Etiquette vs Morality: Is Morality Relative Or Universal

IS MORALITY RELATIVE OR UNIVERSAL ?

Normative judgment exists on a continuum which extends from “etiquette” on one end to “morality” on the other.

Etiquette  |————————–|  Morality

On the left-hand side of the continuum we find things like “You shouldn’t burp at the dinner table.” On the right hand side we find things like “You shouldn’t walk into an elementary school with an assault rifle and kill 26 first graders.” When people argue that morality is relative, they usually reach this conclusion because both kinds of judgment are found on the same continuum, the spectrum of normative judgment. And it is true that judgments on the etiquette-end of the continuum are, in fact, culturally relative (for example, I’m told that in Turkey it is not only polite to burp at the table, but failure to do so is an insult to the cook).

However, judgments on the “moral” end of the spectrum are universal; I challenge anyone to find a culture which tolerates or encourages murder, and if such a culture should be discovered, it is probably extinct or well on the way to extinction. (Could Aztec culture be a candidate here?)

It is easy to tell the difference between normative judgments that are culturally relative and those that are trans-culturally universal; all you have to do is ask yourself, “What would happen if everybody did this?” For example, “What would happen if everyone burped at the dinner table?” Probably not much; hence, the value is culturally relative. But, “What would happen if everyone committed murder?” The species would probably become extinct; hence, the judgment is trans-culturally universal.

It is true that the mid-point of the normative continuum can be difficult to identify – at exactly what point do we move from the polite to the moral, from the culturally relative to the trans-culturally universal? – and, in fact, the mid-point is more like a grey area than a clear scissure. However, the fact that we cannot clearly identify or isolate the exact transition point does not entail that there is no transition point; rather, it entails only that we cannot clearly identify or isolate it.

On Moral Motivation

Trans-cultural universality also occurs in cases where the consequences of “Everyone doing X” would not necessarily entail species extinction, but would increase its statistical likelihood, or increase the practical difficulty of species survival.

For example, if lying were universally tolerated, encouraged, and practiced, it might not entail the extinction of the species, but it would curtail communication (why communicate if you cannot expect a true response?), and that would make social existence – not to mention reproduction – extremely difficult. Individual members of Homo sapiens may be able to survive in isolation, but it isn’t easy, and without social organization human species survival would be much less likely.

What about circumstances in which actions, were they universalized, would be adverse to species survival, are in fact tolerated or encouraged? For example, the Japanese practice of seppuku or hara-kiri? In such cases the practice is not universalized even within the society where it is practiced; seppuku and hara-kiri were practices restricted to the Samurai class, and were not tolerated or encouraged among the peasantry. In such cases, the practice is clearly culturally relative.

Why Utilitarianism Fails As a Moral Theory

Note that the terms “universal” and “absolute” are not synonymous in moral discourse. To say that a rule or practice is “universal” is to say that it is recognized or sanctioned in all known surviving human cultures. To say that a rule or practice is “absolute” is to say that it admits of absolutely no exceptions under any circumstances whatsoever. It is likely that no moral stricture is absolute; for example, the imperative “Killing is wrong” is trans-culturally universal, but it does admit of exceptions (self-defense, war, accidents not involving negligence).

It is therefore perfectly consistent to say of a given moral duty or obligation that it is universal, but not absolute. Whether the same could hold true vice versa is another question entirely.

Ideologies and Idioms – What is Ideology?