ABSTRACT
While it is often thought that human beings are constituted solely as individuals with minds and bodies, human nature can be seen to have a social element built into it. People are also seen scientifically as composed of cells and DNA that are part of the vast river of life, as in current evolutionary theory. This chapter discusses three ethical theories that attempt to provide a philosophical basis for modern secular society: utilitarianism, deontology, and the social contract. There is a theoretical basis that reflects that charge, namely, the ethical philosophy of moral relativism, which comes in two forms, cultural and subjective. Both types of moral relativism, cultural relativism and subjectivism, strongly influence current opinion about the status and place of ethical values. Such an attitude is not usually held consistently, however, and when presented with extreme acts of immorality, ethical subjectivism will give way.
