Quick questions on Moral relativism explained: H2 Knowledge and Inquiry

The word relativism covers three distinct theses that must be kept apart. Descriptive relativism is the empirical claim that, as a matter of fact, different cultures hold different moral codes. Normative relativism is the prescriptive claim that one ought to act according to the moral code of one's own culture. Metaethical relativism is the claim that moral truth itself is relative to a culture or framework, so that there is no culture-independent fact about what is right.

The common argument runs: different cultures have different moral codes (descriptive relativism), therefore there is no objective moral truth and all codes are equally valid (metaethical relativism). The crucial flaw is that the conclusion does not follow from the premise. The premise is a fact about what people believe; the conclusion is a claim about moral truth. From the mere fact that beliefs differ, it does not follow that none is correct, any more than disagreement among early astronomers showed there was no fact about the structure of the solar system.

Metaethical and normative relativism face serious objections. The reformer problem: if right just means right-according-to-one's-culture, then a moral reformer who condemns their own society's accepted practice is by definition wrong, and moral progress is impossible, yet we honour reformers precisely for being right against their culture. The tolerance paradox: relativism is often urged in the name of tolerance, but a universal duty to tolerate other cultures is itself a non-relative moral claim, so relativism cannot consistently prescribe it. The individuation problem: cultures are not neatly bounded, people belong to several overlapping groups, so "the code of one's culture" is often indeterminate.

Distinguish descriptive, normative and metaethical relativism. [6 marks]

Explain why descriptive relativism does not entail metaethical relativism. [8 marks]

Explain the tolerance paradox facing relativism. [6 marks]