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Transcript of The existence of objective moral truth
Name: Chow Hui Yan Basia Subject Code: 9759Ctr/ Index: 3004 / 0064
The existence of objective moral truth
Name : Chow Hui Yan Basia
NRIC : S9709378D
Centre / Index: 3004 / 0064
School Name : Anglo-Chinese Junior College
Subject Name: Knowledge and Inquiry
Subject Code : 9759
Pg 1 of 16
Name: Chow Hui Yan Basia Subject Code: 9759Ctr/ Index: 3004 / 0064
This is the start of the Independent Study
1.0 Introduction
“There is but one truly serious philosophical problem, and that is suicide.”1 Suicide is
unique as one of the primary moral issues concerned with core moral concepts of
death and human suffering. As a result of its universality, and the central role it takes
in the concerns of human existence, it seems expected that we should have a unified
stance on the morality of suicide as an act which is inarguably immoral. However,
the fact of moral disagreement upends the expectation of moral agreement over
suicide. Across history, there have been multiple viewpoints at any one time that are
in conflict over the dilemma of the morality of suicide. This highlights the prevalence
of moral disagreement: even in an area like suicide where a moral convergence is to
be expected, moral disagreement occurs. This essay will diverge from the initial aims
of the proposal to focus on the concept of moral disagreement, rather than moral
conviction.
The question is: what does this disagreement reveal about the nature of morality?
The problem is that this question cannot be conclusively answered as moral theories
cannot be definitively proved or disproved. Hence, the criteria by which we judge the
superiority of ethical schools of thought will not be on a determinate justification for
moral disagreement, but on which explanations are the most plausible. Two schools
of meta-ethical inquiry, relativism and absolutism, dominate this discussion.
Initially, widespread disagreement seems to best be explained by meta-ethical
relativism, which holds that morality is relative to a particular stand point2. Meta-
1 A.Camus, The myth of Sisyphus, cited in A. Ronald, “Albert Camus” the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, in E.N. Zalta, (ed.), Spring 2012 Edition, http://plato.stanford.edu/archives/spr2012/entries/camus/ 2 J. Fieser, “Ethics”, Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy, http://www.iep.utm.edu/ethics/#SH1a
Pg 2 of 16
Name: Chow Hui Yan Basia Subject Code: 9759Ctr/ Index: 3004 / 0064
ethical relativism accounts for descriptive relativism, since it is logical that a diversity
of contradictory moral frameworks will cause moral disagreement.3 Relativism thus
seems to provide the most rational and intuitively straightforward explanation for
moral disagreement.
In contrast, the absolutist is stymied by the problem of divergence, as meta-ethical
absolutism implies that moral convergence ought to occur, since it proposes that
morality exists as unconditional, universal law.4 The fact of widespread moral
disagreement contradicts this claim. Although it does not necessitate that
disagreement disproves absolutism, as convergence is only implied rather than
stated; it seems like the relativist has the better explanation for moral disagreement
since moral divergence logically follows from it.
However, there has been significant moral convergence on the morality of suicide as
an act which is immoral in contemporary times. Although there exists exceptions to
general moral agreement in which suicide is considered morally permissible, these
divergent perspectives on morality tend to occur only under extreme circumstances.
Furthermore, absolutism can account for moral disagreement as whatever
disagreement persists could plausibly simply be a temporary stage in the progress
towards moral convergence on absolute moral truth. However, these arguments for
absolutism in the face of moral disagreement, while applicable in the general context
of suicide, do not have the same plausibility when applied to specific moral
circumstances like euthanasia, where moral disagreement continues to persist.
2.0 Suicide and widespread moral agreement
3 G. Chris, "Moral Relativism", The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, in E>N. Zalta (ed.) Fall 2015 Edition, http://plato.stanford.edu/archives/fall2015/entries/moral-relativism/,4 M. Smith, P. Singer (ed.), “Realism”, A Companion to Ethics, Blackwell Publishing Ltd, 1993, pp.399-499
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Name: Chow Hui Yan Basia Subject Code: 9759Ctr/ Index: 3004 / 0064
This argument shall begin from the absolutist’s point of view; to begin with, there
seems to be more moral convergence than disagreement in contemporary times
since there exists a general moral agreement on suicide as morally wrong. The
primary cause of suicide is mental illness, principally depression which accounts for
60-70% of suicide cases5. As a result, committing suicide is considered an act which
would not be rational under normal circumstances, since it is caused by a state of
psychological instability and great psychological pressure, rather than a logical
weighing of choice and consequence6. Furthermore, mental illnesses today are
conditions that can be resolved with psychological treatment, and studies have
shown that people’s suicidal inclinations will dissipate given time.7 As a result, people
consider it a waste to give up on life on the basis of unhappiness, since it is the
equivalent to an abandonment of hope and happiness in the future on the basis of a
temporary state of being.
