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SubjectivismSubjectivism is an ethical theory asserting that morality depends entirely on the attitude of each individual. Thus, attitudes are neither right nor wrong but merely statements about how you feel and moral judgements are just statements about the thoughts and feelings of the person saying them. When people disagree about what moral behaviour is, according to Subjectivism, they are not engaging in rational debate, but are voicing differences of attitude. Subjectivism opposes the belief in the objectivity of moral truth that is Absolutism.Subjectivism declares that when you say animals are worthy, you only mean you like animals, and that when you say killing animals is wrong, you only mean you are against killing them. Subjectivism says that when people's attitudes differ they are simply disagreeing and that is all. Someone claims hunting animals for sport is good. You maintain hunting animals for sport is bad. Your statements are true only in that they are about what you believe, otherwise they are neither true nor false, neither right nor wrong, neither good nor bad. Subjectivism seems to be agreeable in so far it acknowledges that people have different moral opinions, encourages personal feelings, and dispenses with any need for moral facts that may confuse matters. Subjectivism allows everyone to develop their own position without being forced to agree with views of other people that they may find objectionable.
A big downside of Subjectivism is that you cannot resolve moral disputes if everyone is simply talking about their personal opinions. Someone's beliefs are as valid as anyone else's beliefs, so there is no way of saying whether an act is moral or not. Nobody is ever wrong in the subjectivist view. People make many moral judgements apparently based on rational decisions. It is reasonable to believe that setting a living animal on fire for pleasure is wrong, for instance. Rationalising, you could claim that the pain suffered by the animal would be disproportionately greater than the pleasure of the villain who started the blaze (see Utilitarianism), or that God gave us a moral duty to care for those who are weaker than ourselves (see Religious Tradition: Modern Interpretation). Surely, therefore, not all moral judgements are necessarily subjectivist. There may, at the least, be a core of rationalizable values shared by everyone. Compare with Emotivism and Relativism. |
