Ethical Subjectivism and Ethical Objectivism

Ethical subjectivism and ethical objectivism are two different philosophical positions concerning the nature of morality.

Ethical Subjectivism

Ethical subjectivism is the view that moral statements are true or false relative to the individual making the statement. In other words, what is right or wrong is based on personal opinion.

• For example, if someone says, 'lying is wrong,' they mean that, for them, lying is wrong.
• Someone else might say 'lying is okay,' and they mean that, for them, lying is okay.
• There is no objective truth to the statement 'lying is wrong.'

Ethical Objectivism

On the other hand, ethical objectivism is the view that moral statements are true or false independent of the individual making the statement. In other words, there are objective moral truths that exist regardless of what anyone thinks about them.

• For example, if someone says, 'murder is wrong,' they mean that murder is wrong, regardless of whether others agree with them or not.
• Ethical objectivism holds that there are objective moral standards that can be discovered through rational inquiry.

Analogy of a Game

One way to think about the difference between ethical subjectivism and ethical objectivism is to consider the analogy of a game.

• Ethical subjectivism is like saying that the rules of a game are whatever the individual players want them to be.

• Each player can make up their own rules, and there is no objective standard that applies to everyone.

• Ethical objectivism, on the other hand, is like saying that the rules of a game are determined by the game itself.

• There is a set of objective rules that all players must follow, and these rules can be discovered through rational inquiry.

Criticisms

Ethical subjectivism has been criticized for leading to moral relativism, the view that there are no objective moral standards that apply to everyone.

• If moral judgments are relative to individuals, then there is no way to resolve moral disagreements between people or cultures.

Ethical objectivism, on the other hand, has been criticized for being dogmatic and inflexible.

• If there are objective moral standards, then they must be discovered through rational inquiry, which can be difficult and subject to error.
• Additionally, there are many moral issues on which people disagree, and it is not always clear which position is objectively correct.

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