4.1.1 A First Case for Relativism

At first this set of claims may seem obviously true. After all, given the diversity of human values and customs, how could there be anything more than relative standards, standards that are only applicable within a given culture? Many people find relativism intuitively appealing and might even offer as a preliminary case for relativism the following points:

• Cultural diversity: Human culture has always been extremely diverse. And many people seem to have equally diverse views on what sort of behavior is acceptable. It seems to follow from this that there cannot possibly be any standards for deciding between these views.
• How we learn about values: It seems obvious that we learn about values and come to accept the values that we do because these are the values that are shared by the people who raise us. They are the values of our families and communities.
• Intolerance: There have been plenty of cases throughout history in which one group of people firmly believed that their values were not just acceptable for them but absolutely right and used this as a justification for committing atrocities against other people. Relativists insist that the only way to avoid this kind of intolerance is to accept that there are no ultimate standards.