The Principles of Relativity, as articulated by physicists, have definite mathematical implications that may (or may not) translate well to an ethical representation. There is a more general expression of Relativity which is less "equation oriented" called Covariance. Therefore, to disambiguate our ethical model from the orthodox version of Moral Relativity, I have chosen to refer to it as Moral Covariance.
Moral Covariance is a theory about moral theories. It derives by analogy from the Principle of Covariance, which is a physical principle.
The Principle of Covariance is very simple. It states that all laws must be expressed in terms of elements which when observed from two different points of view can be unambiguously correlated.
If you've never heard of the Covariance Principle before, you may not grasp its full meaning merely by reading this sentence. I will give as much attention as I can to making this statement meaningful, as we progress in the development.
You also may not catch the relationship between Covariance and Relativity, other than the fact that the phrase different points of view is mentioned, which seems kind of like a relativistic thing to say. Different points of view is the easiest concept to pick up on when discussing Relativity. I will attempt to explain the more subtle concepts as we go.
The fundamental axiom of Moral Covariance is that the Principle of Covariance may be applied directly to ethical considerations.
The only authority that the Covariance Principle may claim is that it is the prime operating principle for every physical law in our universe (so far as we know). This may not be a good reason for adopting it as the foundation of ethical modeling, but it is a good enough reason to at least make an attempt at doing so.
Ethical models will either stand or fall by their ability to achieve their desired function. In the case of a physical model, it must precisely predict observed phenomena. In the case of ethical models, it must provide a mechanism for constructive ethical discourse, and moral decision making.
