Moral Relativism and Absolute Values: A Philosophical Analysis of Cultural Practices in Tiv Society

This study examines the philosophical debate between moral relativism and moral absolutism in the context of cultural practices among the Tiv people of Benue State, located in Nigeria's North Central geopolitical zone. Moral relativism holds that ethical standards are culturally determined and therefore vary legitimately across societies, while moral absolutism asserts that certain moral principles hold universally regardless of cultural context. Using a descriptive philosophical and ethnophilosophical design, the study analyses selected Tiv cultural practices, including rituals governing marriage, dispute settlement, and land inheritance, through both relativist and absolutist moral frameworks. Structured interviews with 20 Tiv elders, cultural practitioners, and philosophy academics in Makurdi supplement the documentary review of Tiv ethnophilosophy. Secondary philosophical literature on moral relativism and African ethics published between 2020 and 2024 informs the theoretical analysis. The study draws on the work of James Rachels, Gilbert Harman, and Segun Gbadegesin to structure the normative argument. Findings reveal that while Tiv cultural practices embody coherent internal moral logics that deserve respectful analysis rather than dismissive condemnation, certain practices, including those that systematically disadvantage women, cannot be defended even on relativist grounds because they violate standards that Tiv moral philosophy itself upholds. Keywords: moral relativism, absolutism, Tiv philosophy, Benue State, cultural ethics.