Moral absolutism

Moral absolutism ( lat. Absolutus - unconditional) is a statement about the existence of only one source of moral standards, the significance of which is recognized as universal and unlimited.

Moral absolutism corresponds to the belief that there are absolute standards that can be used to resolve moral issues, and that certain actions are right or wrong regardless of their context.

Moral absolutism is contrasted to the doctrine of the relativity of morality ( moral relativism ). Relativity of morality corresponds to the belief that moral truths vary depending on the social, cultural, historical or personal context, as well as on situational ethics , which in fact means the dependence of the morality of an action on its context.

According to moral absolutists, moral laws are an integral part of the laws of the universe, the nature of man and the will or character of God , or some other fundamental source. Moral absolutists view actions as moral or immoral in their essence. For example, a moral absolutist may consider slavery , war , dictatorship or the death penalty , or violence against women and children as absolutely and indisputably immoral things, regardless of the beliefs and goals of the culture in which they manifest.

In some exceptions, moral absolutism is limited to the belief that actions are moral or immoral, regardless of the circumstances in which they may occur. A lie, for example, is always considered in such a case as an immoral act, even if the lie was used to perform some other good deed (for example, saving a life). This rare kind of moral absolutism can be contrasted with moral consistency - the point of view that the morality of an act depends on the context or consequences of this act.

The modern theory of human rights is a form of moral absolutism, usually based on an opinion about the nature of humanity and its essence. One such theory was created by John Rawls in his Theory of Justice .