A Levite and his concubine

[Mudhammam]

Morality is malleable to the desires of each individual. For someone like myself and presumably Esquilax, morality is objective within the framework that human beings share a universal set of basic needs that can be either satisfied or starved given the extent of social cooperation or conflict. Since each person is deprived of the freedom to select their own allotted genetic and environmental past, nobody is entitled to claim superiority for the character nature has bestowed upon them. I value my own life... Hence, I value a system that, ideally, under its laws and institutions values me as an equal to everyone else, regardless of the choices I make. Nobody can establish absolute value--which is what "objective morality" would require to truly be objective, that is, outside of any individual's evaluative framework--because it's a contradictio in adjecto. Value depends on a value-creating subject. There's no self-contradiction involved in discrepant evaluative standards. Whereas some might value equality before the law or "blessing those who curse you," others might value selfishness or even suffering, and arguably, these all contribute and sometimes even necessarily to the development of character and/or society. Of course, people attempt to tyrannize value by imposing their personal standards on others under the guise of authority anyway--"Christian morality" is oftentimes presented as one such attempt. The truth is, all we can do is appeal to the decency of others and hope that when values clash, through rational discussion a middle ground can be forged in which all parties involved are free to pursue their own goals with minimal conflict (insofar as we ourselves do not wish to be left vulnerable).