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Question of the Month

Is Morality Objective Or Subjective?

Each answer below receives a random book. Apologies to the entrants not included.

If there is an omnipotent and benevolent God, then moral commands issued by that God would exist independently of our minds or emotions, and so would be objectively real. A moral law would be a fact, much as it is a fact that water is H₂O. But if we take God out of the equation we’re left with the natural world, which provides no such guidance, and when we look across different societies we find a variety of moral codes. This might imply that morality is subjective – that moral precepts are expressions of a cultural preference, or rules set out by the powerful for their own advantage, or mere expressions of feelings (‘boo/hurrah’). The subjectivist case can be reinforced by any genealogy of morality, highlighting the seemingly endless changes in beliefs and practice through history.

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