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What are ethics? Everyone has a sense of what ethics are, but pinning it down in a clear definition is not easy. The Merriam-Webster Dictionary defines ethics as "a discipline dealing with good and evil and with moral duty." It includes questions like "What is the right thing to do?" "Is lying ever okay?" "Is it better to do this or that?" There are two common systems of thought regarding ethics. One is absolutism, and the other is relativism.
Cultural relativism is the belief that right and wrong vary from one society to another and from one time to another. In practice, it is the belief that what is right for one person is not necessarily right for another person. The cultural relativist observes that some things that are considered wrong today in America, such as slavery, were not always considered wrong in America and are not always considered wrong in other societies today. In Arab countries, it is considered wrong for a woman to be out in public with her head uncovered, but elsewhere in the world it is acceptable and even the norm. From this they conceive that right and wrong must be relative, and that absolute right and wrong do not exist.
Absolutism, on the other hand, believes that right and wrong are based on a truth that doesnt vary. The absolutist believes that what is right or wrong is always right or wrong whether or not a society recognizes it as such at the time. Absolutism is often founded in religious faith, believing that the truth of right and wrong comes from God, such as is found in the Ten Commandments. The absolutist views ethics much like the scientist views nature, that there is a truth out there waiting to be discovered and explained, and once explained everything else falls into place. For example, when an absolutist believes that life begins at conception, it becomes obvious to him or her that abortion is the taking of a human life and is, therefore, wrong.
These two opposing views can be seen clearly in American history.
During the founding of America, absolutists clearly held sway. The Puritans had a clearly absolutist view stemming from their firm belief in the Bible. Many of the writers of the Constitution also firmly believed in an absolute standard for right and wrong. John Adams once wrote, "We have no government armed with power capable of contending with human passions unbridled by morality and religion. Avarice, ambition, revenge or gallantry would break the strongest cords of our Constitution as a whale goes through a net. Our Constitution is designed only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate for any other." This view predominated in American society until fairly recently. There were several factors in the late 1800s that precipitated a change. The realization that slavery is wrong despite its seeming acceptance in the Bible, the increase in communication due to the telephone, the transcontinental railroad, and improved postal service, the introduction of Darwinism, and even the introduction of Nietsches philosophy of existentialism that claimed "God is dead," all contributed to the changing ethical climate of the time. In recent years, the predominant view has become one of cultural relativism. In American society today, it is considered unacceptable and intolerant to hold to absolutist views. Our society as a whole, tends to believe that it is wrong for a person to try to change the moral standards of someone else. All beliefs should be accepted as valid, although in trying to do so, the relativist becomes intolerant of absolutist views, which is an area where cultural relativism breaks down. The widespread propagation of anti-discrimination laws is another area that shows our societys trend toward cultural relativism. Many of those protected by recent laws were not accepted or treated fairly in the recent past.
In conclusion, the two main ethical frameworks, absolutism and relativism, have both been observed in American society. Whether these changes are considered good or bad will depend, to a large degree, on the framework of the individual. Both absolutism and relativism have been around a long time, and neither one will be disappearing any time soon. Perhaps, the collision of these two viewpoints will cause people to think about the good points of each, and find a third alternative, a new and better common ground.
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