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Essay / Moral relativism and the problems associated with it...
Moral relativists believe that no one has the right to judge another individual's choices, decisions, or lifestyle because the way in which he chooses to live what suits him. Furthermore, everyone is entitled to their own moral beliefs and imposing those beliefs on another individual is wrong. At first glance, moral relativism may seem ideal for enabling individual freedom. After all, why shouldn't each individual be entitled to their own idea of moral values and why should others impose their beliefs on someone else? “The American philosopher and essayist Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803-1882) tells us that what is right is only what the individual thinks is right. There is no higher court of appeal, no higher, universal or absolute moral standard. (p. 121) Moral relativism means that if you don't feel bad, it must be right. While moral relativism may seem appealing due to the fact that while an individual's behavior seems right to them, it is not right to them. By applying this moral position to everyday situations, it turned out to be a fairy tale in search of individualism. Unless everyone lives in a bubble where they have no interaction with anyone, moral relativism is simply not pragmatic. Consider that if you were assaulted, during the altercation you were beaten, injured and your personal belongings were stolen. After applying moral relativism to this situation, the conclusion is that the person who attacked you did absolutely nothing wrong. The person who you believe may have violated you as an individual felt that their actions were right. Why would this person subject you to this behavior? This is not a question a moral relativist would ask because they have no right to influence or question the moral values of others. Plus, middle of paper, the activist can't say it's false. This particular scenario insinuates that a moral relativist parent would not want to impose their personal beliefs on their child and would respect whatever the child feels is right. As stated above, a world where everyone is right is just a fairy tale of inevitable chaos. . The seductive but misleading idea that we can live peacefully in a world full of moral relativism is arguably nothing more than an illusion. When everyone is right in their actions, no one will be held responsible for their behavior or anything that is a direct cause of it. A community without wrong can never be right. Therefore, moral relativity will never be a realistic moral position that can be applied to communities, nations, or the entire world. If this position ever became a moral standard, life as we know it would soon be filled with anarchy..