Matt Lutz at Humean Being:
My academic work is mostly in the field of metaethics, which is the area of philosophy that investigates the nature of morality. It’s a rather abstract subject, but one that almost everyone has views about, however inchoate. When I try to explain to someone what metaethics is about, I’ll usually say something like, “I study questions like whether or not morality is relative.” This usually gets people on the right page, because everyone has heard of the idea of moral relativism, and everyone has opinions about it. It’s not a particularly popular view! Indeed, the term ‘moral relativism’ is often used as a kind of epithet or term of abuse. (As in, “What kind of stupid moral relativism is this?”) People don’t like moral relativism because they equate it with a kind of unthinking non-judgmentalism or radical tolerance. “That’s what I think, but they think differently, and who am I to judge?” But that’s not what moral relativism is.
More here.
Enjoying the content on 3QD? Help keep us going by donating now.
