The Ethical Demand and the Norms

Abstract

In ‘The Ethical Demand and the Norms’, Løgstrup addresses the problem concerning relativity in ethics. He makes the claim that ethics involves both an unchanging and a relative and changeable element; the moral rules vary from time to time and in different cultures, whereas the fundamental element that one should be concerned for the well-being of the other is absolute and unchangeable. This leads Løgstrup to discuss the problem as to whether the Ten Commandments still hold good today, as they can reasonably be seen as part of the historical and thus relative moral rules of ethics rather than its unchangeable basis.