Taking cultural relativism seriously

Students always seem to breathe a sigh of relief when we move away from moral absolutism. They bridle at what they see as the limitations on human freedom suggested by Thomas Aquinas and Natural Law. Kant at this early stage of the course is still a delight yet to come, but the likelihood of “Duty” becoming a popular motivating guide for acceptable behaviour, seems remote.

Relativism – now there is something classes respond to an identify with. Western society seems to have fallen in love with an inclusive approach to morality. Emancipation of women, equality of the sexes, the removal of taboos such as homosexuality and women drinking alone in pubs. Freedom of speech, freedom to criticise the government without fear of retribution and freedom from the church and those dreadful wedding vows.

Students will vote for relativism every time. “It’s fine because everyone does it.”The geatest happiness for the greatest…etc.”  Nevertheless the word “everyone” always worries me.

Textbooks are keen to document the fashionable truths of cultural relativism.
The criticisms of cultural relativism are listed but rarely is any meat put on the bones. “Some societies practise polygamy, others monogamy. Some have arranged marriages.” Now we can look at the details.

Shafilea Ahmed was a young girl living in Warrington.

Shafilea Ahmed

She was murdered by her parents because she refused to accept an arranged marriage. The parents believed that her refusal to accept the marriage back in Pakistan would bring dishonour on the family. Shafilea was murdered by her father because she refused to submit her sexuality to his law. The mother was also party to the act by egging her husband on to finish the girl off. At the same time she stuffed a plastic bag into Shafilea’s mouth.

As a parent I find such acts profoundly upsetting and disturbing.

Relativists need not only to recognise that different societies have different moral codes, but would also say we “cannot make judgements about the conduct of other societies.”

I find this case a compelling criticism of relativism and one that could be cited in an essay. Honour killing might, in certain circumstances, be something that affects a family in Pakistan.

Ultimately the question has to be asked is something right simply because one group or race or people believe that it is right.

Relativists would have to say “yes”        You?

Sophie’s World (For those studying AS and A2) part 6

26 Romanticism                                        

27 Hegel

28 Kierkegaard

These are all tremendously interesting philosophers but not ones you would come across a great deal on your AS and A2 coursesand certainly not ones that you need to be aware of at the start of the course.

Karl Marx

29 Marx

Marx is no longer terribly relevant to the course since the Sociological challenges to religion were removed from the AS syllabus. Neverthless the chapter is worth reading Marx is a much maligned character and was not actually responsible for some of the ideas which have become attached to his name.

30 Darwin

Darwin and Darwinism is relevant to the Design Theory of the Existence of God. This chapter is quite interesting if you are unaware of the historical details of Darwin’s life. The resume of the general conclusions of his study of the natural world should be helpful when you study his objections to the design argument. Even so it was the general drift of his work, rather than any specific detail that set him at odds with the beliefs of the established church. Churchmen such as Aquinas and Paley never really questioned the Genesis model – that God created the world in six days, or that he created and peopled the Garden of Eden. They accepted the biblical idea, that creation came from nothing and then God made something – a complete universe all at once. Darwinism is based on the development from primitive life forms which evolved and developed – a constantly growing and changing unverse.

31 Freud

This is an interesting account of his work. A basic understanding of how Freud viewed human personality into the components id, ego and superego. Freud is necessary for A2 students. He figures a great deal in the topic of conscience.

32 Our own time

There is very little here to fascinate the beginner. A2 candidates may be interested in the section on Satre. He figures prominently in the work on Freewill and Determinism. Alberto Knox describes very precisely the views of Satre showing that freedom does not mean that one need not take responsibility for one’s actions. (It is a very common mistake at A level)

Conclusion

That I thinks sums it all up. The book is fascinating and the story is carefully told in different layers. What I had to keep reminding myself was that all the characters were in fact people in a book and not just some of them. I cannot sit in judgement on the book as a piece of literature – all I can say is that it is a very useful book to work through all the way through philosophy courses.

I hope your studies go well and that your courses are enjoyable.

Sophie’s World (For those studying AS and A2) part 5

21 David Hume 1711-1776

David Hume

He will appear in the AS course as one of the critics of the Cosmological Argument. He is also relevant at A2 as a critic of the idea of miracles. The introduction to Hume in Sophie’s World is a bit obscure and I would scan quickly over the two different types of perception – impressions and ideas.Many textbooks imply Hume was an atheist. Sophie’s World though puts the record straight by saying he was an agnostic. Not someone who was against the idea of God, but someone who says, “we do not know if there is a God.” A2 candidates ought to note his ideas about life after death.

The ensuing discussion about cause and effect needs to be read very carefully. It is not easy to follow, but the logic is crucial for a strong AS candidate. Although Sophie’s World does not actually say this, Hume’s suggestion that cause and effect is a product of the mind, rather than an aspect of observation is crucial to his criticism of Thomas Aquinas’ cosmological argument for the existence of God. Hume would hold that it is not essential to say that something must have caused the world. This view also lies behind Bertrand Russell’s belief that the world “just is” – there is no need to assume that a God caused it. (Bertrand Russell’s argument with Frederick Copleston is part of the AS syllabus)

22 Berkeley 1685-1753

From here to the end of the chapter on the Enlightenment the book deals with philosophical ideas that do not form part of A level courses. Enjoy the story.

For those preparing for university courses Berkeley may be important – possibly also the French philosophers of the Enlightenment. Apart from specialist study, I cannot say that I have ever thought much about them. What the book does well is to show the different approaches to philosophy adopted in Britain, Germany and France. The brief reference to Deism might be  helpful to those who are going on to higher philosophical studies which speculate about more than one reality or possible universes.

25 Kant 1724-1804

Kant

Kant is a giant of a philosopher. He is so impressive, so logical and so important for A level students. I was disappointed by the write-up about him in Sophie’s World. I wasn’t really sure that all the illustrations worked for me.The introduction to Kant, showing how he took some ideas from both the rationalists and empiricists may be interesting and worthy of consideration, but as AS students, you won’t be expected to speculate in-depth about rationalism and empiricism. This long introduction to Kant, I hope, will be interesting, but not all that useful. At one point Alberto Knox points out why Kant rejected both rationalism and empiricism.There is also a very useful passage where Kant’s views about the “proofs of the existence of God” are discussed. Kant rejected both ontological and cosmological arguments. It is worth making a note of this. It is also worth noting is Kant’s views on faith. Some textbooks fail to stress the importance of faith in Kant’s thinking. This leads on to the idea that man possesses an immortal soul, a fact which is crucial in understanding what is called in your syllabus Kant’s views on the Moral Argument for the existence of God.

The treatment of Kant’s approach to ethics is very important. Alberto Knox really only gives the bare bones of the philosopher’s thinking here. It is such an important topic for AS students. I would have liked the author to have talked about 3 formulations of the categorical imperative, but he does cover the two main ones which will figure in your course.

The insertion at the end of the chapter from Hilde’s father about Kant’s ideas about war and peace is important. It concentrates on the philosopher’s views about peaceful coexistence of nations. Kant’s views on war and peace are part of the A2 syllabus and his ideas about war are frequently overlooked by candidates.

There is one more installment.