[Vision2020] What is relative moralism

[Tom Hansen]

I believe that what Douglas WIlson means by "relative moralism" is better
defined as situational ethics.

Tom Hansen
Not On The Palouse, Not Ever

> -----Original Message-----
> From: vision2020-admin@moscow.com [mailto:vision2020-admin@moscow.com]On
> Behalf Of Art Deco
> Sent: Thursday, January 29, 2004 7:16 PM
> To: vision2020@moscow.com
> Subject: Fw: [Vision2020] What is relative moralism
>
>
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Art Deco" <deco@moscow.com>
> To: <Aldoussoma@aol.com>
> Sent: Thursday, January 29, 2004 7:15 PM
> Subject: Re: [Vision2020] What is relative moralism
>
>
> > For the interested both UI and WSU offer courses in Ethics via the
> > philosophy departments.  It takes only a short while to see how many
> > different systems there are of justifying ethical beliefs.  Taking an
> ethics
> > course can be, for the open minded, a real adventure.
> >
> > Wayne Fox
> >
> > ----- Original Message -----
> > From: <Aldoussoma@aol.com>
> > To: <bubbajones9763@hotmail.com>; <vision2020@moscow.com>
> > Sent: Thursday, January 29, 2004 6:56 PM
> > Subject: Re: [Vision2020] What is relative moralism
> >
> >
> > >
> > > Forum Members:
> > >
> > > Modern science has proven that there is no one time for the whole
> > universe, only local times.  Einstein's relativity theory in fact states
> > that time travel into the future is possible.  If you travel fast enough
> far
> > enough away from Earth and return, you can return in your life time to
> find
> > all your contemporaries dead and witness a future on earth you
> would never
> > have otherwise.
> > >
> > > The time traveler would age normally, but a clock on his space ship
> would
> > read a different time than an identical clock on earth that was set
> > identically and left behind awaiting the time travelers return,
> even with
> > both clocks keeping perfect time.  This is because each clock due to the
> > relative speed they are traveling to each other would in fact be in
> > different local times.
> > >
> > > A friend of mine once had the time dilation equation from relativity
> > written on a tiny piece of paper laying around their house just for
> > amusement, I guess, or to puzzle curious visitors, or perhaps to remind
> them
> > of the relative nature of time.
> > >
> > > What this has to do with relativism in morality?  Well,
> maybe, if we are
> > all in our local time zones, none of which exactly correspond
> in the sense
> > of a universal time, then perhaps we are also in our own local moral
> zones,
> > each of which does not have a universal reference moral standard, or
> > "clock."
> > >
> > > People often use the laws of the government to guide their moral
> actions,
> > but governments vary in what conduct they deem illegal, and during the
> > Nuremburg trials the fact that Nazi war criminals were
> following the laws
> of
> > Germany at that time was used a defense.  Government's thus sometimes
> appear
> > to be in their own moral "time zones" that are not universal.
> To convict
> > Nazi war criminals the Nuremberg courts had to appeal to a more
> universal
> > source of moral codes than just the laws of the state, using what is
> > sometimes call "natural ethical law."
> > >
> > > Some people think that the only way to have universal
> unchanging ethical
> > standards is via revelation from a God, thus the appeal of some forms of
> > religion.  Of course if your ultimate moral standards come from
> religion,
> > then how can you sensibly enforce a separation of church and state?  And
> > differing "Gods" give differing moral standards.  This debate continues,
> > even here in Moscow, Idaho.
> > >
> > > But really the discoveries of modern science, like relativity and
> > evolution, though they often are credited with up-ending universal moral
> > standards, might have nothing to say on the issues of Ethics.  It still
> > remains possible there is a God who issues universal ethical standards
> that
> > apply across the whole universe, while relativity and evolution remain
> valid
> > scientific principles according to how the universe operates, both for
> > living and non-living events.
> > >
> > > A good case can be made that science says nothing about how people
> should
> > behave in a moral sense, although science informs us of many of the
> > consequences of our actions that can increase the knowledge we have that
> we
> > can use to influence moral equations.
> > >
> > > Ted
> > >
> > > _____________________________________________________
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> > >  serving the communities of the Palouse since 1994.
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> > >
> > >
> >
>
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