom we like preferential treatment - it is good will which reaches out to strangers, acquaintances, friends and even enemies.  5) Love must be the final end, and not a means to and end - people must choose what to do because the action will result in love, not be loving in order to achieve some other result. 6) The loving thing to do will depend on the situation - and as situations differ, an action that might be right in one situation could be wrong in another. 

Strengths- Situations ethics is easy to understand and can be constantly updated for new problems and issue as they arise - such as genetic engineering and feotal research 0 therefore the theory does not out date- It is flexible and can take different situations into account, but it is based on the Christian concept of love. - It focuses on humans and concern for others - agape- Situation ethics allow people to take responsibility for their own decisions and make up their own minds about what is right or wrong. Bishop John Robinson called it 'an ethic for humanity come of age'

Weaknesses- This method of decision-making was condemned in 1952 by Pope Pius XII, who said it was wrong to make decisions based on individual circumstances if these went against the teachings of the Church and Bible.-It is not possible to determine the consequences of actions - how can we know that the result will be the most loving for all concerned?- Allowing people to decide for themselves can result in corrupt decision making - where the individual incorrectly believes they are following agape love

Certain actions are intrinsically right or wrong, and are objective and cannot change depending on time or culture

A crime is a crime, regardless of circumstances - there is an eternal moral law. Absolutist ethics allows law to exits and to be maintained. It allows us to judge the actions of others, eg The Holocaust was wrong. 

Where do these Absolute moral laws come from? A theist would say God. For the agnostic or atheist the answer is more complicated - they seem a prioi in nature. They fit into Plato's world of the Forms, as there are things we just seem to 'know' are wrong, without being taught. To some extent moral absolutes can be seen as inherent in the nature of man. 

Religion

Many religions have absolute values they believe were/are set by a deity/deities. Such positions are unchanging and perfect, eg The Ten Commandments. Examples - Violence is wrong, even in self defense, Homosexuality is wrong, even within a monogamous relationship.Many who makes such claims even ignore evolving norms within their own communities for example the rows about homosexual priests within the Anglican Church. In the past Slavery was supported by religious believers however today no religious group would endorse it. Today many Christians believer there is a hierarchy of absolutes - a view called graded absolutism. If there is conflict between two absolutes it is our duty to obey the higher one: duty to God comes first, then duty to others, followed by duty to property. Under this view Corrie ten Boom was morally right to lie to Nazi about hiding Jew as protecting life is a higher moral value than telling the truth to murders.

Normative Absolutism

Natural Law  (Relgious) and Kantism (Reason) are absolutist theories

Absolutism

Relativism

Cultural Relativism

Normative Relativism

Situation Ethics