Moral Relativism

"A book on moral relativism by someone with a steely understanding of social reality? Only Steven Lukes could write it. If his insights are disturbing rather than comforting, he presents them with clarity, grace, and modesty."—Richard Sennett, author of The Craftsman

 

"No sociologist alive is a sharper philosopher than Steven Lukes. He has been making mincemeat of academic distinctions for decades, bringing a razor mind and an eye for significance to all manner of vexing questions about power, individualism, rationality, human rights, identity, and now, in this masterful little volume, moral relativism. He reads like an omnivore, writes like a dream, and has both the reason and the courage to say that some positions are right and others wrong."—Todd Gitlin, author of Media Unlimited: How the Torrent of Images and Sounds Overwhelms our Lives

“In this short work, Lukes examines moral relativism and the possible responses to its claims. He explains that there are two important parts of arguments for moral relativism: the diversity of moral views in different cultures and how our moral judgments are relative to the society in which we live. According to Lukes, moral relativism is not easily dismissed and raises issues like ethnocentrism and the clashing of cultural values; however, acknowledging that different cultures have diverse and at times conflicting values should not lead to the acceptance of moral relativism. Instead, Lukes presents an alternative that allows for a range of values and yet realizes that there are some values that are universal for all humans and there are certain standards that we can use to create moral norms. Overall, Lukes does a terrific job of presenting a brief but informative examination of moral relativism that will reward general readers and students of philosophy. Recommended for public and academic libraries.”—Scott Duimstra, Capital Area District Library, Lansing, Michigan, Library Journal