Is Morality Determined By Culture?

"Are there absolute moral standards, or are moral standards effective only as far as they agree with the orientations of a given people at a given period of their history?" (Satris, 6) There are several theories that address the question of whether or not morality is determined by culture, and each theory contains its respective strengths and weaknesses. Three main theories that discuss the correlation between morality and culture are the Diversity Thesis, the Dependency Thesis, …

…parents would be viewed by western society as immoral but in their culture the actions may have the best interest of the parent in mind and the killings may be merciful. Education of the individual could lead to the eventual increase in morality of a culture but there is still a margin for error. One ought to keep an open mind and admit that people are fallible, therefore, no individual can ever be completely moral.