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<blockquote data-quote="Mistwell" data-source="post: 671113" data-attributes="member: 2525">Just a quick response on this, since it was addressed to me.I believe you are incorrect.&nbsp; You are describing cultural relativism, not moral relativism.&nbsp; Moral relativism is on an individual level, not a cultural one.&nbsp; If one views the world through a moral relativists eyes, nobody can be &quot;blamed&quot; for doing evil, because the reason all people do evil is because of their individual perspective of the universe - that in their eyes they were not doing evil because of their family upbringing, the groups they run with, their mental disability, their socio-economic status, etc...In that sense it becomes a personal belief that codes of behavior are not relevant, because they vary for every individual (and not just every culture).In this sense you could excuse Jamie for casually killing a kid for seeing him sleep with his sister, because he was brought up that way, or because he has a mental disease, or because his society accepts or encourages that behaviour, or because wealthy people like him are accepted as having personality quirks, or whatever excuse you want to come up with.&nbsp; I just don't think when it comes down to it that people will excuse that kind of behavior if it becomes personal.&nbsp; If it was YOUR kid Jamie killed, you would not seek an excuse for his behavior, but just judge it evil and end the analysis there.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="Mistwell, post: 671113, member: 2525"] Just a quick response on this, since it was addressed to me. I believe you are incorrect. You are describing cultural relativism, not moral relativism. Moral relativism is on an individual level, not a cultural one. If one views the world through a moral relativists eyes, nobody can be "blamed" for doing evil, because the reason all people do evil is because of their individual perspective of the universe - that in their eyes they were not doing evil because of their family upbringing, the groups they run with, their mental disability, their socio-economic status, etc...In that sense it becomes a personal belief that codes of behavior are not relevant, because they vary for every individual (and not just every culture). In this sense you could excuse Jamie for casually killing a kid for seeing him sleep with his sister, because he was brought up that way, or because he has a mental disease, or because his society accepts or encourages that behaviour, or because wealthy people like him are accepted as having personality quirks, or whatever excuse you want to come up with. I just don't think when it comes down to it that people will excuse that kind of behavior if it becomes personal. If it was YOUR kid Jamie killed, you would not seek an excuse for his behavior, but just judge it evil and end the analysis there. [/QUOTE]

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