Relativism

In ethics, Relativism refers to the theory that aspects of right and wrong differ from people to people,
this means that everyone has a different view on what is the “right thing to do” and while some people may
have similar views, none is completely the same. Various factors supporting relative ethics can be found
from cultural and social backgrounds of individuals, as we are influenced by the traditions and ethics of our
family, society and religion. Due to this, what one society may consider as a heroic and righteous act may be
something that is condemned in another, an example of this would be Female Circumcision.

Whilst Female Circumcision is a tradition practiced in certain countries in Africa, Western society and
many modern countries condemn such an act to be wicked and unnecessary. This example shows two
clashing sets of ethics, differing due to their traditions and backgrounds, we say that the ethics here are
relative towards this, as the traditions and social acceptance of this idea are different, naturally the resulting
ethics would be different as well. Relativism can be seen positively as it considers the social and cultural
backgrounds of the ethical situation and uses it to justify them, capital punishment in ancient China to
decrease crime rate as a deterrent cannot be seen with the same ethics with the modern era, as many social
and cultural aspects were different, what was effective back then may not be effective now and vice versa.

However this optimistic outlook on the diverse morality causes problems as well, whiles relativism
encourages societies to have different criteria for their ethics, when societies meet and attempts to unite,
what will happen to their ethics? With relativism upheld in both societies, at first they would perhaps respect
and allow their differences aside, but when people from different social backgrounds mix together into
multi-ethnic societies, relativism encounters a hard wall, which society’s ethics are to be followed? What
happens when someone performs a traditional ritual on another that finds it offensive and immoral? Do
relativists condemn others for criticizing another’s ethics? If so then the relativists are hypocrites, as they are
criticizing someone else’s ethics as well.

From this we can see the basis of Relativism in ethics, whilst it allows a harmonious outlook on
morality and ethics of different societies, it fails to allow societies to interact with each other, and perhaps
even creating more conflicts in the long run.