Moral absolutism

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Overview

Moral absolutism is "the belief that there are absolute standards against which moral questions can be judged, and that certain actions are right or wrong, devoid of the context of the act." (-[W])

In other words:

  • The morality of an act does not depend on the act's context
  • (Implied) The standards against which all acts are judged does not change over time

Concepts in opposition to moral absolutism therefore include:

  • moral relativism, which states that morality only exists relative to social, cultural, historical or personal references.
  • the idea that standards of morality can (or should) evolve when challenged by new understanding
  • moral consequentialism, i.e. the idea that an act's morality depends solely on the consequences of that act (it's not clear whether said consequences must be the act's intended consequences as well)

Reference