Definition of Ethical Relativism

Ethics is the science that reflects on the rules that govern correct behavior.

That is, the code Ethics helps to differentiate between those actions that are correct and those that are not. However, the ethics that is a branch of the philosophy shows that there is no interpretation unique on what is ethics and what are the universal principles to define the good.

An ethical position that questions the validity of absolute principles in acting is ethical relativism, that is, a position that concludes that nothing is absolutely good or good. absolutely bad in all cases, but the validity of an action can be interpreted within a specific context that provides concrete connotations to that mode of act.

A subjective ethic

Ethical relativism concludes that moral is highly influenced by the social conventions that occur in a given culture and show the traditions from a town. From this point of view, to understand the morals of a people it is convenient to attend to their own traditions. Traditions that are not universal but specific to a particular place.

Ethical relativism relativizes even the moral principles that are most important. One of them, the beginning of Justice which is basic to maintain social order. Far from believing in objective principles that can have universal validity, on the contrary, ethical relativism shows the power of subjectivity and personal point of view.

Personal opinion

Those who are against this way of interpreting ethics conclude that truth is not a relative concept that depends on mere personal opinion rather, it is an absolute concept that is valid in all possible cases. A truth that dignifies the human being since the realization of the good perfects the person as well as the knowledge of the truth also helps him to grow as a person.

On the contrary, ethical relativism taken to the extreme may well appear to be a conformist way of acting in which something is good only "because it is good for me." That is, in which the value of the personal point of view is absolutized and subjective giving rise to many possible interpretations of a rule.