I believe all arguments should start with a common starting ground in mind and thereafter to be fully explored and discussed in all areas.
so
Step 1: Definition of moral from Encarta
mor·al [ máwrəl ]and since this definition is albeit too tedious on the eyes, here is an abbreviated version from your humble self
adjective
Definition:
1. involving right and wrong: relating to issues of right and wrong and to how individual people should behave
2. derived from personal conscience: based on what somebody's conscience suggests is right or wrong, rather than on what rules or the law says should be done
3. according to common standard of justice: regarded in terms of what is known to be right or just, as opposed to what is officially or outwardly declared to be right or just a moral victory.
4. encouraging goodness and decency: giving guidance on how to behave decently and honorably
5. good by accepted standards: good or right, when judged by the standards of the average person or society at large
6. able to tell right from wrong: able to distinguish right from wrong and to make decisions based on that knowledge
7. based on personal conviction: based on an inner conviction, in the absence of physical proof moral certainty
plural noun mor·als
Definition:
standards of behavior: principles of right and wrong as they govern standards of general or sexual behavior
Morals
a set of principles or standards of behavior derived from conscience or societal norms relating to issues of right and wrong
Step 2: with the definition clearly in focus, we first should discuss the entirety of the definition.
What does principles or standards of behavior means to the average person off the street. To me, it means how a person would choose to deal with the problem or issue at hand. An example would be a homeless person walking up to you and begs for some money. The response would be largely influenced by a series of factors; the upbringing, mood of the giver, age, the surroundings and of course the homeless person's state at that moment. However, the ingrained principle of the giver would probably be to give the homeless person money as it has been constantly drilled in since his or her youth. And by seeing so, the most important factor governing the principles would definitely therefore be the upbringing. In fact, conscience and societal norms are part of a person's upbringing if we ignore the ever popular statement of everyone is born innocent. The upbringing of the person would therefore follow a near absolute state of affairs since to that particular individual, it is not a matter of one or two "training sessions" but rather a lifelong experience guiding him or her to form his or her very own principles.
Therefore for the individual, morals are more or less absolutes. However, this applies only to that particular individual possessing that particular principle. If we follow the law of permutations, in Singapore alone, there would be 5 million unique personalities and to make all 5 million of them to share a common moral is almost impossible. This is where the relativity comes in and for something to be relative, there must be a common measure from which the relativity extends and this leds to the government coming out with laws and order and religion and society imprinting their own footsteps upon general public.
