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Full Idea
If we base our ethics on human flourishing, one implication would seem to be moral relativism, since what counts as 'flourishing' seems inevitably relative to one or other set of values.
Gist of Idea
What counts as 'flourishing' must be relative to various sets of values
Source
Gilbert Harman (Human Flourishing, Ethics and Liberty [1983], 9.2.1)
Book Ref
Harman,Gilbert: 'Explaining Value and Other Essays' [OUP 2000], p.156
A Reaction
This remark seems to make the relativist assumption that all value systems are equal. For Aristotle, flourishing is no more relative than health is. No one can assert that illness has an intrinsically high value in human life.
5120 | What counts as 'flourishing' must be relative to various sets of values [Harman] |
5121 | Basing ethics on flourishing makes it consequentialist, as actions are judged by contributing to it [Harman] |