Universals Without Absolutes: A Theory of Media Ethics. Issue 4 (1st October 2016)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Meyers, Christopher
• Is Part Of: Journal of media ethics. Volume 31:Issue 4(2016)
• Page Start: 198
• Page End: 214
• Publication Date: 2016-10-01
• DOI: 10.1080/23736992.2016.1220255
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0890-0523

Abstract

Abstract: The global turn in media ethics has presented a tough challenge for traditional models of moral theory: How do we assert common moral standards while also showing respect for the values of those from outside the Western tradition? The danger lies in advocating for either extreme: reason-dependent absolutism or cultural relativism. In this paper, I reject Cliff Christian's attempts to solve the problem and propose instead a moral theory of universal standards that are discovered via a mix of rationally grounded methods. Such universality refutes relativism but, because it is grounded in evolutionary naturalism and life-world philosophy—as opposed to a Kantian or theological transcendentalism—it also avoids absolutism.