These sentiments are reflected in statistics that classify suicide under the category of
a ‘highly unacceptable’ moral act in comparison to other issues like abortion, with a
minority of only 19% of participants believing that it is morally acceptable8. These
common attitudes on suicide as immoral have diffused into the implementation of
laws to regulate suicide in society. Suicide has been criminalized in most non-
western countries, particularly Islamic countries like Malaysia where, under section
309 of the Malaysian penal code, attempted suicide and any involvement with the
5 Y. Takahashi, “Depression and suicide” In T. Kariya, & M. Nakagawara (Ed.), Japan Medical Association Journal, Vol. 44, No. 8, 2001, pp. 359-3616 M. Cholbi, “Suicide”, The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, in E.N. Zalta (ed.), summer 2013 edition, http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/suicide/7S.R. Blauner, How I stayed Sane when my brain was trying to kill me, cited in M. Cholbi, “Suicide”, The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, in E.N. Zalta (ed.), summer 2013 edition, http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/suicide/8 R. Rifkin, “New Record Highs in Moral Acceptability”, http://www.gallup.com/poll/170789/new-record-highs-moral-acceptability.aspx
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commission of such an offense is punishable with a year in jail, or a fine, or both.9
Therefore the absolutist can claim that morality is absolute since we share the same
moral principles, justified by widespread moral convergence on suicide as immoral.
3.1 Historical moral disagreement over suicide
However, moral thought on suicide has experienced more moral disagreement than
convergence historically. This is a result of the diversity of different cultural views on
morality. On one end of the spectrum, suicide was considered a mortal sin in 16 th
century England by Catholic and Protestant theologians.10 Influenced by this climate
of moral thought, Kant’s deontological argument from the sanctity of life argues that
suicide is immoral as it contravenes the moral imperative that we should not kill11.
In contrast, other cultures considered suicide a moral good. In Japan, seppuku was a
form of honourable suicide where samurai would disembowel themselves rather than
face dishonour.12 Hebraic culture shares this recurring theme of honourable suicide,
an example being the battle of Masada in A.D. 73, where 960 Jews committed
suicide to escape defeat at the hands of Roman invaders.13 Two millennia later, in
18th century Europe, suicide became fashionable amongst the aristocracy14. This
historical evidence of diverse and conflicting cultural perspectives on the morality of
9 “Suicide Legislation” https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Suicide_legislation10 M. Georges, “The Seventeenth Century, Reaction and Repression,” History of suicide, in S.L Gilman (ed.) trans. L.G. Chochrane, The John Hopkins University Press, 2001, p. 11711 M. Cholbi, “Suicide”, The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, in E.N. Zalta(ed.), summer 2013 edition, http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/suicide/12 J.M. Pierre, “Death with Honour: Seppuku in Japan”, Culturally Sanctioned Suicide: Euthanasia, seppuku and Terrorist Martyrdom, World Journal of Psychiatry, Vol. 5, No.1, 2015, http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4369548/13 M. Georges, “ Suicide in the Middle Ages, Nuances: Suicide in the Hebraic World”, History of Suicide, in S.L Gilman (ed.) trans. L.G. Chochrane, The John Hopkins University Press, 2001, p. 2014M. Georges, “The Elite, from philosophical suicide to romantic suicide,” History of suicide, in S.L Gilman (ed.) trans. L.G. Chochrane, The John Hopkins University Press, 2001, p. 248
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suicide implies that values are relative, since they differ based on convention and
norm.
3.2 Changing moral perspectives
Furthermore, the absolutist’s argument that there exists moral convergence can
alternatively be explained by the existence of relativistic value systems, as moral
convergence seems to occur as a result of the influence of external factors on moral
thought. Moral perspectives change to cohere with conventional perspectives on
suicide within particular time periods. This can be documented throughout history:
one example of this is the changing societal attitudes towards suicide in Europe,
which frequently fluctuated from condemnation, to respect, to sympathy, from the
middle ages to the Enlightenment15. This change in moral thought can be seen in
contemporary times as well, where the advent of globalization has resulted in
increasing interaction between different societies. A consequence of this is that
cultures become increasingly exposed to different value-systems and so take on
characteristics of foreign cultures. The pervasive western influence on Japan from
the colonial era to the present day has been one of the factors influencing Japan’s
cultural view of suicide as immoral, deviating from the traditional view of suicide as
an act of heroism16. Therefore, it is possible that the convergence over suicide has
been a consequence of external influences on relativistic value systems. This
eventually leads to moral convergence on conventional moral principles.
