Relativity of Moral Truth

The viewpoints on moral truth are varied within circles of philosophic thought. Moral ethics are, for the most part, relative, though on what grounds of relative truth is a subject of much discussion. Three positions will be discussed in this paper: the topic of the Divine Command Theory, Ruth Benedict's beliefs in cultural relativism, and Thomas Nagel's morality of rational consistency. Of the three, Nagel's relative moral philosophy outweighs the philosophies of the former positions; Nagel further examines the prospect of human nature as an individual, as opposed to the Divine Command Theory's reliance on metaphysical beliefs and Benedict's cultural thought with respects to a dubious collective "culture."

Divine Command Theory presupposes that ethical and moral truths have been brought upon by the demand of God. This belief has dated as far back as Socrates and Euthyphro in Ancient Greek philosophy, and is further strengthened by...
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