Listening to today’s podcast concerning ethics provided very valuable knowledge about the field. The field of ethics is divided into two frameworks–normative and relative, both which completely contrast one another. The normative framework outlines the belief of a universal truth, which explains that there is a universal differentiation between good and bad, and moral and immoral. Transversely, the relative framework does not believe in a universal truth or in the reality of objective morality: essentially, relaying decisions concerning ‘morality’ to the individual, rather than the universe. Additionally, the United States focuses as a hybrid following cultural relativism, which branches together elements of normativism and relativism. However, this hybrid proves to be very problematic in our society. Personally, I have never discussed the frameworks of ethics in any of my classes; therefore, this knowledge will be very beneficial to shape my initial understanding of the field.
Ethics are a necessary aspect of society, as we pass judgement on actions everyday; however, people view issues in very different lens. I am not saying I know an alternative frame to follow issues of ethics in the United States, but it is important to acknowledge the issues in cultural relativism. For example, abortion is a topic that is split evenly between the normative framework: those who view abortion as immoral and those who believe it is amoral. The abortion debate is one of the more pervasive and consistent arguments present in the United States, as it grows increasingly more partisan throughout the years and less understanding is reached. I wonder if the stark divide between abortion opinions is due to our society’s function as one of cultural relativism: a country which equally values individual freedom and a clear understanding of morality leads to a paradoxical way of thought during the abortion debates. Abortion is not the only issue which challenges cultural relativism, but it is interesting to analyze the varying opinions and beliefs derived by our country’s understanding of morality.
I agree that when considering cultural relativism it makes one wonder if big debates such as abortion will ever be solved since there will always be people with different value judgements.
Adding on to you, by nature, the US is such an individualist nation (which led to the hybrid style), causing us to not be able to find the “truth” when it comes to ethically evaluate the big debates like abortion, gun rights, and immigration
I totally agree with you on the debate about abortion. One thought that popped into my head was do you think those against abortion are using cultural relativism to their advantage? Specifically, do you think that cultural relativism is being weaponized to influence others that abortion is unethical and morally incorrect? I feel that using the Bible and God as an excuse is a way of using Cultural Relativism as justification to stop abortion, which I feel is absolutely ridiculous.
I also haven’t really discussed the frameworks of ethics in any of my classes, and I am excited to see how this will help me in my critical thinking skills. I like how you use the abortion debate as an example of normative ethics because some people believe abortion is entirely ethical, and others reject it by all means. It is really interesting that the way one views abortion might differ from how they view other issues that should theoretically fall along the same lines of reasoning, and definitely speaks to our country’s mixed understanding of morality.