Philosophy Radio! drlabasham777's Podcast
Society & Culture:Philosophy
Hi Friends,
The pyramids were built by slaves. They are, indeed, lovely structures. So why did the Egyptians at that time capture people and enslave them in deadly, body crushing work (literally), to build these beautiful monuments? Slaves also worked their farms to feed the master class. Did the Egyptians, at that time, do anything morally wrong, unethical?
Here we examine the fundamental argument for cultural relativity. It is called the learning argument, among other things. The argument is the following (remember, premises (P) are reasons for a conclusion (C)),
P1) All our moral beliefs are the product of our culture.
This appears to be true at the early stages, and generally, for most people, for their entire lives.
P2) There is no other source for our moral beliefs.
This is the key premise. And there are big problems here.
C1) Our moral beliefs are the product of our culture.
P3) Cultures radically differ in their moral beliefs.
Not true, but let’s play. Always remember the big 3: No murder, no theft, no rape. These are shared by virtually all cultures. We will discuss why, later in our course.
C2) Morality is relative to culture.
C2 means each culture has its own very different morality. And all these are somehow imagined to be very different and equally morally legitimate.
Do you believe Your morals are only the result of your culture? Or not? Something to meditate on.
Cheers~
Dr. Lee Basham
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