Deck 23: Ethical Relativism Versus Ethical Objectivism

Question 1

Ethnocentrism is the uncritical belief in the inherent superiority of one's own culture.

Answer 1

True

Question 2

Moral objectivism is the view that there are universal moral principles.

Answer 2

True

Question 3

Ethical relativism is the view that we have ethical obligations only to our relatives or those we are close to.

Answer 3

False

Question 4

An ethical relativist could not consistently say that "abortion is morally wrong for everyone."

Question 5

According to your text, subjectivism could lead to the conclusion that Hitler and Gandhi were equally moral.

Question 6

Subjectivism stresses the importance of socially agreed upon moral norms.

Question 7

According to your text, subjectivism contradicts the very concept of morality.

Question 8

The conventionalist claims that only his or her society conventions are the correct ones.

Question 9

Some anthropologists believe there is a common set of ethical principles that underlie the differences between cultures.

Question 10

According to the text, it would be contradictory for a nonrelativist to say it is justified for the Eskimos to allow their elderly to die from starvation at the same time they sayit would be wrong for us to do this.

Question 11

According to the text, both the pro-choice advocates and anti-abortionists agree that it is wrong to kill innocent persons.

Question 12

According to your text, it is impossible to state a moral principle that is binding on all rational persons.

Question 13

According to your text, the only possible options in ethics are moral absolutism and moral relativism.

Question 14

According to your text, one can reject ethnocentrism without accepting ethical relativism.

Question 15

The dependency thesis states that

A) ethical rules depend on divine commands.
B) what is right or wrong is based on the nature of a given society.
C) moral rules differ from society to society.
D) society is dependent upon a stable moral code for its survival and maximum flourishing.

Question 16

According to John Ladd, the diversity thesis and the dependency thesis defines

A) ethical relativism.
B) ethical absolutism
C) ethnocentrism.
D) the discipline of anthropology.

Question 17

Ernest Hemingway's claim that "what is moral is what you feel good after"is an example of

A) ethnocentrism.
B) moral objectivism.
C) conventionalism.
D) subjectivism.

Question 18

The text claims that Melville Herskovits, a conventionalist, contradicts himself when he claims that

A) the Ten Commandments should be followed.
B) every culture is moral in its own eyes.
C) the principle of tolerance is universally valid.
D) all of the above

Question 19

Which one of the following statements could a nonrelativist accept?

A) No culture's practices are any worse than any other.
B) There are no universal moral principles.
C) There is a legitimate relativity in the way different cultures apply universal moral principles.
D) The obvious fact that different cultures have many different moral rules indicates that they have no moral rules in common.

Question 20

Which of the following statements does moral absolutism accept and moral objectivism reject?

A) There are some objective moral principles.
B) There are moral principles that ought never to be violated.
C) Which moral principles are objective will depend on one culture.
D) What is right or wrong is a matter of personal opinion.

Question 21

Prima facie principles are defined as

A) principles that are relative to a culture.
B) moral rules that should be obeyed, unless they are overridden by a more important moral rule.
C) moral rules that may never be violated and must be obeyed by everybody, at all times, and in all circumstances.
D) moral rules that appear to be valid, but that are really illegitimate.

Question 22

Which one of the following is a criticism that the text raised against conventionalism?

A) It entails that reformers are always wrong.
B) The notion of a culture is difficult to define.
C) It seems to reduce to subjectivism.
D) all of the above

Question 23

Explain the diversity thesis and the dependency thesis and why they together define the core of ethical relativism.

Question 24

Explain subjectivism. Why could two subjectivists not argue over the morality of an action? Why does the text claim that subjectivism makes morality a useless concept?

Question 25

What are some of the absurd consequences the text claims follow from conventionalism?

Question 26

What are some of the points of agreement between moral absolutists and moral objectivists? How do they differ?

Question 27

Discuss three of the principles of the "core morality"presented in your text. Provide reasons why these should be included in a minimally basic objective morality.

Question 28

Explain what is meant by "prima facie principles." Does this notion support moral absolutism or moral objectivism? Why? Give an example of a prima facie principle and a situation whereone would be morally justified in violating it.

Question 29

Discuss the three reasons your text thinks people are attracted to ethical relativism. Explain, in each case, why your text thinks these reasons are inadequate.