Moral Relativism

CORE DEFINITION

In philosophy, moral relativism is a position that holds that morality or ethics do not reflect objective or universal moral truths, but rather asserts relativism based on social, cultural, historical, or personal circumstances. Moral relativists, in contrast to moral universalists, insist that there are no universal standards for evaluating ethics and morality. The relativist position holds that moral values apply only within specific cultural boundaries or in the context of personal choice. Extreme relativist positions propose that the moral judgments or actions of other individuals or groups have no meaning. Some moral relativists, such as the existentialist Jean-Paul Sartre, insist that an individual, subjective 'moral core' should be the basis of individual moral behavior. Public morality reflects social conventions; only individual, subjective morality expresses true authenticity.