Blog Assignment #6

--------------------------------------------------------------
PART ONE
--------------------------------------------------------------

QUESTION #1: If an action that is praised in one culture may be condemned in another, would it be correct to say that all moral values are relative to the culture they are found in?

ANSWER 1A: It would not be correct to say that all moral values are universally relative to the culture they are found in because there are many cultures that share similar values. For instance, modern American culture condemns premeditated murder and so do all modern European cultures. Similarly, many modern Far East cultures also hold similar views. Saying all moral values are relative to the culture they are found in is too much of a generalization. Chapter five in the Ruggiero text has a passage written by a Buddhist about his value system. The book then goes on to explain the similarity of values amongst different religions. For example, Catholics, Methodists, Mormons, Amish, Muslims, Taoists, agnostics, and atheists can all agree that having good manners, kind speech, and an uplifted spirit is a good thing. This proves that people from one culture are able to relate to people from other cultures on the basis of certain moral values.



ANSWER 1B:

P: All humans are similar in that they all have the same basic physiological, psychological, and intellectual equipment which they use to receive data from their senses and formulate a value system.

P:Similar moral values can be found in many cultures.

------------------------------

C: Therefore, it is NOT correct to say that all moral values are relative to the culture they are found in.



QUESTION #2: Isn’t it a mark of ignorance to pass judgments on other cultures or to claim that one culture is better than another?

ANSWER 2A: It is not a mark of ignorance to pass judgments on other cultures because not passing judgment on other cultures affirms moral relativism. Extreme moral relativism states that it is incorrect to judge other people's actions because they are following their own value system. This kind of logic would promote anarchy which is clearly incorrect. Sometimes, in order to affirm the correctness of a culture's value system, one must necessarily reject the value system of other cultures as the book affirms with its abortion example. Therefore, a philosopher must necessarily pass judgment on the values of other cultures in order to determine the correct values.



ANSWER 2B:

P:To hold a belief is to reject ideas in opposition to that belief.

P:One must necessarily pass judgment on other cultures to affirm the correct value system.

-------------------------------

C: Therefore, it is NOT a mark of ignorance to pass judgments on other cultures.


--------------------------------------------------------------
PART TWO
--------------------------------------------------------------

See page 63 in our text. Choose one inquiry, from inquiries 3 – 11. Briefly describe the inquiry as the first part of your answer, so your readers know which one you chose. Discuss whether or not the action / decision in each case is ethical. And then, put your argument in equation form. Try to include an ethical principle as one of your premises, as modeled below...

I chose question four which asks if the genocide committed by Joseph Stalin resulting in the deaths of 30 million people was morally acceptable because it took place in a different culture at a different time. Genocide is the unjustified murder of many people based on race, religion, or culture, etc. This act is recognized by many cultures as wrong, therefore it is not relative to only one culture and judgment may be passed on it as a heinous act.

Argument #1

Arguable Issue: Whether or not the genocide committed by Joseph Stalin is morally acceptable.

P: Genocide is always wrong. (moral principle, based on valuing human life).

P: Affirming genocide as correct would justify almost any act of murder.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
C: Therefore, the genocide committed by Joseph Stalin is NOT morally acceptable.