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Absolute and Relative Morality

            
             Explain the differences between absolute and relative morality.
            
             There are significant differences between absolute and relative morality. For instance absolutists are deontological; they believe that a moral act itself has moral significance in every situation e.g. not getting an abortion as it is considered wrong even though the baby might not be provided for. It implies that they have a duty to do what is considered right in every circumstance. Whereas relativists are teleological; they believe that the moral thing to do depends on the consequences of that act. Therefore implying that they base what should be moral by looking at the end result of that action. .
             So absolutism leads to consequences being secondary whereas relativism looks at them first. Moreover, absolutists believe that there is only ever one right or wrong e.g. it is always wrong to kill someone no matter what. They accept that there is a universal set of rules that make something right or wrong, these do not change depending on the situations. This is sometimes necessary as it could lead to anarchy and this would mean that the best is not always done. Whereas a relativist believes that there are no universally valid moral principles. For example a relativist may argue that if the killing was done for the benefit of another then the act was justified and therefore was moral. This could be a positive aspect of relativism as it means the theory can be adapted to suit each situation and what is most beneficial can be done.
             Furthermore relativists support diversity thesis, the idea that because of the extent of diversity within cultures there can be no one true morality. Morality could be seen as a set of rules that have become socially approved as culture went on. So in that sense there can be no absolute truth as morality is thought to come from culture and this is different to everyone. On the other hand an absolutist believes that culture cannot influence a moral decision as they believe that morality should be the same for all cultures.


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