4.1 The trend of convergence
15 M. Georges, “From the French Revolution to the Twentieth Century, or, From Free Debate to Silence: Envoi,” History of suicide, in S.L Gilman (ed.) trans. L.G. Chochrane, The John Hopkins University Press, 2001, pp. 325-32816 J.M. Pierre, “Death with Honour: Seppuku in Japan”, Culturally Sanctioned Suicide: Euthanasia, seppuku and Terrorist Martyrdom, World Journal of Psychiatry, Vol. 5, No.1, 2015,
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Although relativism may better account for the fact of moral divergence,, and the
change in moral thought historically, absolutism better accounts for the overarching
trend of moral convergence over the moral dilemma of suicide. It is indisputable that
moral divergence exists, but this can occur even if morality is absolute, since people
are susceptible to having erroneous conceptions of morality because of reasons like
flaws in their moral intuitions, or errors of logic17. Hence, some people are morally
right while others are morally wrong, resulting in the creation of moral frameworks
that are contradictory, thus leading to moral disagreement. Because we possess an
intuitive need to find right the answers to moral dilemmas, based on an inherent
assumption that morality exists as absolute law, we are bound by our moral
convictions to persist in moral disagreement in prospect of the discovery of absolute
moral truth. 18 Therefore, moral disagreement exists as a temporary state of affairs
and a necessary precursor before reaching moral convergence. Thus, the absolutist
better explains the trend of convergence in which the fact of disagreement exists as
a temporary condition of moral development.
4.2 Exception proves the rule
Furthermore, divergent moral perspectives on suicide tend to exist only under
extreme circumstances, which are usually situations where a ‘greater good’ is
prioritized over individual happiness. In the modern day context, radical Islamic
fundamentalists regard suicide as morally permissible and engage in suicide
bombing as a method of waging a jihad against those whom they deem a threat to
their way of life and survival.19 It is considered martyrdom rather than sin, a form of
17 R. Wedgewood, “Disagreement among Philosophers”, Challenges to moral and religious belief: Disagreement and Evolution, in M. Bergmann, O. Kain (ed.), Oxford University Press, 2014, pp. 15-2618 L.J. Skitka, “The Psychology of Moral Conviction”, Social and Personality Psychology Compass, University of Illinois at Chicago, Blackwell publishing, no.4, 2010, pp. 267-27019“Suicide attack”, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Suicide_attack
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altruistic suicide where collective interest is prioritized above the individual’s
happiness20. Similarly, the Japanese concept of suicide as honourable during World
War Two was a form of indoctrination by a fanatically nationalistic, fascist society.
This gave rise to mass exultation of kamikaze pilots.21 Similar cases of altruistic
suicide occur in wartime, in suicide charges, and cases where soldiers choose to
commit suicide by throwing themselves on grenades to save their comrades.
Precisely because suicide is considered so taboo, so is committing it for a greater
cause considered the ultimate sacrifice, where the act commands admiration rather
than condemnation from society. Therefore, moral divergence on suicide under
extreme circumstances is in fact a case of the exception proving the rule: under
normal situations, there will be moral agreement on suicide as immoral.
So far, absolutism seems like the better explanation for moral disagreement. Moral
convergence on suicide implies that morality is absolute. Cases of moral
disagreement can be accounted for as a temporary state of affairs before
convergence occurs, and these tend to occur only under extenuating circumstances.
Unlike other moral issues, widespread agreement on suicide as immoral occurs
likely because it is a core moral issue that is universalizable. As a result, people tend
to share the same moral views on suicide, which implies that morality exists as
absolute law.
5.1 Euthanasia: diverging from the norm of agreement
However, the absolutist’s explanation is not as universal as it does not apply across
all moral situations, in particular the contemporary moral controversy over
20 R. Hassan, “What motivates the suicide bombers? Study of a comprehensive database gives a surprising answer.”, YaleGlobal Online, Yale Center for the Study of Globalization, 2009, http://yaleglobal.yale.edu/content/what-motivates-suicide-bombers-021 “Kamikaze”, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kamikaze#Definition_and_etymology
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euthanasia. Moral views regarding euthanasia in large part agree that it ought to be
morally permissible, which diverges from the common agreement on suicide as
immoral. For the purpose of limiting the scope of this case study in light of the
complexity of the euthanasia debate, this essay will focus on voluntary and active
euthanasia where the patient is fully rational and capable of giving consent for
death22. Euthanasia is defined as the act of suicide motivated by painful, or incurable
terminal illness23.
