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In the first paragraph, briefly describe cultural relativism or moral isolationism. Use at least one quote from the required readings somewhere in the body of the paragraph. You may use the quote to support your description, or you may interpret, or even argue against the quote, but you must do something with the quote; in other words, don’t just provide a quote at the top of your post. Then, provide an example — either from current topics in the news such as the removal of Confederate statues, from recent history, or from your own personal life — of a topic that has multiple perspectives rooted in the tradition and beliefs of a particular group(s). Finally, briefly explain how cultural relativism helps you (or doesn’t help you!) understand this topic. * In a second paragraph, imagine that there is a magical ring, similar to the “Ring of Gyges” from Plato’s Republic that you read about this week. Instead of giving you the power to do whatever you want when no one is looking, this magical ring gives you the power to create a moral law. With this in mind, create a moral law that would help to bring about your idea of justice or a just society. State the moral law you have created using the language “Everyone must…” or “No one can…” For example, if your idea of a just society is one in which everyone tells the truth, then your moral law might be: “Everyone must always tell the truth at all times, regardless of the consequences.” Try to think in the big picture here by truly imagining that you were given this one chance to create a moral law that would make the world a better place. Don’t think about whether people will follow the law or whether people will agree with the law — just focus on formulating the law in clear and precise language. * In the final paragraph: a) Explain why your law is a moral law, i.e., briefly discuss the moral behavior it would bring about or eliminate. b.)State whether your change would impact society’s view on assisted suicide or allocating healthcare resources. c.)Identify one “unintended negative consequence” that your rule/law might bring about. This might take some extra thinking, but with rare exceptions, most moral laws, especially when they are first conceived, carry with them unintended consequences. For example, suppose that you used the ring to create the law that everyone must always tell the truth. An unintended negative consequence of such a law is that people’s feelings might often be hurt in a world where everyone always told the truth.
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