Are moral values subjective or objective?
There is no such thing as an objective moral value. There are values which are generally accepted by society which appear to be objective, but in fact they are malleable, in the sense that society’s opinion can – and often does- change based on the passage of time. And in my opinion, this is as it should be. Manking evolves and continues to grow, and mankind’s values must adapt and change to keep up with evolution. To answer your specific question: Any of the things you mention: torture, murder, starvation, etc. – are abhorrent activities, but objective moral values, because they each can – situationally – be used for ‘good’ (whatever that is) as well as ‘bad’ (again, defined by society’s needs at the time. Take for example the so-called value of “Thou shall not kill”. Except that killing is considered ‘moral’ if you are at war, or if your own life is threatened, and so on. So even the most final of moral values has exceptions and caveats. That means it cannot be objective – it must be