Euthanasia is regarded as an act that is morally permissible. This is because unlike
‘conventional’ forms of suicide, where suffering is temporary and resolvable,
euthanasia is motivated by permanent and prolonged suffering.24 Condemning those
who choose euthanasia thus becomes a difficult moral choice to swallow. In a 2013
survey, a majority of 62% considered euthanasia morally right in light of suffering,
57% if it was motivated by an incurable illness25. Most people tend to believe that
euthanasia is morally right, undermining the claim that morality is absolute since it
refutes the basis upon which the absolutist’s argument rests, that that there is moral
agreement on suicide.
A way to counter to this would be to argue that euthanasia is irrelevant to suicide as
it is a separate moral issue entirely. However, this is unlikely as the act of euthanasia
is motivated by personal reasons rather extreme circumstances, and is essentially a
form of suicide. The consequence of this is that it implies there exists irreconcilable
22 R. Young, “Voluntary Euthanasia”, Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, in E.N. Zalta (ed.), Fall 2015 edition, http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/euthanasia-voluntary/23 R. Young, “Voluntary Euthanasia”, Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, in E.N. Zalta (ed.), Fall 2015 edition, http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/euthanasia-voluntary/24 Rachels J., “The Morality of euthanasia”, The Right Thing To Do, in Rachels S. (ed.), New York: Mcgraw Hill, 2007, pp. 151-15525 L. Lugo, A. Cooperman, C. Funk and E. O’Connell, Views on end of life treatments: growing minority of Americans say doctors should do everything possible to keep patients alive, PewResearchCentre, 2013, p.7 http://www.pewforum.org/2013/11/21/views-on-end-of-life-medical-treatments/
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moral disagreement over suicide since people consider euthanasia moral while
concurrently believing that suicide is immoral. This moral paradox shows that
euthanasia causes moral disagreement over suicide to become irreconcilable.
This further highlights the intractability of moral disagreement as it implies that
morality is relative, since the problem of suicide has conclusions relative to different
contexts like that of euthanasia. Absolutism may be the better explanation for the
trend of moral convergence over suicide in general, but in specific moral situations
like euthanasia, it cannot account for divergence from general agreement that
suicide is immoral. This challenges the perception of morality as absolute, as the fact
is that this implies that morality is relative, since the absolutist cannot account for
divergence from moral agreement on suicide as a moral act in the context of
euthanasia
5.2 Euthanasia: an inconclusive moral dilemma
Although there seems to be a small majority agreeing that euthanasia ought to be
moral, moral debate over euthanasia remains largely divided and inconclusive
especially because it is a fairly current moral problem26. By and large, the attitude
people possess towards the controversy over euthanasia is that of uncertainty,
reflected in international disagreement over the question of its legalization, with
reactions of nations varying from the criminalizing to legalizing euthanasia as a
medical practice.27
26 L. Lugo, A. Cooperman, C. Funk and E. O’Connell, Views on end of life treatments: growing minority of Americans say doctors should do everything possible to keep patients alive, PewResearchCentre, 2013, p. 18 http://www.pewforum.org/2013/11/21/views-on-end-of-life-medical-treatments/27 J. Pereira, “Legalizing euthanasia or assisted suicide: The illusion of safeguards and controls”, Current Oncology, no. 2, 2011, http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3070710/
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This uncertainty is derived from the difficulty of reaching moral agreement over
euthanasia since moral disagreement over the issue is marked by its diversity and
complexity. It cannot be denied that moral disagreement over euthanasia continues
to persist: moral arguments are varied and contradictory, ranging from those based
on utilitarianism, to liberalism, to deontology and even religion. Some pro-euthanasia
arguments are based on theories like the argument from individual autonomy, which
asserts that the right of freedom of choice extends to suicide.28 This assertion is
challenged by anti-euthanasia arguments claiming that murder in any form, including
suicide, is absolutely wrong regardless of circumstance.29 Moral disagreement over
suicide is characterized by the range of incompatible principles and contradictory
arguments emerging from it.
