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Politics : Sharks in the Septic Tank -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Lane3 who wrote (17752)	7/7/2001 6:22:14 PM
From: The Philosopher	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 82486

Seems to me that a relativist is allowed to have personal values and to judge others by those values for one's own personal use. Yes, and no. Yes, allowed to have personal values. But no, I don't think a true relativist allows herself to judge others by her own values. That implies that her values are superior for a person in the other person's cultural situation, and you can never know that because you can never be in that person's situation. Thus when we impose our values on others we do so because we believe ourselves and our views superior, better, more right. But a relativist rejects better or superior or more right, because there is no such thing outside what is superior or right or better for oneself alone. It isn't enough to say "well, I won't interfere with the Taliban's treatment of women but I think it's wrong." That's not moral relativism. It's simply laisse faire moralism. True relativist moralism says that our way of treating women is right for us and their way is right for them and neither is better or worse in any absolute sense, they're just different. "For example, if moral relativism is true, then we could no longer say that customs of other societies such as slavery are morally inferior to our own." utm.edu See also: lcl.cmu.edu As to why our local relativist hasn't entered into this discussion, she had decided she doesn't want to post to me any longer. Apparently her belief in relativism isn't strong enough to encompass respect for my views.

To: Lane3 who wrote (17752)	7/7/2001 6:25:09 PM
From: The Philosopher	Respond to of 82486

I respect their choices, if they are, indeed, choices. How many of our social customs really are choices? I have to wear a tie whenever I go into court. I would certainly not choose to. I don't wear a tie at any other time. But the courts say to me, if you want to appear before us you shall wear a coat and tie. So I do, not by choice but by necessity. I love skinny dipping in a lake. But most places I might do it I can't, because if I did I would get arrested. So I wear a bathing suit, not by my choice but by preferring that to the alternative. And on and on.