Greetings,
Some philosophers assume, others do not, that morality is fundamental to human nature, the most
important thing. Moral relativism which Platt sees all around him - and regardless of whether it is
based upon determinism - is the view that all morality is epiphenomenal and thus superficial, but
this is not actually held seriously by anyone. Relativism clearly denies its own veracity. For if
all opinions are relative, then the view that all opinions are relative is itself relative and
therefore not true in itself. So if it is true it is false.
Moral cynics have often used the relativist argument to promote their own moral attitudes. From
Thrasymachus through to the social criticism of Kierkegaard and the existentialist and structuralist
ideas that spring from his ideas. Even hedonism presupposes the morality of freedom! Relativism is
thus restricted to the denigrated status of a tool that many in power utilise to forward their own
morality and, more often, to the layman who falls for it.
My only contribution here is to point out that moral relativism may be the professed position of
many, but on analysis it is not their true position. One then has to delve deeper in order to
ascertain what their metaphysics really is. This being the case I wonder what makes the ' objective
moral principles' Platt offers any better than the objective moral principles of other philosophies.
More importantly (and following a question Rob forwarded) I would be interested to know of any moral
decisions anyone has made which have been decided in reference to a "reality-based rational
framework" of a MoQ in contradistinction to being rationalised by said framework after the event.
Struan
------------------------------------------
Struan Hellier
< mailto:struan@shellier.freeserve.co.uk>
"All our best activities involve desires which are disciplined and
purified in the process."
(Iris Murdoch)
MOQ Homepage - http://www.moq.org
Mail Archive - http://alt.venus.co.uk/hypermail/moq_discuss/
This archive was generated by hypermail 2b30 : Sat Aug 17 2002 - 16:02:53 BST