To complicate matters further, moral arguments over euthanasia have grown to
become increasingly complex, and by extension, more difficult to resolve. For
instance, if euthanasia is considered to be murder, worries over euthanasia
corrupting the doctor’s role as a healer, or resulting in a slippery slope argument to
justify the elimination of people deemed useless to society, arise.30 Non-moral or
semi-moral issues have also emerged. For example, a patient’s quality of life is used
as criteria for measuring the extent of suffering used to justify the choice to
euthanize. However, conducting this assessment is impractical as it is difficult to
determine what factors, exactly, constitute quality of life, which ranges widely from
28 K. Crocker, “Why euthanasia and physician-assisted suicide are morally permissible”, Honors Ethical Issues and Life Choices, State Florida University, no. 10, 2013, p. 5, http://diginole.lib.fsu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1015&context=phi263029 R. Young, “Voluntary Euthanasia”, Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, in E.N. Zalta (ed.), Fall 2015 edition, http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/euthanasia-voluntary/30 K. Crocker, “Why euthanasia and physician-assisted suicide are morally permissible”, Honors Ethical Issues and Life Choices, State Florida University, no. 10, 2013, pp.7-12, http://diginole.lib.fsu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1015&context=phi2630
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human dignity to the ability to perform basic survival functions.31 As a result, moral
convergence on the euthanasia debate seems increasingly unlikely due to the
problem of complexity and diversity of disagreement.
In light of this, the problem the absolutist faces is that, though it becomes necessary
to compromise to find a conclusion to the euthanasia debate, this occurs at the
expense of absolute moral truth. The problem of moral disagreement over
euthanasia results in a clash between incompatible absolute moral values, where it
becomes necessary that a choice be made on which values are superior in order to
find the right answer to the problem of moral disagreement over euthanasia. This is a
serious issue for absolutism, as the fact that it occurs at all undermines the claim that
morality is absolute, since that necessitates that moral principles cannot be
abandoned, or altered. Furthermore, having to assess and choose between moral
principles suggests that these principles, despite being equally valid, are relative to
one another on the basis of certain values being superior. As a result, it is difficult to
insist that morality is absolute when a choice between absolute values has to be
made.
Conclusion
The moral dilemma of suicide has different expressions under different contexts,
where there is a shift between absolutism to relativism as the better explanation for
moral disagreement, especially when particular moral circumstances become
increasingly conditional. In the beginning, absolutism initially holds true on the basis
of general agreement over the immorality of suicide. Gradual progress towards a
31 L. Lugo, A. Cooperman, C. Funk and E. O’Connell, Views on end of life treatments: growing minority of Americans say doctors should do everything possible to keep patients alive, PewResearchCentre, 2013, pp. 26-27, http://www.pewforum.org/2013/11/21/views-on-end-of-life-medical-treatments/
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convergence on our ethical views suggest that morality will eventually converge onto
absolute moral truth.
However divergent moral circumstances like euthanasia are better accounted for by
relativism. Euthanasia is considered morally permissible as people are unable
condemn suicide as immoral, in light of the permanent suffering terminally ill patients
must endure if the choice to die is kept from them. This divergence from moral
agreement on suicide as immoral implies that morality does not operate on absolute
principles but is relative to circumstances.
Furthermore, the absolutist seems unable to resolve the problem of incompatible
absolute values. While the way we think about morality may be in terms of absolutes,
this becomes irrational when moral paradoxes occur over contradictory principles,
hindering our understanding of moral knowledge. Relativism, on the other hand, can
easily explain this on the premise that all moral principles, despite being equally valid
can be evaluated since they are relative to each other. Therefore, the absolutist’s
greatest obstacle lies in its inability to account for the moral dilemmas involving
complex arguments, especially when these involve contradictory absolute moral
principles. In this area, relativism has the upper hand as it can provide a simpler and
more intuitive explanation for this phenomenon.
In spite of this, absolutism ultimately remains the better explanation for moral
disagreement since it accounts for the general agreement on suicide as immoral.
However it cannot be fully defended as there exists unique situations where moral
perspectives diverge from general agreement. In these scenarios, the necessity of
having to weigh competing principles means that a relativistic explanation has the
upper hand. Because the nature of moral disagreement is that it is constantly in flux,
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and involves an array of competing voices on morality, moral convergence has
understandably remained an ideal rather than a fact. Rather than taking a
pessimistic view that convergence will never be realised, it should be noted that in
light of the unusual amount of convergence on suicide as immoral, it is not
inconceivable that absolute moral truth can be discovered through moral discourse in
the future.
This is the end of the Independent Study
Word Count: 3000 words
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