Cultural Relativism Divine Command Theory

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Anthony Parrillo
Professor Frim
PHI-160
8 November 2015

Cultural Relativism and Divine Command Theory
Philosophers have been arguing for centuries about the nature of morality. In the field of ethics, philosophers have focused their attention on answering important questions such as: What is right and wrong? What is good and bad? By what process should we make moral decisions? Philosophers have posited answers through a range of moral theories. Unfortunately, no theory is perfect. Not surprisingly then, no theory has gained universal acceptance. Does that mean that all moral theories are equal? No. Through critical analysis philosophers may evaluate the merits of a theory, thereby determining the relative strengths and weaknesses of each. …show more content…
If a progressive, revolutionary agent claims that that slavery is wrong, and if he or she were in the moral minority, then the Cultural Relativist must admit that that person is wrong because they are going against the norms of their society. This system of morality makes moral reform impossible. Another problem for the Cultural Relativist is the difficulty defining culture. Could a church be considered a subculture within a larger culture? A family? Indeed, an individual could constitute a culture of one. Following this logic, Cultural Relativism can be reduced to Subjectivism whereby individuals may claim singular moral authority. Lastly, it is argued that the underlying principles governing all societies are not as disparate as they appear, even though practices and customs appear to be markedly different on the surface. When we consider these issues in combination, we see that Cultural Relativism undermines important universal values, fails to provide consistent results, and is indeterminate; it does not provide a reliable decision making

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