In what sense is morality objective? Moral realists argue that there are moral facts whose truth is independent of what anyone thinks, while moral relativists argue that moral claims are only true relative to a particular culture or society. In this article, Melis Erdur argues that both moral realism and moral relativism are self-defeating. She argues that we should dispense with overarching metaphysical stories of where morality comes from – moral shortcuts – and instead learn to stand firm in our own human convictions.

‘Are there objective moral truths?’ This question may sound academic and technical, calling for expertise in “moral metaphysics”. But just like any other significant question concerning morality, it boils down to an ordinary moral question that each one of us can and must answer. The question in the case of the “objectivity of morality” is, ‘Should we have a moral backbone, standing firm in our strongest moral convictions?’ And both moral realists and moral relativists are giving the wrong answer. Let me explain.   

Moral realism is the view that there are objective moral truths – that is, moral truths that are independent of what anyone thinks. Realists argue by appeal to cases such as slavery, genocide, and their somewhat disturbing favorite, “torturing babies for fun”, which they hope to be uncontroversially immoral. They ask, ‘Aren’t these things wrong? And wouldn’t they be wrong even if “society” thought they were great? When (for thousands of years) most people thought that slavery was an acceptable fact of life, wasn’t slavery still wrong?’ And they answer, ‘Of course. Therefore, you must agree that some things are wrong independently of what anyone thinks.’

Moral relativism, on the other hand, is the view that moral truths are always relative to societies or cultures. Relativists typically argue by appeal to cases from history in which some people thought that they had “the objective moral truth” on their side when they engaged in evil practices like racism and slavery. Relativists say, ‘Look at all those cases in which moral hubris accompanied dehumanization and violence. If we want to avoid such evil things, we must regard our moral convictions as just what we think. We shouldn’t assume that they apply to everyone.’

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If you genuinely care about racism and slavery, you can’t also think that this is just what you think. You must stand firm in your anti-racism and anti-slavery.

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