'Sophisticated cultural relativism: Bernard Williams' c/o Bond (1996)

INDIVIDUAL

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     INTERPERSONAL    :     SCIENCES               

HUMANISTIC --------------------------------------  MECHANISTIC      

SOCIOLOGY  :   POLITICAL 

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GROUP

"Transcendental standpoint The perspective of the person who evaluates or questions or reflects upon a moral issue by consciously examining the issue from an objective perspective Uses "thin" concepts such as "good" or "ought" in the process  Take the question "Is it really true that I ought not to tell lies?" In order to answer this question some moral authority or standard must be referred to. No answer can be found because there is no universal moral standard to appeal to. SUBJECTIVE

OBJECTIVE

A culture Moral truths exist                These are: 1. Non-objectivist truths (belong to and are valid within this particular culture) 2. Non-reflective (use the "thick" concepts of the culture, e.g. "liar", "bully." These carry within them their moral meaning. For this reason, no conscious reflection is needed in identifying a truth)" p.28.

"The evaluative perspective The perspective of the person living in the culture who is stating and thinking about moral truths."

Based on Figure 2.1 Sophisticated cultural relativism: Bernard Williams. In
Bond, E.J. (1996). Ethics and Human Well-Being: An Introduction to Moral Philosophy. Cambridge, Mass.: Wiley-Blackwell. p.28.