Morality that's relative to
circumstances is not moral relativism. Hi,
I'm Tim Barnett, and today we're applying
some red pen logic to an Instagram post
from The Evolved Primate. Class is in
session.
This is Red Pen Logic with Mr. B
where we help you assess bad thinking by
using good thinking. Plus, we try to have
some fun in the process. In today's
example, The Evolved Primate offers an
argument against objective morality and
for subjective morality. The post reads,
"Morals are objective? I disagree.
For every immoral action there exists a
scenario where that action becomes moral.
A killer asks you where your family is.
Is it immoral to lie to save them? Morals
are subjective." Notice the logic: If
morality is dependent on the situation,
then morality must be subjective. Alright,
it's time to red pen this primate. The
Evolved Primate seems a bit puzzled on what
it means for morality to be subjective,
so let's define some terms. Pay very close
attention here because lots of little
primates get confused on this. Subjective
morality, also called relativism, is the
view that morality is based on what some
particular person believes. On this view,
what is right and what is wrong depend completely
on the individual, or the subject. That's
why they call it subjectivism. On
relativism, premarital sex may be wrong
for me, but the exact same behavior might
be right for someone else. Now, here's the
payoff. Listen closely, you little
primates. In subjective morality, right
and wrong depend completely on the
individual subject. But in objective
morality, by contrast, right and wrong do
not depend on the individual subject but
on the individual situation. The Evolved
Primate has actually confused morality
that's relative to situations—
objectivism—with morality that is relative to
subjects—relativism. Uh-oh. When Mr. Primate
says that morality is always relative to
situations, he's right, but that's moral
objectivism, not moral relativism. The
Evolved Primate has confused the
definition of relativism with the
definition of objectivism. Whoopsie. The
Evolved Primate's example actually
demonstrates his mistake. He offers a
moral dilemma in the form of a question.
A killer asks you where your family is.
Is it immoral to lie to save them? The
dilemma is, if you tell the truth,
your family will be killed. Bad. But if
you protect your family, you'll have to
lie. Also bad. But wait. If morals are
subjective, as Mr. Primate says, then
there is no dilemma.
The answer to the question is simple. If
you think it's immoral to lie, then it is.
For you. If you think it's more moral to
protect your family, then it is. For you.
There is no dilemma on relativism
because whatever you choose is right for
you. For the moral relativist, both
options are equally legitimate because
there is no objective right or wrong
decision. For the moral objectivist,
though, there is a right response and a
wrong response in this particular
situation. Yes, it's wrong to lie to
protect a thief from the police. But it's
right to lie to protect your family from
a killer, and this is true for anyone
facing the same situation. In
subjectivism, the subject gets to decide
what's right and wrong, and he's always
right, by definition. In objectivism, it's
the objective circumstances that
determine what's right and wrong. See the
difference? The Evolved Primate has
mistaken objective morality for
subjective morality. Is it always wrong
to lie? Well, it depends not on the
subject—
that's relativism—but on the objective
situation—that's objectivism. So, what
have we learned? First, objective morality
always depends on the situation or
circumstances. Relativism is when right
and wrong depend on, or are relative to, the
person. Second, moral dilemmas based on
circumstances, like the example given by
Mr. Primate,
always demonstrate objectivism, not
subjectivism. Third, if we ought to
save our family from a killer, then
morality is objective, not subjective. The
Evolved Primate thinks his ethical
dilemma illustrates subjective morality.
Ironically, it illustrates just the
opposite. Class dismissed.
