I do not think that you are grasping the philosophical point. There are varying degrees of uncertainty in our assertions about things, and some command a high degree of confidence, while others are much more doubtful. Even if one cannot eliminate the possibility of revision entirely, there is, for example, a high degree of confidence in the laws of thermodynamics. "Moral absolutes" are just those fundamental assertions about the best way for human beings to comport themselves about which we have a high degree of confidence, despite the possibility of revision. Many moral judgments may be subject to a higher degree of controversy and doubt. Of course, if you prefer to say that there is nothing that can be asserted with any confidence about morality, I cannot stop you. But be it noted that reasonable argument stops at that point, and people either go their own way, or resort to irrational persuasion or force to get their point of view across.......
If you do not think that humans are observably distinguished from the other animals by their capacity for speech, culture, and civilization, by their ability to build pyramids and computers, to write poetry, establish colleges, develop jurisprudence, research the physical properties of the stars, and engage in just such abstract conversations as this, then I am not sure what to say...... |
