The absolutistic theory is the transfer of this moral or voluntary law of selective action into a quasi-physical (that is, metaphysical) law of indiscriminate being.
That temporally disastrous consequence is, from an absolutistic point of view, a totally irrelevant consideration, as is also the pain we feel in telling the truth under such conditions.
What concerns us in this connection, however, is the nature of this absolutistic conception, and its bearings on the governance of human conduct.
Absolutistic moralities are distinguished by their maintenance of the fundamental moral idea of Duty, Duty consisting in an obligation to conform to the Right.
In its emphasis on the autonomy and integrity of moral action, even its opponents credit the Kantian or absolutistic position with having hit upon a genuinely moral aspect of human action.
But the single moral course is clear; there is no alternative; in absolutistic morals there are no extenuating circumstances.
Reason, and religion; as director of life; career of; in absolutistic morality.
The Kantian or absolutistic position, by its emphasis on the indefeasible and unwavering character of moral action, suggests something that rouses admiration from common sense, unsophisticated by moral theory.
It means a real change of heart, a break with absolutistic hopes, when one takes up this inductive view of the conditions of belief.
History shows how easily both quietists and fanatics have drawn inspiration from the absolutistic scheme.
The absolutistic hypothesis, that perfection is eternal, aboriginal, and most real, has a perfectly definite meaning, and it works religiously.
The more absolutistic philosophers dwell on so high a level of abstraction that they never even try to come down.
Using our old terms of comparison, we may say that the absolutistic scheme appeals to the tender-minded while the pluralistic scheme appeals to the tough.
It is the absolutistic brand, spurning the dust and reared upon pure logic.
