Moral universalism

Moral universalism (also called moral objectivism or universal morality) is the meta-ethical position that some system of ethics, or a universal ethic, applies universally, that is, for "all similarly situated individuals"Philosophical Dictionary: Ubermensch-Utilitarianism, regardless of culture, race, sex, religion, nationality, sexuality, or other distinguishing feature. Moral universalism is opposed to moral nihilism and moral relativism. However, not all forms of moral universalism are absolutist, nor are they necessarily value monist; many forms of universalism, such as utilitarianism, are non-absolutist, and some forms, such as that of Isaiah Berlin, may be value pluralist.
==Overview==
According to R. W Hepburn, to adopt moral objectivism isThe Oxford Companion to Philosophy
Noam Chomsky states thatTerror and Just Response, ZNet, 02 July 2002, Noam Chomsky
The source or justification of a universal ethic may be thought to be, for instance, human nature, shared vulnerability to suffering, the demands of universal reason, what is common among existing moral codes, or the common mandates of religion (although it can be said that the latter is not in fact moral universalism because it may distinguish between gods and mortals). As such, models of moral universalism may be atheistic or agnostic, deistic (in the case of several Enlightenment philosophers), monotheistic (in the case of the Abrahamic religions), or polytheistic (in the case of Hinduism). Various systems of moral universalism may differ in various ways on the meta-ethical question of the nature of the morality, as well as in their substantial normative content, but all agree on its universality.
==History==
An enormous range of traditions and thinkers have supported one form or another of moral universalism, from the ancient Platonists and Stoics, through Christians and Muslims, to modern Kantian, Objectivist, natural rights, human rights and utilitarian thinkers. The United Nations' Universal Declaration of Human Rights is an example of moral universalism in practice.
==See also==
* Natural law
* Natural rights
* Moral absolutism
* Moral relativism
* Universal Declaration of Human Rights
==References==
==External links==
* Axel Honneth: Mutual Recognition as a Key for a Universal Ethics
* Bom Mo Chung: Global Village and Universal Ethics
* The Middle Way as the basis of moral objectivity
Category:Ethical schools and movements
Category:Meta-ethics
Category:Ethical theories