Midterm Outline
Morality is a culturally conditioned response
Moral philosophers, theologians and social scientists try to identify objective values so as to forestall the relativist menace.
Moral relativism is a plausible doctrine, and it has important implications for how we conduct our lives, organize our societies and deal with others.
Cannibals and child brides one person’s good can be another person’s bad. cannibalism 34% of cultures blood sports head hunting killing for pleasure scarification genital infibulation foot binding infanticide deny variation people really agree about values but have different factual beliefs or life circumstances that lead them to behave differently ex. slave owners may have believed that their slaves were intellectually inferior, and inuits who practices infanticide may have been forced to do so because of resource scarcity in the Tundra. deny that variation matters objectivists who concede that moral variation exists argue that variation does not entail relativism; after all, scientific theories differ too, and we don’t assume that every theory is true.
Our way of life might look grotesque to many who have come before and many who will come after.
Emotions and inculcation moral variation assuming that morality, unlike science, is not based on reason or observation. children Young children behave in ways that we would never accept in adults: they scream, throw food, take off their clothes in public, hit, scratch, bite, and generally make a ruckus.
Moral education begins from the start, as parents correct these antisocial behaviors, and they usually do so by conditioning children’s emotions.
Parents threaten by: physical punishment (“Do you want a spanking?”) they withdraw love (“I’m not going to play with you any more!”) ostracize (“Go to your room!”) deprive (“No dessert for you!”) induce vicarious distress (“Look at the pain you’ve caused!”)
Emotional conditioning and osmosis are not merely convenient tools
Moral philosophers, theologians and social scientists try to identify objective values so as to forestall the relativist menace.
Moral relativism is a plausible doctrine, and it has important implications for how we conduct our lives, organize our societies and deal with others.
Cannibals and child brides one person’s good can be another person’s bad. cannibalism 34% of cultures blood sports head hunting killing for pleasure scarification genital infibulation foot binding infanticide deny variation people really agree about values but have different factual beliefs or life circumstances that lead them to behave differently ex. slave owners may have believed that their slaves were intellectually inferior, and inuits who practices infanticide may have been forced to do so because of resource scarcity in the Tundra. deny that variation matters objectivists who concede that moral variation exists argue that variation does not entail relativism; after all, scientific theories differ too, and we don’t assume that every theory is true.
Our way of life might look grotesque to many who have come before and many who will come after.
Emotions and inculcation moral variation assuming that morality, unlike science, is not based on reason or observation. children Young children behave in ways that we would never accept in adults: they scream, throw food, take off their clothes in public, hit, scratch, bite, and generally make a ruckus.
Moral education begins from the start, as parents correct these antisocial behaviors, and they usually do so by conditioning children’s emotions.
Parents threaten by: physical punishment (“Do you want a spanking?”) they withdraw love (“I’m not going to play with you any more!”) ostracize (“Go to your room!”) deprive (“No dessert for you!”) induce vicarious distress (“Look at the pain you’ve caused!”)
Emotional conditioning and osmosis are not merely convenient tools