A Refutation of Moral Absolutism

A Story by tonymad11392

A Philosophical Argument

The idea that moral relativism may often lead to immoral or evil to evil behavior, is an assumption that does not take into account what evil actually is. Since moral absolutism and religion are often intertwined, seeing as many want to uphold a divine mandate with the utmost conviction, the philosophy is entirely influenced by our religious society. Thus the so called evil acts are based upon religious convictions, and may not be entirely harmful to us as a society. For example, homosexual unions may seem to be corroding traditional familial values, in the New Testament, 1 Corinthians 6, 9-10 it states: "Do you not know that wrongdoers will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived! Fornicators, idolaters, adulterers, male prostitutes, sodomites, thieves, the greedy, drunkards, revilers, robbers—none of these will inherit the kingdom of God." As you can see, this passage can be taken as relevant to the Hebrew society in which it was written. If you look at the history of the Church, you will see that certain Popes believed they were entitled to specific liberties. Unlike in Hebrew times, modern day Christians and Jews believe that therepentance of ones sins will clear you of any wrong doing. Morality, as we today define it, still remains somewhat ambiguous in its nature. It may be argued that there is no one universal truth, that man has built a functioning society out of desperation, in order to coexist with one another. Another, more controversial example, is the holocaust. To myself and most of civilized society it was a barbaric display of genocide and oppression, however we must take into account why something like this was called into fruition. To the Nazi's it appeared to be a just act, something inherently good in nature. They believed cleansing Germany of the Jewish people would better society. Thus, the concept of good and evil, of kindness and cruelty, are based entirely upon the culture we are born into. If we encourage equality. it will be so, if we champion ethnic cleansing or murder, it will be reflected in our society. America has always been a melting pot, we are not a single race of people, but an intracity woven quilt that consists of different beliefs, values, and ideals. Moral absolutists claim that our current society is in decline, moral values are losing strength as America grows more secular. Again, this is entirely relevant to an individuals point of view. As a country we used to acknowledge slavery, and cited the bible as justification for this, have we not improved in championing civil rights for all people of color and sexual orientation? During the Middle Ages, innocent people were often burned at the stake when refusing to comply with the decrees of the Holy See. Today, the Church views this practice as barbaric. However, this shows us the downside of moral absolutism, an extreme conviction to a cause, feeling a part of something, be it a group or a common ideology, greater than one's self, often leads to disastrous consequences. If we do not question the notion of goodness, and merely accept that whatever is right or wrong is absolute, we lose our humanity. Individuality, the expression of oneself, defines us as humans. It is only through radical thinking that positive solutions may be reached. Absolute moral conviction to any cause, does not better society, we are an ever- changing current of ideas, if you halt the ebb and flow of humanity in the shackles of absolutes, you effectively halt societies progress toward a brighter future. Expression of oneself through emotional, sexual, or physical means helps reaffirm the belief that we are human, special, inherently unique, and able to forge our own destinies as we see fit. There are no such things as absolutes, we have our society and inner human instinct to thank for our beliefs. There is no single set of laws we must follow, this should be decided by humanity, we shall uphold those certain laws that bring us closer to the peace we so rightly deserve.