While it may appear that distinguishing between what is good and bad is easy, the moral views on certain actions vary. Female circumcision (FC) is regarded as a violation of women’s rights, and people’s experiences in films like Fire Eyes demonstrate the damaging effects of FC (Mire, 1995; Rabiepour & Ahmadi, 2023). Nonetheless, the procedure is customary in many communities (Mire, 1995; Rabiepour & Ahmadi, 2023). FC can be differently addressed by subjective moral relativists (SMRs) and cultural moral relativists (CMRs).
On the one hand, a SMR would not disapprove of FC in the presented scenario. The SMR would say that what the doctor is doing cannot be judged as there is no right position, and what matters is whether the surgeon feels that their actions are right (Rachels, 2018). I would not agree with the SMR because it seems appropriate to also consider the girl’s sentiments. Subjective relativism can be evaluated as a one-sided moral path as, despite suggesting that there are no correct understandings of reality, SMRs seem to disregard others’ interests and dignity (Cheng, 2019; Fernández et al., 2022). Consequently, SMRs would not stop the doctor if the surgeon feels right about FC.
In comparison, a CMR may also not prevent FC but due to different reasons. The CMR would declare an absence of universal truth, with each society having a distinct moral code of what is considered right within that community and that one must not judge others’ traditions (Rachels, 2018). I disagree with the CMR because while different cultures must be respected, they may not always be correct. Cultural relativism has been generally criticized as an unsound moral approach on the basis of societies not being virtuously unfailing, communities’ rituals being both helpful and harmful, and not everything being tolerable (Rachels, 2018). Accordingly, the critiques of CMRs’ position can be evaluated as reasonable since CRMs may disregard damaging practices.
A SMR and a CMR are likely to offer dissimilar arguments about FC, but neither would stop the procedure in the scenario under examination. There is no objective moral truth about any of the possible actions by the nurse and the doctor in the situation since any effort may be judged by SMRs, CMR, or proponents of other philosophies. Although there may not be absolute verity, it is important to consider whether something is more harmful than it is beneficial.
References
Cheng, H. (2019). A critical review of Chinese theoretical research on moral education since 2000. ECNU Review of Education, 2(4), 561-580. Web.
Fernández, N., Benitez, F., & Romero-Maltrana, D. (2022). Social character of science and its connection to epistemic reliability. Science & Education, 31(6), 1429-1448. Web.
Mire, S. (1995). Fire eyes: Female circumcision [Film]. Filmakers Library.
Rabiepour, S., & Ahmadi, Z. (2023). The effect of female circumcision on maternal and neonatal outcomes after childbirth: A cohort study. BMC Pregnancy and Childbirth, 23(1), 1-10. Web.
Rachels, J. (2018). The elements of moral philosophy. McGraw-Hill Education.