Do Objective Moral Standards Exist in the World Today?
Do objective moral values[1] exist? Many people believe in a relativistic view of morality because they do not believe in any objective moral values or in an absolute standard of right and wrong. There is sufficient justification for the belief that objective moral values exist, and whether or not one holds this view or an opposing view will affect him in all areas of his life. In this paper, I am going to show that moral relativism is false because one cannot live consistently with a relativistic view of morality. I will address arguments for and against relativism and after showing that it is false, I will begin to address absolutism. I will not be addressing the various ethical theories that affect one’s view of absolutism because it is beyond the scope of this paper. There are several ethical systems that oppose the view of moral absolutism: ethical relativism, cultural relativism (which can be a subcategory of ethical relativism), and moral skepticism. These views have some valid
