Westermarck Edward (1862–1939), Finnish anthropologist and philosopher who spent his life studying the mores and morals of cultures. His main works, The Origin and Development of Moral Ideas (1906–08) and Ethical Relativity (1932), attack the idea that moral principles express objective value. In defending ethical relativism, he argued that moral judgments are based not on intellectual but on emotional grounds. He admitted that cultural variability in itself does not prove ethical relativism, but contended that the fundamental differences are so comprehensive and deep as to constitute a strong presumption in favor of relativism. See also ETHICAL OBJECTIVISM , RELATIVIS. L.P.P.