For the most part, I believe Americans would like to make decisions based on moral absolutism as that seems to be right decision to make, but in all reality, guidance is based on moral relativism due to so many variables that take place today.
Ruth Benedict discusses in A Defense of Ethical Relativism what various cultures viewed as a moral absolutism in a particular part of the world but may be seen as moral relativism in another part. Benedict discussed homosexuality as being accepted in the American Indian tribe years ago but one would have never thought it possible when thinking about the era of cowboys and Indians as they portrayed a very masculine image. The Northwest Coast civilization’s known practice was when an individual was killed, …show more content…
But in our society, we have allowed there to be a relativism by making an exception to the rule. “By defining what is deviant, we are enabled to know what is not, and hence, to live by shared standards” (Moynihan, 1993). Moynihan discussed the differences of variables that takes place in today’s society. He talks about how crime is on the rise, the family structure has changed to include married people that are heterosexual, homosexual, or living with other individuals, divorced or single parent families, welfare, and teen pregnancies. “The amount of deviant behavior in American society has increased beyond the levels the community can ‘afford to recognize’ and that, accordingly, we have been re-defining deviancy so as to exempt much conduct previously stigmatized, and also quietly raising the ‘normal’ level in categories where behavior is nor abnormal by any earlier standard” (Moynihan, …show more content…
A person may have a formed opinion about something but will not vocally support or deny it. What seemed so black and white years ago has become grayed in today’s world. Values were established years ago that provided a foundation. There are too many variables today that change the way one thinks about what is morally ethical. I would do anything to protect my own family. I may feel guilty about how that might be done, but in this respect, I would be supporting moral
Ruth Benedict discusses in A Defense of Ethical Relativism what various cultures viewed as a moral absolutism in a particular part of the world but may be seen as moral relativism in another part. Benedict discussed homosexuality as being accepted in the American Indian tribe years ago but one would have never thought it possible when thinking about the era of cowboys and Indians as they portrayed a very masculine image. The Northwest Coast civilization’s known practice was when an individual was killed, …show more content…
But in our society, we have allowed there to be a relativism by making an exception to the rule. “By defining what is deviant, we are enabled to know what is not, and hence, to live by shared standards” (Moynihan, 1993). Moynihan discussed the differences of variables that takes place in today’s society. He talks about how crime is on the rise, the family structure has changed to include married people that are heterosexual, homosexual, or living with other individuals, divorced or single parent families, welfare, and teen pregnancies. “The amount of deviant behavior in American society has increased beyond the levels the community can ‘afford to recognize’ and that, accordingly, we have been re-defining deviancy so as to exempt much conduct previously stigmatized, and also quietly raising the ‘normal’ level in categories where behavior is nor abnormal by any earlier standard” (Moynihan, …show more content…
A person may have a formed opinion about something but will not vocally support or deny it. What seemed so black and white years ago has become grayed in today’s world. Values were established years ago that provided a foundation. There are too many variables today that change the way one thinks about what is morally ethical. I would do anything to protect my own family. I may feel guilty about how that might be done, but in this respect, I would be supporting moral