Morality informs countless aspects of our lives, from the way we interact with others to the way we think about ourselves. But does our concept of morality objectively reflect absolute ideals of good and evil, or is it a shifting, arbitrary rulebook that varies from culture to culture?
Yes, morality is relative
Our definition of what is right and wrong has changed dramatically over time, and will likely continue to do so.
Moral norms change depending on the culture and time period
Times have changed and humanity's conception of morality has changed along with it. Morality is far from static, continuously shifting to match its social and historical context.
Moral maxims like "it's wrong to kill" and "it's good to share" exist to promote survival, both for individual people and the human race as a whole. As times change, our definition of morality does the same.
It's wrong to lie-but what if you're doing so to save a life? On an individual level, what we consider "good" or "bad" changes depending on the situation we're in.
Though humanity's definitions of good and evil may change, objective morality exists outside of time, place, and culture.
Across time and culture, moral standards have remained largely absolute
Naturally, some moral norms change, but cultures across the map and throughout history all agree on many of the most important and fundamental "rules."
An action's morality is determined by its adherence to the categorical imperative
In this theory, known as deontology, the morality of a given action is determined by its adherence to a list of moral rules or categorical imperative. Since these rules are unchanging, morality is as well.
