It's not relative
I was pleased by most of your answers to my informal poll.
No, I do not think that all ideas and beliefs are equally valid. I am opposed to pop culture moral relativism (I understand that the pop culture meaning of "moral relativism" is not accurate, but the pop culture meaning is the one I am using here.)
Unfortunately, pop culture moral relativism has been in fashion for the last decade and a half (give or take a few years.) This can be attributed to two causes: the weakening of "church morality" and the general intellectual laziness of humans.
There was a time when most people in the U.S. & Western Europe had their morality determined for them, by their religion. They didn't have to think about what was right or wrong: they could look to their church or holy book for answers. A lot of older people still subscribe to this sort of morality, but the power of religious institutions has waned and many people today, even religious people, don't base their morality on their religion.
So, they are left without a moral compass. The intelligent thing to do would be to apply themselves to the subject and work out their own morality. It could take some time, and on the way they might do some things they would later regret, but they would at some point develop a possibly complex system of morality, one that might continue to evolve. Most people, though, are intellectually lazy. So instead of developing their own morality, they simply decide that all ideas and beliefs are equally moral or valid.
From such people, you might hear such gems as "If it feels right to you, then it's right." If you counter by saying "Oh, so if it feels right for me to rape a toddler, that's alright, then?" they will become agitated and possibly angry. Such people will also excuse egregious human rights abuses by saying things like "Well, in that culture, that's normal."
I am not a moral relativist. The fact that murdering women is normal in Pakistan, or torturing children is normal in Africa, does not mean that I find those things acceptable or moral. And because I have spent years crafting my own moral compass, and continually examine my own actions to determine if they are moral, I feel perfectly confident judging those murders of the innocent and declaring them immoral.
No, I do not think that all ideas and beliefs are equally valid. I am opposed to pop culture moral relativism (I understand that the pop culture meaning of "moral relativism" is not accurate, but the pop culture meaning is the one I am using here.)
Unfortunately, pop culture moral relativism has been in fashion for the last decade and a half (give or take a few years.) This can be attributed to two causes: the weakening of "church morality" and the general intellectual laziness of humans.
There was a time when most people in the U.S. & Western Europe had their morality determined for them, by their religion. They didn't have to think about what was right or wrong: they could look to their church or holy book for answers. A lot of older people still subscribe to this sort of morality, but the power of religious institutions has waned and many people today, even religious people, don't base their morality on their religion.
So, they are left without a moral compass. The intelligent thing to do would be to apply themselves to the subject and work out their own morality. It could take some time, and on the way they might do some things they would later regret, but they would at some point develop a possibly complex system of morality, one that might continue to evolve. Most people, though, are intellectually lazy. So instead of developing their own morality, they simply decide that all ideas and beliefs are equally moral or valid.
From such people, you might hear such gems as "If it feels right to you, then it's right." If you counter by saying "Oh, so if it feels right for me to rape a toddler, that's alright, then?" they will become agitated and possibly angry. Such people will also excuse egregious human rights abuses by saying things like "Well, in that culture, that's normal."
I am not a moral relativist. The fact that murdering women is normal in Pakistan, or torturing children is normal in Africa, does not mean that I find those things acceptable or moral. And because I have spent years crafting my own moral compass, and continually examine my own actions to determine if they are moral, I feel perfectly confident judging those murders of the innocent and declaring them immoral.