The last nail in Moral Relativism’s coffin

Ricardo Baesso de Oliveira

Moral philosophy recognizes two ideologically well-defined positions: Moral Relativism and Moral Realism.

According to Moral Relativism, the idea of what is “right” or “wrong” depends on cultural, historical, or individual context. Under this theory, there would be no universal moral values valid for all peoples and all times.

Moral realism, on the other hand, holds that there are objective moral truths, independent of human opinions or customs. Certain things are morally right or wrong in themselves, regardless of culture or historical period. For example, the realist would argue that torturing innocents or enslaving people is wrong even if a society happens to accept such acts.

In short, for the moral relativist, right and wrong vary according to culture, time, or individual perspective. For the moral realist, right and wrong exist objectively, even when cultures disagree.

A large portion of social scientists still believes that universal moral principles do not exist. Kardec took a strong stance in favor of Moral Realism, affirming in the first chapter of The Gospel According to Spiritism that the Divine Law is universally valid for all times and places. Only human law is variable.

A recent position that undermines the arguments of those who still defend moral relativism comes from one of the leading figures in contemporary anthropology, Oxford professor Harvey Whitehouse, in his recent book Inheritance. According to him, studies led by anthropologist Oliver Scott Curry have shown that most human morality is rooted in a single concern: cooperation.

More specifically, seven cooperative principles are considered morally good everywhere, forming the basis of a universal moral compass: helping one’s kin, being loyal to one’s group, reciprocating favors, being courageous, showing deference to superiors, sharing things fairly, and respecting others’ property.

This new idea is significant since, until now, it seemed reasonable to claim, as cultural relativists have long maintained, that there are no universal moral laws and that each society had to create its own unique moral compass.

According to Whitehouse, that is not the case. These moral intuitions evolved because they benefited human survival and reproduction. The “morality as cooperation” theory proposes that, together, these seven cooperative principles form the core of moral thinking everywhere. In the end, every human action that provokes a moral judgment can be directly traced to a violation of one or more of these cooperative principles. He notes that this theory needed empirical demonstration. But how could it be proven that these seven principles are indeed universal?

He explains:

“The answer lies in an unprecedented study of humans’ moral reasoning around the world. My colleagues and I assembled a sample of sixty societies that had been extensively studied by anthropologists. […] The main take-home here is that the seven cooperative principles appear to be judged morally good everywhere.”

It is certain that Spiritism must walk hand in hand with Science, yet what we sometimes see is the opposite: Science walking hand in hand with Spiritism.