Moral Relativity-Child Suicide Bombers

Ryan Molenaar While we have learned that Moral Relativism is basically just an excuse that we can say to get out of certain situations and excuse behavior, when applied here and given the parameters of the debate, moral relativism can indeed be applied efficiently. While most everybody in the world, myself included, do not believe what the Taliban do is correct, and when applied to most moral outlines it could not be excused, and I reiterate, when applied to Relativism it can. You mention that the Quran and the Bible certainly do not condone the behavior that the Taliban exhibit, but you do not provide any reasons as to why these two facets of supposed moral authorities are actually a true moral authority. In fact, most people would agree that any religious text cannot be accepted as a moral compass that we all can follow. You also mention that the Quran has only one meaning, but once again do not provide any reason for why this is the case. For example, the Quran is interpreted differently. One of these interpretations is that of the Esoteric. Also, the Quran is translated into many different languages and each has different meanings because some of what would be considered original meanings could be lost in translation. The children that get arrested are arrested solely for considered terrorists based on the laws set about in the land in which they are arrested. They are not arrested because they failed to detonate the bombs as you have stated. Based on what is stated in the video clip, once they are arrested, they are rehabilitated to be taught that what they planned to do was immoral. Even the children agree that they now understand what they did was wrong and what they were taught was immoral. Now, it can be argued that those who arrest the children could be considered immoral by the Taliban since they are trying to judge and say that what the children learned is wrong, and based on Moral Relativist standards, this could be interpreted as immoral. You bring up the point that the Taliban have been at odds with the United States and other countries for many years, but this has no relevance to what is being argued. What you say is true but the ultimate result is that it only produces irrelevant information. The idea that those who committed suicide did not have a choice is false and has no information as to why this is the case, and no information to prove that they did not have a choice. Either way, even if you provided that information, would have no relevance to the argument presented. We cannot judge them based on Normative relativist standards and therefore this argument is irrelevant to the argument. Also, this all seems to be your opinion in that you think that what happened on September 11, 2001 was bad, and based on Meta-Ethical standards, is a subjective outlook on the situation which is a key facet of what cannot be done in Moral Relativism. In your second paragraph, the second sentence is an entirely subjective idea, making it irrelevant as this is your opinion on the matter. There seems to be a lot of false information here as the children used obviously did have a choice once the bomb was strapped to them. This is evident in that there are many children who chose not to press the button and have been arrested. Also, the children's father had no impact on the choice that the children made as it is said in this video that they were taken from schools when they were in Palestine. Even so, this has no impact on the idea that the Taliban's use of children cannot be excused by any moral relativist claim, as nowhere is it stated that relativism has anything to do with having a choice is considered immoral. To conclude, the argument that you have made here in response to my view is filled with irrelevant information as well as many subjective views. Moral Relativism is defined as culture versus culture essentially. Based on these terms of Moral Relativity, the Taliban's usage of children cannot be excused. It may not be what everyone wants to see, and I for sure do not condone it, but my view and as well as yours, and all other views is subjective.