Moral relativism and pessimism, and the denigration of ethics in comparison with science are the results of widespread skepticism about the objectivity of morality. The author examines anthropological evidence for moral relativism, and finds that the complexity of cultures will always thwart efforts to confine moral judgments to a single culture.

Moral disagreements, across cultures and within them, have created scepticism about the objectivity of morality. This book challenges misconceptions about morality, culture and objectivity, aiming to show we can take moral disagreement seriously and still retain aspirations for moral objectivity.