The question of cultural relativism has profound, wide- and long-reaching implications. Michel de Montaigne (1533-1592) emerged in the sixteenth century as the most prominent defender of moral and cultural relativism, but never grasped the full impact of his arguments. For instance, Montaigne failed to grasp the implications of seemingly anodyne statements such as “pleasure can never be pure, because it is always mixed with some negative emotions” or “every joy in life is accompanied by some measure of fear.” What is even worse, Montaigne sustained that “every good quality contains some part of evil” and that “humans can never be totally happy because there will always be some factor that undermines their joy.” I regard those statements as philosophical horrors because they undermine all human achievements. Why should anyone strive to behave honestly if virtue is impossible to attain? What is the point of working hard and intelligently if one can never be happy? Montaigne’s determined cultural relativism (the idea that all cultures, barbaric or civilised, have the same value) mirrors his moral relativism. In essence, Montaigne favours a subjective, inconsistent approach to individual and societal ethics. The consequences of moral and cultural relativism are lethal because they deprive people of the ability to think logically. In defending that there is no good or bad (at least, not in a pure form), or that pure happiness is impossible, Montaigne is depriving people of their motivation to enjoy life. Montaigne’s relativism creates deep confusion in all areas of human activity. How is one supposed to make decisions if he is incapable of telling the difference between right and wrong? If “pure” happiness is unattainable, what’s the point of ambition, honesty, and hard work? Unsurprisingly, Montaigne proves unable to answer those questions. His essays undermine moral and cultural certainty in all areas, but fail to replace them with a workable doctrine. His ethical relativism leads to indifference, lethargy, and poverty. Late in life, while revising his essays to prepare a second edition, Montaigne must have realized that his moral relativism (individual and cultural) left too many questions unanswered. As a result, Montaigne devised a doctrine that made things even worse. He presented his doctrine in an essay titled “That our actions should be judged by our intentions.” Since he had deprived reality (ambition, work, achievement, happiness) of moral or cultural meaning, he came up with the doctrine that the crucial element for telling good from bad are a person’s intentions. Here is the link to the original article: https://johnvespasian.com/consequences-of-montaignes-moral-and-cultural-relativism/

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