Relativism and Morality

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Dear Student,

Hi and thank you for your trust. Your professor would be expecting you to put forward salient points. You cannot cover everything, of course. In an essay reflection, what you need to do is get ideas from Goodman, reflect upon them and provide your own views. I will start you off with a suggested outline and I will show you how you could structure and begin the discussion of each section. Then following that, you will be able to add your ideas, your opinions and reflection so that you can complete the full paper as required. Make sure to refer back to your class materials and take some ideas from there. I suggest this outline:

1. Information on the essay and the author - provide a background discussion, salient points. 200 words.
2. Introduction - what is this all about? 250 words. Discuss what it will contain, and also discuss the limitations.
3. On Morality & Relativism - what is morality? What is relativism? How do they relate to each other according to Goodman? 250 words.
4. Goodman's issues with relativism - list all 4, discuss each and provide your own ideas against or for - should be from 600 to 800 words.
5. What is Goodman's moral minima, do you agree or disagree on the subject of universal moral requirements - is there really any? Provide your own views, include examples and provide your own conclusion to the discussion (do you agree or disagree?) - 200 words.

The above should provide you with around 1,800 to 2,000 words and should provide you with what you need. Take note of the italicized sections - for this see the attached document copy - and in red inserted between (symbols) below as advise to guide you in putting together a discussion on key points. Good luck with your studies.

Sincerely,
AE 105878/Xenia Jones

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On 'Some Moral Minima'

Goodman's essay - 'Some Moral Minima' (2010) was Goodman's own reflection and reaction to a notion proposed in an earlier international philosophical Congress where he came to witness the notion of cultural relativism that to him was 'peddled out' due to "its expected benefits in tolerance and cultural accommodation" in an increasingly globalized world and the rise of multicultural societies. Here, Goodman relates listening to the ideas of Oxford Oriental Institute scholar Bimal Mital, who proposed universal norms based on his own Indian culture and beliefs, that the latter scholar deemed worthy of universal support as the latter believed that while human norms vary across nations and ethnicities, there are traditions that are the same; values and beliefs that are the same. For him these were - "respect for life, deference to truth, abhorrence of theft, and rejection of adultery." Mital saw them as universal in that they have far reaching consequences and acceptance across other cultures, even if the basis used were Hindu and Buddhist scriptures. But ...