Relativistic Beliefs — A Case for Voluntary Euthanasia

What are some relativistic beliefs that you have or that you find in society? In order to answer this question, I have to first define what relativistic beliefs are.  Since, I could not actually find a concrete definition that related directly to psychology, I believe the text on page 5507 of my kindle edition, implies that one culture believes their practices to be accepted and correct; while another culture’s practice for a same type belief is not and perhaps unethical. I will look at on particular relativistic belief.  “Thou shall not commit suicide.”  Most Christians are taught from birth that if you kill yourself, you will go straight to hell.  In America, most people, even though we are living in a mixed cultural society, believe that people do not have the right to have access to doctors who practice voluntary euthanasia; such as; the late Dr. Jack Kevorkian.  While the Netherlands, Belgium, and Luxembourg euthanasia is legal, and assisted suicide is legal in Switzerland, Germany, Albania, Colombia, and Japan.  As of 2014, this concept is only legal in the USA in Washington, Oregon, Vermont, New Mexico and Montana. Why such a diverse grouping of people might you ask? There happens to be a higher concentration of people who come from cultures that support this concept in the western side of the US and the Western part of the world.  What drives people to have such strong beliefs, our text explains, “we should recognize that there are no universal or general ethical standards; that a person’s ethical view is relative to his or her culture, society, tradition, religion, worldview, and even individual values”(Mosser, 2013 Kindle Location 5519-5520). What are those ethical beliefs and how do people justify those beliefs? People who support voluntary euthanasia tend to justify their ethical beliefs by religion and culture, and personal practical preference.  People do not want to be a burden to their family, or lack medical insurance for long term hospital care, or have a terminal illness that will result in a prolonged painful death and have exhausted all hospice options.  Some people believe spiritually that they can finally be with loved ones and family members that have passed before them.  Some feel they will escape a worse fate.   Using the articles from Mary Midgley and James Rachels, present a critique of those relativistic beliefs. In the article by Ms Midgly she writes about people from one culture trying out ideals from another culture.  There were a few things that I took away from this excerpt: people cannot mealy start doing a practice from a new culture simply out of respect (pg.69), because the other culture may not say that they have the right or the status to carry out the activity (pg.71). An example of this is the Samurai culture. Outsiders are not considered worthy to praise South American Indian traditions. In the article by Mr. Rachels, he writes about the Eskimo customs and different they are from our ideals here in the United States. But I have to ask, are they not part of the states also? Are they still practicing their customs in remote areas?  In section 2.1, he discusses how different cultures have different moral codes.  Traditionally, the Eskimo customs may see barbaric to people who live in the urban area I live.  For instance, I would never swap out sex with another man other than my husband, or kill off all my female children until I had borne a male child, or leave my elderly grandmother out in the snow to die of starvation because she lost her usefulness to the family.  We as society have deemed all this as morally unethical and have made laws to prevent this behavior from happening without consequence; however, that does not mean these laws and beliefs are followed by other cultures in other parts of the world.   Recently, I was asked how people adapt to a society and laws that they grow up with… I agree that it is difficult for a person who moves into a different society who has experienced living with a different culture with different values.  It can cause distress and the person and their family may end up living secretively in a sub-culture in their new adopted society. Euthanasia is still a taboo topic in America.  People feel they have to rationalize why and when it is acceptable; according to religious ritual, and the law.  Maybe the question should be… why is is rational for a human to make a humane choice for their terminally ill pet but not themselves? References Midgley, M. (1983). Heart and mind: The varieties of moral experience. London, GBR: Methven & Co Ltd. Retrieved from ebrary database. Mosser, K. (2013). Understanding philosophy. San Diego, CA: Bridgepoint Education, Inc. Rachels, J. (1999). The challenge of cultural relativism. In The elements of moral philosophy (pp. 15-29). New York, NY: McGraw-Hill.