道德相对主义有什么问题？
What is wrong with moral relativism?
简答 Short Answer
道德相对主义自相矛盾：「没有绝对的道德」本身就是一个绝对的道德判断。而且它在实践中行不通——面对真正的邪恶（如种族灭绝），没有人真的相信「这只是文化差异」。
Moral relativism is self-contradictory: 'There are no absolute morals' is itself an absolute moral claim. It also fails in practice: facing real evil like genocide, nobody truly believes 'it's just a cultural difference.'
详细解答 Detailed Answer
道德相对主义是当今最流行的观点之一：「你有你的道德，我有我的道德，谁也不能把自己的标准强加于人。」听起来很包容很开明，但仔细想想就会发现它充满问题。
第一，它自相矛盾。「你不应该把道德观强加于人」——这句话本身就是一个绝对的道德判断。如果真的没有绝对的道德，那连「不应该强加道德」也不是绝对的，相对主义的基础就自我瓦解了。
第二，它在实践中行不通。当有人说「道德是相对的」，你问他：「那你觉得虐待儿童只是文化差异吗？奴隶制只是不同的生活方式吗？大屠杀只是价值观不同吗？」几乎没有人会真的这么说。当面对真正的邪恶时，每个人心中都会升起「这是错的」的判断——这种绝对的道德直觉恰恰否定了相对主义。
第三，它使道德进步成为不可能。如果道德只是文化产物，那我们就不能说废除奴隶制是一种「进步」——因为进步意味着有一个更高的标准来衡量。如果没有客观标准，所谓的改变就只是改变，不是进步。
第四，它常常被选择性地使用。人们在自己想做某事时说「道德是相对的」，但当别人伤害了他们时，他们立刻呼求公义。这种不一致暴露了相对主义的虚伪。
鲁益师说：「每个人都相信某种客观的是非标准。争论本身就证明了这一点——如果没有对错标准，争论就毫无意义。」上帝的道德律写在每个人心中（罗2:15），这是相对主义永远无法消除的。
Moral relativism is one of today's most popular views: You have your morality, I have mine, nobody can impose their standards on others. It sounds tolerant and enlightened but is deeply problematic.
First, it's self-contradictory. You shouldn't impose morality on others is itself an absolute moral judgment. If there truly are no absolutes, then even this claim isn't absolute, and relativism's foundation collapses.
Second, it fails in practice. Ask a relativist: Is child abuse just a cultural difference? Is slavery just a different lifestyle? Is genocide just a different value system? Almost no one truly says yes. Facing real evil, everyone's heart cries this is wrong. This absolute moral intuition refutes relativism.
Third, it makes moral progress impossible. If morality is merely cultural, we can't call abolishing slavery progress, because progress implies a higher standard to measure against. Without objective standards, change is just change, not progress.
Fourth, it's applied selectively. People invoke relativism when they want to do something but immediately demand justice when harmed. This inconsistency exposes relativism's hypocrisy.
C.S. Lewis observed: Everyone believes in some objective standard of right and wrong. Quarreling itself proves it, for quarreling means trying to show the other person is wrong. If there were no standard, arguing would be meaningless. God's moral law is written on every heart (Rom 2:15), something relativism can never erase.
📖 经文引用 Bible Verses
📚 推荐阅读 Related Readings
- •鲁益师，《返璇归真》；C.S. Lewis, Mere Christianity📖
- •布尔兛斯，《报应假神》；Alvin Plantinga, Where the Conflict Really Lies