What are some instances or situations that support the idea of moral relativism?

The modern abhorrence of slavery as fundamentally immoral, versus the biblical and divine endorsement of slavery.
Any time someone brings up the “it was a different time” excuse, when past cultures’ moral failings are judged.

The entire judicial / court system is built on the concept of moral relativism. If you steal or murder or so something else considered immoral, you’re judged by a jury that applies their own standards of morality and judgment to your fate.

If there were no moral (or situational) factors, there would be no need for judges, juries, or a justice system.

That’s why the absolutists are totally and completely wrong – there are always factors that affect moral judgment.

Nature does not care about morality. It’s something humans have created because we have empathy are often self righteous and have a fixation with making things just. Put that all together and you have an evolving consensus of right and wrong through the lens of the surrounding culture. It’s there whether we choose to acknowledge it or not. There is no fundamental, rigid set of moral guide stones set in place by the universe for us to follow. Humanity is unique in the sense that we can direct our own trajectory into the future to a degree. This requires careful consideration and I see it as more of a progression into collective adulthood with many bumps in the road. Not everyone or every group is going to agree or develop at the same rate and some are not even in the game at all.

Sample situation? Not sure if this applies but Saudis killed innocent civilians on 9/11 and it was evil. Then the US invaded Iraq who had nothing to do with 9/11 killing innocent civilians and it was ok.

I think illegal immigration is the issue du jour that sums it up perfectly.

Both sides (Rep and Dem) make valid points for and against, it’s all based on your perspective, which lies somewhere in the middle (imo.)

That more is better. More stuff more money.

@rockfan Could you define what you mean by “moral relativism”? People use that term in a lot of ways, most of which don’t conform with any of the actual definitions used by moral philosophers.

A good example is the change of values over time accompanying the Enlightenment. Steven Pinker discusses this at length in his book, The Better Angels of Our Nature. It is extraordinary how much Western values changed during this time. In Europe before the Enlightenment, slavery was accepted, people engaged in duels, there were multiple crimes punishable by capital punishment, drawing and quartering and other forms of torture were used to punish criminals, corporal punishment of children was the norm, women were regarded as second class citizens, and the general level of violence was much higher than it is now..