The view that certain moral principles are universally valid regardless of context, culture, or consequences. It holds that some acts are inherently right or wrong, with no exceptions or situational modifications.
From Latin 'moralis' and 'absolutus' (freed from limitations). The term emerged in modern ethical debates to describe positions that reject contextual or consequentialist modifications to moral rules, contrasting with relativistic approaches.
Moral-absolutism faces the trolley problem head-on: even if killing one person would save five lives, an absolutist about murder says 'never!' This creates both the strength and the challenge of having unwavering moral principles.
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