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The point is that slavery was seen as morally acceptable at some time and the moral relativist is forced to say that that means slavery was okay during that time. Most people here want to be moral relativists but they don’t want to accept its consequences.

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GCostanzaStepOnMe@feddit.de ⁨2⁩ ⁨years⁩ ago
I think you don’t quite understand moral relativism.

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- poplargrove@lemmy.world ⁨2⁩ ⁨years⁩ ago
  No they understand just fine. Here’s a quote from an ethics book that gets at the same issue:
  
  The extreme sexism at the heart of honor killings is but one of many examples that raise doubts about cultural relativism. After all, societies are sometimes based on principles of slavery, of warlike aggression, of religious bigotry or ethnic oppression. Cultural relativism would turn these core ideals into iron-clad moral duties, making cooperation with slavery, sexism, and racism the moral duty of all citizens of those societies. The iconoclast—the person deeply opposed to conventional wisdom—would, by definition, always be morally mistaken. This has struck many people as seriously implausible.
  
  Russ Shaffer-Landau - The fundamentals of ethics p.293 (“Some Implications of Ethical Subjectivism and Cultural Relativism”)
  
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  - Cryophilia@lemmy.world ⁨2⁩ ⁨years⁩ ago
    
    Cultural relativism would turn these core ideals into iron-clad moral duties
    
    Without knowing the context for this paragraph, this statement sounds like utter bullshit.
    
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    poplargrove@lemmy.world ⁨2⁩ ⁨years⁩ ago
    If that consequence is unacceptable, that probably just means you think cultural relativism is bullshit.
    
    I can share a link to get the book, the context is quite short.
    
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  - GCostanzaStepOnMe@feddit.de ⁨2⁩ ⁨years⁩ ago
    But most people don’t believe this.
    
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    poplargrove@lemmy.world ⁨2⁩ ⁨years⁩ ago
    Believe what?
    
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Feathercrown@lemmy.world ⁨2⁩ ⁨years⁩ ago
I don’t think the slaves ever saw slavery as acceptable.

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- FlyingSquid@lemmy.world ⁨2⁩ ⁨years⁩ ago
  There were Roman slaves devoted to their masters. They sometimes married them and often too their master’s surname name when they were freed. So yes, some slaves saw slavery as acceptable.
  
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