1. Different societies have different moral codes.

2. There is no objective standard that can be used to judge one societal code better than another.

3. The moral code of our own society has no special status; it is merely one among many.

4. There is no "universal truth" in ethics-that is, there are no moral truths that hold for all peoples at all times.

5. The moral code of a society determines what is right within that society; that is, if the moral code of a society says that a certain action is right, then that action is right, at least within that society.

6. It is mere arrogance for us to try to judge the conduct of other peoples. We should ado

Values- desirability, or qualities on which these depend; one's principals, priorities, or standards.

people in this society Rachels described would. This is definitely not the same value system. So these cultures do have different ethical principals.

The subject of murder is probably the most common issue thought to be a moral absolute. What I mean is, people think it is wrong to kill another human being. This is not always the case; murder has its place in many cultures. In Rachels article, the Eskimos practice infanticide as well as the killing of elders. The elders are too feeble to contribute to the group but; they still consume precious food, which is scarce. This practice is necessary for the survival of the of the group. The males within the Eskimo tribes have a higher mortality rate because they are the hunters and food providers. The killing of female infants helps keep the necessary equilibrium for the survival of the group. So, this infanticide and killing of elders does not signal that Eskimos have less compassion for their children, nor less respect for human life; it is merely recognition that murder is sometimes needed to ensure that the Eskimos do not become culturally extinct (Pojman,1996).

Rachels proposes that cultures have value systems that do not differ that greatly. He states that cultures beliefs are different but, the values that they hold toward these beliefs are basically the same. Rachels argument is based on the discussion of a society who holds a cow as being sacred. This society will not eat this cow even on the verge of starvation. The society holds a belief that this cow contains the spirit of a deceased family member, "Grandma". This societies value in Rachels mind is the same as our own western society in that we would not believe it to be right to eat "Grandma" (Pojman,1996). The problem in this argument is Rachels gets confused in what the real value system is. The real value system is not as Rachels described it of believed cannabalism. The real values are whether we would endanger our lives as well as our families over a supersticious belief. People in our western society would not starve their families over a supersticious belief!, but the !

Cultural Relativism- "Views moral validity in terms of social acceptance"

Ruth states within her article how every society integrates itself with a chosen basis and disregards itself with behavior deemed uncongenial (Pojman,1996). This means societies will choose their own moral standards and ethical codes and, disregard actions that do not lie within the boundaries of these moral standards and ethical codes. She goes on to say that our moral codes are not formed by our inevitable constitution of human nature. We recognize that morality differs in every society. Our own culture and environment will dictate these codes. This explains why different people have different moral standards because, behavior i

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Approximate Word count = 1963
Approximate Pages = 8 (250 words per page double spaced)