Moral Relativism (Big Ideas/Small Books)
In this short work, Lukes (sociology, NYU;Power: A Radical View) examines moral relativism and the possible responses to its claims. He explains that there are two important parts of arguments for moral relativism: the diversity of moral views in different cultures and how our moral judgments are relative to the society in which we live. According to Lukes, moral relativism is not easily dismissed and raises issues like ethnocentrism and the clashing of cultural values; however, acknowledging that different cultures have diverse and at times conflicting values should not lead to the acceptance of moral relativism. Instead, Lukes presents an alternative that allows for a range of values and yet realizes that there are some values that are universal for all humans and there are certain standards that we can use to create moral norms. Overall, Lukes does a terrific job of presenting a brief but informative examination of moral relativism that will reward general readers and students of philosophy. Recommended for public and academic libraries.—Scott Duimstra, Capital Area Dist. Lib., Lansing, MICopyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.