BIG PICTURE in Focus

a. recognize determinism and relativism as challenges to morality

◈ METALANGUAGE ◈

Determinism – the view that all things, including the will, are already pre-determined

Relativism – insists that moral values are subjective

◈ ESSENTIAL KNOWLEDGE ◈

Philosophers have long since debated whether morality is really possible or not.
There are those who view morality as a matter of individual judgment and that there
are no common or universal moral obligation. There is also a need to confront those
who deny free-will or those who ask how there can be any absolute basis of morality
if all things, including human choices, are completely pre-determined.

Determinism

Determinists view all things as causally determined; that is, for anything that
happens, it could not have happened otherwise. If it is true that all things are
determined, this must also apply to the human innate capacity of willing and
choosing, thus, denying free-will. It is not clear whether morality presupposes freewill.
What sense would there be in talking about morality and moral responsibility if one
did not and cannot choose and act freely in the first place? In establishing blame or
guilt, even in legal contexts, it is important to ascertain whether the doer was forced
or not. Freewill, thus, is a condition for responsible, moral actions. 1 The fact that man
is in no control over his actions, whether good or evil, has no bearing on such actions
being good or evil.

Relativism

“Man is the measure of all things,” has become so common that, although Protagoras
did not intend to make this statement as a basis for morality, throughout the
development of ethics such statement is always applied. Ethical relativism denies
that there are common or universal or objective moral values. It insists, rather, that
moral values are subjective. One of the arguments given is that of ethical views and
opinions being conditioned by circumstances. What one thinks as good may depend
upon his upbringing, education, religious instruction, and even ethnic background.

1
Miller, Ed. L. (1998). Questions that Matter: An Invitation to Philosophy. McGraw Hill.
The challenge of relativism is that, since how we make sense of our moral quests
and moral disputes is purely relative, morality possess no objective or absolute status
beyond the individual’s own notions.2

◈ SELF HELP ◈

You can also refer to the source/s below to help you further understand the
lesson.

Keegan, Simon. Are killers born with 'murder gene'? Scientists now say they have the answer.
https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/technology-science/science/killers-born-murder-gene-
scientists-4528684

Azadboni, R. . (2011). Cultural Relativism and the Realistic Approach of Moral

Values. Liceo Journal of Higher Education Research
http://ejournals.ph/form/cite.php?id=1677

2
Ibid.