Are There Any Moral Absolutes

Running head: ARE THERE ANY MORAL ABSOLUTES? 1

Are there Any Moral Absolutes?

Name

Institution

ARE THERE ANY MORAL ABSOLUTES? 2

Are There Any Moral Absolutes?

Whether you are discussing religion, politics or just behavior in general, it won’t be long until

the topic of right and wrong are brought up. Telling someone or a group of people that they

can’t do something because it is morally wrong implies that there is some sort of universal

standard, or a moral absolute. It is becoming quite popular in recent years for people to suggest

that there actually aren’t any moral absolutes and that people’s definition of what is right and

what is wrong is generally just their option, which is formed by society and other factors. While

this may sound nice in theory, it really doesn’t stand up to scrutiny very well.

In order to prove that there are moral absolutes, one need only find one example of

something that is morally wrong in every instance no matter what. The easiest way to do this is

to look at extreme examples such as the fact that it is always morally wrong to torture innocent

children just for fun. Even if there is someone who is a sociopath and wants to do this type of

thing, they should not be permitted to in any case because it is a moral absolute that it is wrong

(Accetti, 2015). Looking at it from the opposite side, those who believe there are no moral

absolutes must concede that the torture of innocent children for fun is not morally wrong, just

something they don’t like and don’t want permitted.

When opponents of the idea of moral absolutes debate this point they often say that moral

absolutes don’t exist because people from different times or cultures would have a different list

of moral absolutes. Most people in Western society today, for example, would say that slavery is

wrong in every case. Those who lived in the same area just a couple hundred years ago,

however, would not agree. If anything, however, this proves that there are moral absolutes.

When we criticize slave owners of the past we don’t say that they simply had an incorrect

opinion. We say that what they did was wrong. Even if they are not held completely culpable

ARE THERE ANY MORAL ABSOLUTES? 3

because of the common beliefs of the time, they were still acting immorally (Kellenberger,

2008).

One of the most popular arguments for moral absolutes would be to ask whether it is

morally wrong to believe that there are moral absolutes, and make laws to enforce them. If

someone says that it is wrong, then they have just shown that there is at least one moral absolute

Accetti, 2015). If someone says no, they are showing that while they may believe something, it

doesn’t really influence their actions so it becomes an almost meaningless belief anyway.

While discussing whether or not there are moral absolutes can be an intellectually

stimulating experience, it really comes down to one thing. Whether someone believes in moral

absolutes or not, just about everyone acts as if their beliefs on many topics are moral absolutes,

which is really what matters anyway. Someone who doesn’t believe in moral absolutes will still

typically support laws to prevent torture of children or even animals, for example. This

illustrates that no matter the belief of someone, they will typically still behave as if there are

moral absolutes at play in the world.

ARE THERE ANY MORAL ABSOLUTES? 4

References

Accetti, C. I. (2015). Relativism and religion: Why democratic societies do not need moral

absolutes. New York : Columbia University Press.

Kellenberger, J. (2008). Moral relativism: A dialogue. Lanham: Rowman & Littlefield

Publishers.

Place new order. It's free, fast and safe

Paper type

Deadline

Page count

550 words

Total price: $ 15.00

Our customers say

Jeff Curtis

USA, Student

"I'm fully satisfied with the essay I've just received. When I read it, I felt like it was exactly what I wanted to say, but couldn’t find the necessary words. Thank you!"

Ian McGregor

UK, Student

"I don’t know what I would do without your assistance! With your help, I met my deadline just in time and the work was very professional. I will be back in several days with another assignment!"

Shannon Williams

Canada, Student

"It was the perfect experience! I enjoyed working with my writer, he delivered my work on time and followed all the guidelines about the referencing and contents."