Relativism, Hedonism, Perfectionism

Ethics is the science that explains the valuing process. It provides a theory for explaining why conduct is considered good or bad. It attempts to answer the questions "Why is this good?" and "Why is that bad?"

Ethical theories are the reasons we give for judging one action good and another action bad. These theories are the ultimate reasons we give in answer to the question "Why ought you to do this?"

One can study the philosophical or ethical positions of the great "thinkers" of our time. By so doing, certain basic themes or patterns emerge. One of the major classifications of ethics is ethical relativism.

Ethical Relativism

Circumstances alter cases.  Everyday standards are good, but exceptions are also right and good.  The judgment of good or bad is based upon the result or consequence of the act rather than the act itself. For example, an action is right if it tends to produce the greatest good for the greatest number.

Ethical relativism claims that when two individuals or two cultures disagree on their moral views of an act, both can be right.  This can be viewed from several directions.

• Moral views are not right or wrong, but simply the way different cultures or individuals feel or think about an act.
• Cultural circumstances alter the way people think about their environment, thus emphasis of moral or immoral judgment is placed on differing actions in differing cultures.
• We have no way to prove one way or another way is right or wrong, so it is best not to claim either judgment is correct.

Teleological (ethical relativism) reasoning seeks to increase the degree or extent of either pleasure, happiness, blessedness, or of biological or organic perfection, self-realization, or the spiritual condition.

The desire to increase these characteristics of the human condition can be applied primarily to society at large or to the individual. This is the ethical stance of the increasingly accepted world view or "religion" of Secular Humanism.

	Hedonism: Pleasure, happiness, or blessedness.	Perfectionism: Biological or organic, self-realization, spiritual.
Social Level	Seeks the greatest happiness for the greatest number of people.	Seeks to perfect society in some way.
Individual Level	Seeks to maximize the happiness of the individual.	Seeks to increase the level of performance of the individual in some ways.

Some here would separate from hedonism the position of eudemonism (the seeking of happiness) to make a separate category.  Some writers do not, and for simplicity, we will also consider them as combined under hedonism.

Teleological positions hold that an action is good if it results in some form of enjoyment or happiness, or if it results in the improvement of the individual or society in some way. Actions are not imbued with "rightness" or "wrongness" in themselves, but are to be judged by the consequences.

The evaluation of the "goodness" of actions can be viewed from either the "social" level in which the good accruing to many people is considered, or from the individual level in which the good accruing to the individual alone is considered.

To CONTINUE click on either
Secular Humanism (example of ethical relativism)
Moral absolutism

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Copyright © 2003 Robert Sherman

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