Relativism and Toleration

My Ethics students were given an in-class writing on ethical relativism and the limits of toleration. They were asked to explain relativism, then discuss what behaviors they find intolerable and what they think the best response to these should be.

• For example if people in china consider eating dog as a norm. We in the United States can’t say it is wrong to eat dog. In China it may be a custom. We eat duck and other animals. Food is needed for survival, so eating dog is not moraly wrong. It is a form of meat and we as a society should not judge.
•  Yet lying is also intolerable but we can tolerate it.
  
  
• I become intolerable when someone does’nt support gay marriage because I have a very strong opinion about it and I become very closed minded.
  
  
• I think that “non-violent interference” or civil disobedience would be the right way to act in this case. When dealing with emotional women I find it best to take a non violent rout.
   
• Laws that are not correct should be intolerated an challenged. Without challenging things nothing would get changed.
   
• Now it will always depend on the circumstance but for the most part things such as rape and murder will always be wrong.