Christina Hoff Sommers

  By contrast, Christina Hoff Sommers argues that there are basic human virtues that are not relative to time, place, circumstance or situation. Sommers writes, “It is wrong to mistreat a child, to humiliate someone, to torment an animal. To think only of yourself, to steal, to lie, to break promises, And on the positive side: it is right to be considerate and respectful of others, to be charitable and generous.” (Sommers, qtd. in Rosenstand, p. 486, 7e). Just after this passage, Rosenstand asks whether Sommers is right: "Can we just pronounce the virtues of decency, civility, honesty, and so forth the ultimate values without any further discussion?....For many, what Sommers is doing is just old-fashioned moralizing..." (p. 489). What does Rosenstand mean by "moralizing"? Explain your understanding of Sommers's repudiation of moral and ethical relativism. Is her view convincing enough to make a relativist change her stripes? How does Sommers's view connect up with virtue ethics? [Note: You can get a quick survey of Sommers's viewpoint in brief video commentaries here: https://www.aei.org/scholar/christina-hoff-sommers/]