Moral absolutism
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Moral absolutism is the belief that there are absolute standards against which moral questions can be judged, and that certain actions are right or wrong, devoid of the context of the act. "Absolutism" is often philosophically contrasted with moral relativism, which is a belief that moral truths are relative to social, cultural, historical or personal references, and to situational ethics, which holds that the morality of an act depends on the context of the act.
Moral absolutists believe that morals are inherent in the laws of the universe, the nature of humanity, the will or character of God or gods, or some other fundamental source. They regard actions as inherently moral or immoral. They might, for example, judge slavery, war, dictatorship, the death penalty, or childhood abuse to be absolutely immoral regardless of the beliefs and goals of a culture that engages in these practices.
In a minority of cases, moral absolutism is taken to the more constrained position that actions are moral or immoral regardless of the circumstances in which they occur. Lying, for instance, would always be immoral, even if done to promote some other good (e.g., saving a life). This rare view of moral absolutism might be contrasted with moral consequentialism—the view that the morality of an action depends on the context or consequences of that action.
Modern human rights theory is a form of moral absolutism, usually based on an estimate of the nature of humanity and the essence of human nature. One such theory was constructed by John Rawls in his A Theory of Justice.
Moral absolutism and religion
Moral absolutism may be understood in a strictly secular context, as in many forms of deontological moral rationalism. However, many religions have morally absolutist positions as well, regarding their system of morality as deriving from divine commands. Therefore, they regard such a moral system as absolute, (usually) perfect, and unchangeable. Many secular philosophies also take a morally absolutist stance, arguing that absolute laws of morality are inherent in the nature of human beings, the nature of life in general, or the universe itself. For example, someone who believes absolutely in nonviolence considers it wrong to use violence even in self-defense. For another example, under some religious moral absolutist beliefs, homosexual behavior is considered fundamentally wrong, even in a consensual relationship.
See also
- Antinomianism
- Divine command theory
- Ethics
- Kantianism
- Morality
- Moral realism
- Moral universalism
- Moral dilemma
- Graded absolutism
