Question

Ethical judgments are usually distinguished from judgments of personal preference, taste, or prejudice by means of showing that ethical judgments:

Need to be supported by reasons that should be universally intelligible or acceptable.

Can be explained in terms of the particular customs or practices of a group or culture.

Serve only as ideals and cannot be the bases upon which people live daily.

All of the above.

Are intended primarily to rationalize already accepted practices in a society. Critics argue that if cultural relativism is correct, some beliefs and practices would not make sense, specifically: We could not tolerate people who have beliefs different from our own, we would have to force our values on others, and any moral reform or progress would be purely private or subjective. We could not hope to resolve moral disputes, all toleration and criticism of moral beliefs would be unjustified, and there could be no real moral reform or progress. All of the above. We could not individually make judgments about what we should or should not do, present arguments to support our beliefs, or for that matter even have moral beliefs. We could not reduce suffering or consider the welfare of non-human beings as morally significant.

Answer 1

1. Ethical judgements needs to be supported by reasons that should be universally intelligible or acceptable.

They have to be objective, rather than subjective.

2. All of the above.

If cultural relativism is correct, we would not be able to take opinions from others and make moral reforms. There will be difficulty in making individual judgements and there will be no benefit to the welfare of non-human beings.