The Problem of Relativism and Morality - Essay Example

? The problem of Morality and Relativism Number Number Teacher’s Due The problem of Morality and Relativism Morality and relativism are problems that philosophers have grappled with for a very long time now. For centuries, man has been confounded with the problem as to whether he needs a universal moral standard or not. These questions have been tied up with the subjectivity of man and how the interpretations of modern realities take shape. It also depends to a great extent on how the conceptions of god have evolved. If one looks at the ethics and morality of the Western civilization, one can see that the Judaeo-Christian frameworks have influenced the frameworks of morality to a great extent. The role that religion plays in the shaping of morality can thus, not be underestimated. The fact that these religions were often the mouthpieces of certain political denominations must also be taken into account while looking at their influences. Whether religion which seeks to represent what was for a long time considered the very fountain-spring of morality- God- is biased or not makes the problem of relativism very relevant to the lives of people even today. The emergence of atheistic groups and the rise of existentialist thought in Europe also brought the focus back on relativism and morality. This paper shall seek to look at the different points of view that have been put forth regarding relativism and seek to assert that it is not possible to have a single view of morality in the modern age. Relativisms of various kinds are a part of the theories that are used to talk of morality today. Subjective relativism, a form of relativism according to which morality depends on the subjectivity of an individual places the onus of deciding whether something is good or bad according to his or her own beliefs and values. The individual, and not a divine or social force, is invested with the power to make choices regarding good and evil. This perspective gained credence with the rise of individualism that reached its height with the rise of capitalism (“Roots of Individualism in Europe”). With capitalism at its peak, it is necessary for one to understand the role of individual subjectivities. It is also important for the society as a whole to examine the role of overarching frameworks that fail to include the majority of the people in the modern world. The modernist movement that took shape in Europe had as one of its founding principles this very distrust in metanarratives that were imposed on people as a part of religion and history. The fallout of this was that conventional notions of morality were discarded. This was very different from the moralities that were a part of Victorian society which believed in a rigid framework of morality that would then be imposed as a part of social life. As a part of this, people would have to adhere to the rules that were set by the society as a precondition for being a part of that very society. Marginalization was the punishment that was meted out to anybody who dared to deviate from the path that was laid out for the citizens of a particular community. Organicity, thus, is not a part of the social fabric of modern times. The organicity that made possible the unity of earlier societies is not a feature of modern society. A single framework that defines one’s existence and the morality that is a part of that existence is thus, insufficient for an understanding of life as it was during the twentieth century and as it is in the twenty first. Franco Moretti locates the schism between organic and non-organic societies in the Augustan age when Europe came into contact with other cultures in a major way (Moretti 36). Debates about the moralities that are a part of modern times are incomplete without a discussion of the theories that were a part of organic societies-the theories that served to hold people together as a single monolithic entity. Religion was one such body of theories. The Divine Command Theory that places God at the pinnacle of all creation and views him as an infallible entity that controls the rest of the universe has failed to provide a uniform framework of laws that would help people understand right and wrong. Questions regarding the efficacy of religion have surfaced time and again in the past century. An explanation of the world on the basis of theories of divine creation is no longer accepted and thus, moralities have been defined in relation to one another in the modern world. Theorists have often alluded to Friedrich Nietzsche’s claim regarding the death of God while talking of moral relativism. In the wake of the absence of God, the lack of any concrete morality to control human civilization is exposed. Along with the findings of the psychoanalysts, this development makes the status of morality itself, on which human civilization rests, unstable. Relativism and the presence of many frameworks, together, is thus, the only way to achieve any degree of peace in the modern world. Cultural relativism is another factor that one has to take into account when thinking of morality in today’s world. The fact that people of different cultures believe in different value systems has never been different in history-people have always had different beliefs. However, with the emergence of a fast-paced cosmopolitan global village, the differences in the beliefs of people always come to the fore. More often than not, these differences do not melt down for a single united community to be formed. These differences can cause serious damage to the unity of a nation and may damage the democratic structures that have been built all over the world. an acceptance of the relativism of moralities and the role that cultures have to play in this, on the part of all the cultures that are a part of a nation can lead to a partial solution to the problem. This can then lead to a situation where the problems of multiculturalism and multilingualism can become strength of a culture rather than a weakness. This is the case with most cultures around the world at this point in time, when most cultures are still in a process of transition. The process of globalization, postcoloniality and neo-colonialism throws open the debates regarding the relativism of morality again. The different cultures that are newly exposed to the process of globalization are often expected to follow Western codes of morality. Morality and the way it works can thus be an important part of colonialism. This relativism can operate in interesting ways whereby the people of one country may share their codes of morality with the people of another nation and not the people of their own nation. With people of the same country not having any factor to unite them, morality becomes a mirror of the fractured selves of individuals and communities. It reveals a deeply divided world which has comes to terms with its divided nature and the impossibility of a reunion of its different parts. Morality and relativism as it is represented in art and literature can also be a valuable indicator of the state of morality and the debates surrounding it, in the world. The rise of the novel as the dominant form of literature in the nineteenth and twentieth century can be attributed to the increasing relativism of morality. The ambiguity that characterized the characters and situations in novels was a far cry from the fully formed and one-dimensional characters that people were used to finding in the genre of the epic. Mikhail Bakhtin talks of this shift as the shift from a world that believed in a monoglossia to one that believed in a heteroglossia or multiplicity (Bakhtin 81). This multiplicity causes dominant civilizations to exert control over weaker ones and form their identity therein (Said 16). In this world where imperial forces have a large part to play, the presence of moral relativism is a given and good and evil mostly depend upon the economic might of the perpetrator. This essay has attempted to make the inevitability of relativism in an analysis of morality. It has done so through attempting to trace the changes that have happened in the past centuries in the way people have perceived morality and also in the way they have been perceived in relation to each other. The various factors that have contributed to the change in the perception of morality-religious, economic and other social factors-all of them have resulted in the disintegration of monolithic worldviews which encouraged frameworks of morality that claimed to explain everything. Such explanations had become redundant and newness was needed in such debates. This is the greatest reason as to why relativism, a phenomenon that was already a part of the society began to be reflected in the theories about society that was in circulation. The importance of relativism, however, lies in its ability to help the human race accept its differences and live together with tolerant attitudes towards the beliefs of others. Works Cited Bakhtin, Mikhail. “The Epic and the Novel”. Literary Criticism. Tr. Michael Holquist. New Delhi: Doaba, 2007. Print. Moretti, Franco. “The Soul and the Harpy”. Signs taken for Wonders. New York: Verso, 1994. Print. “Roots Of Individualism In Europe” Free Essays. Web. 5th June, 2012. http://www.freeessays.cc/db/26/hmd303.shtml Said, Edward. Orientalism. New York: Penguin, 2003. Print. Read More