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The Isms


            
             The fact that man knows right from wrong proves his intellectual superiority to other creatures; but the fact that he can do wrong proves his moral inferiority to any creature that cannot. - Mark Twain.
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             This quote from Mark Twain concisely introduces an overview of the "isms" and their relation to morality. There may be a universal moral code or morality may be relative, but the only reason that philosophers continue to term "isms" is the need to explain humankind's propensity either to declare a moral absolute and then to break it himself or to see someone else break it and while doing so either to provide a logical justification or to blatantly act immorally. .
             Cultural relativism does not attempt to resolve the varieties of moral opinions from around the globe, but rather embraces them. Relativism is based on the notion that there are no universal moral principles. The norm of the society in which one resides is the basis for morality in cultural relativism. One values things because they are a part of their world. Public opinion rather than private determines what is right and wrong for a particular set of people. Because there are no universal principles, it is unfair to judge another based on one's own in this line of thinking. While this is a popular theory among many non-philosophers, most philosophers reject this theory. .
             Putting the theory into practice, Daniel Jonah Goldhagen, explores Nazi Germany in his essay, "Hitler's Willing Executioners". Cultural Relativism states that to kill the Jews under Hitler's power was the social norm and that explains why everyday Germans suddenly became murderers. However, it is also true that under Cultural Relativism we, as Americans infuriated by the events that are conspiring in Germany, are not supposed to judge what he is doing as morally wrong since there is a culture where it is morally right.
             Similar to cultural relativism is ethical subjectivism.


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