...explain and critically discuss the strengths and weaknesses of moral relativism. Every choice we make is due to each person’s individual morality and rationality. In this view, Norman (1988: 188) contends that, “Morality is premised on the assumption of individual responsibility.” Morality is concerned with the free choice of rational human beings, and not the non-rational. Louis (2002:28) further adds that morality, “Is just the set of common rules, habbits, and customs that have won social approval over time so that they seem part of things, like facts.” Moral relativism shows that there are no absolute moral rules and each situation needs to be examined individually. Therefore moral relativism is the belief that morality does not relate to any absolute standards of right and wrong but good and bad are dependent on culture and circumstance or judgment paradigm. Thus different moral truths hold for different people from society to society or at different periods in time. The fact that some people see moral relativism as an obvious truth which is undeniable needs no preamble. Needless to mention, others perceive moral relativism as threatening to the moral foundation on which society is founded. According to moral relativists there is nothing that is absolutely, invariably right or wrong, and there is no universal standard by which to measure our character or our actions. According to moral relativism, it is never true to say simply that a certain kind of behaviour is right...
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...Cultural and ethical relativism are two extensive theories that are used to rationalize the differences amongst cultures in regards to their morals and ethics. Ruth Benedict, a significant American anthropologist from 1887 to 1948, moved from the theories of cultural relativism to the theories of ethical relativism, which brought major criticism to her work and philosophy’s. Cultural relativism is the view that one is born into a particular culture. Culture in this definition is the sum of peoples’ practices, from birth rituals, to how adolescence is defined, to gender roles. Being born into a particular culture shapes one’s particular worldview. A person cannot fully participate in a culture unless that person has “lived according to its...
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...1 The anthropological definition of cultural relativism is that people studying cultures let go of their “esthetic and moral judgments” when they are studying other cultures. It is the idea that anthropologists should build an understanding of another culture allowing it to develop as freely as any other culture in their mind. It is the practice of staying entirely non-judgmental and not allowing personal thoughts and apprehensions to come in the way of understanding another culture. It involves developing the understanding about another culture with an unassuming observance and keeping an open mind to whatever comes across without developing any bias or being judgmental about it. Anthropologists use cultural relativism when on the field by leaving all of their biases and preconceived notions when they study other cultures. They try to ‘forget’ any prior knowledge that they have about the...
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...(Ethnocentrism vs. Cultural Relativism) As a Sociologist, should we practice Cultural Ethnocentrism or Cultural Relativism? We must first understand the two distinct theories regarding perception of outside cultures: Ethnocentrism and Cultural Relativism. Ethnocentrism is judging another culture solely by the values and standards of one's own culture.[1] The ethnocentric individual will judge other groups relative to his or her own particular ethnic group or culture, especially with concern to language, behavior, customs, and religion - these ethnic distinctions and subdivisions serve to define each ethnicity’s unique cultural identity.[2] The logical alternative to ethnocentrism is Cultural relativism, the practice of judging a culture by its own standards. Cultural relativism can be difficult for certain individuals to adopt: it requires not only openness to unfamiliar values and norms but also the ability to put aside cultural standards we have known all our lives.[3] No one ethnic group has the right to say that their particular system of beliefs and values are in any way superior to anyone else’s system of beliefs and values. What is right for one culture might be wrong for another. There is no absolute standard of right and wrong by which to compare and contrast morally contradictory cultural values. Ethnocentrism and cultural relativism are mutually exclusive. The social sciences are limited to what can be observed, measured and verified. The question of what...
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...Cultural Relativism Response Essay James Rachel overall definition of Cultural Relativism to me is someone’s belief that challenges our everyday belief in morality. Rachel gives us examples of what’s right and one cultural can be wrong or immoral in another. In the example of the cremation of the dead of the Greeks and the eating of the dead fathers of the Callatians. Rachel then present the idea of the different cultures views to one another and the two cultures both felt like it was immoral. Now me personally I think bout the ideas of cannibalism and cremation are immoral but Rachel explains how can one say wrong base on their moral codes and teaching is. This helps me realize in Cultural Relativism that in this world not every society believes in the same morals and ethics so there’s no truth in morality. Rachel gives his arguments towards Cultural Relativism that it shouldn’t be accepted completely. The changes or advances society makes can be improvements. That some cultures old beliefs were wrong for example slavery and the killing of the Jewish. So I get the impression that nothing’s wrong with the society if it’s accepted within. The cultural(s) who still believe the world is flat I believe that this shows Cultural Relativism because many other society know its round but the acceptance of the “flat” thinking is accepted which may lead to moral improvement. The reading also proves to me that we cannot judge societies base on the beliefs of others. Rachel talks...
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...identifying whether universally moral values existed or not. Accordingly, this essay will demonstrate that, although the relativist stance on the philosophical problem may seem quite compelling, the universalist one ultimately proves itself to be the most applicable and reasonable. In other words, moral universalism will win over cultural relativism inasmuch as the relativist will fail to provide compelling responses to the universalist’s objections, as this essay will further explain. However, to balance out the debate, I will additionally highlight the benefits that the relativist theory brings to...
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...Along with demonstrating culture relativism is Saddam Hussein an example of ethical subjectivism? Why or why not? 2. If a cultural relativist lived in a culture that deemed ethnic cleansing and genocide morally unacceptable. For that cultural relativist would it be morally acceptable to intervene in a case where another culture was actively engaging in ethnic cleansing and genocide and use what your culture deemed immoral to stop such acts? Alternatively, would it be more morally acceptable not to intervene because each culture has its morals even though they go against yours? If they did intervene would they be oppressing the other culture because they are pushing their cultural morals on another culture? 3. When the Allied powers were drafting the treaty that dispersed the Kurds into different countries, do you think culture relativism played a part in the language of the treaty? Why or why not? 4. If Saddam Hussein was a culture relativist how would he respond to Adolf Hitler and the...
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...Cultural Relativism and Problems Associated with This Approach Cultural anthropology is the study of cultural variation among people. An essential concept that professional anthropologists apply in their fieldworks is - cultural relativism - an approach to study of the nature and role of values in a culture without judgment and comparison to their own. According to the Study Guide, Smillie and Kenny state that major contribution to the study of the concept of cultural relativism can be attributed to Boas and his students, who challenged a wide-spread idea that societies are staged along a line from the most undeveloped to most “civilized.” Rather, they suggested that each individual culture should be understood in terms of its unique beliefs and ideals. That is, in order to observe and understand how people live and operate in a particular culture, it is important to consider the way other view the world within the framework of their culture. A great example of this idea is depicted by Laura Bohannan in her work “Shakespeare in the bush.” With an argument in mind, that human nature is more or less universal, she travels to Africa and discusses a famous Shakespeare’s tragic play with native people of a tribe Tiv, expecting only slight variations in its interpretation accounted for discrepancies in culture. To her surprise, Bohannan finds out that customs, beliefs, translations and culture have an enormous role in the perception and interpretation of Shakespeare’s play and that...
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...Sociology Essay Module 1: Health, love, and democracy are examples of A. mores. B. values. C. folkways. D. sanctions. Right Points Earned: 1/1 Your Response: B 2. Beginning in the 1950s, ______________ theory's view of culture became popular among sociologists in the United States. A. conflict B. interactionist C. social control D. functionalist Right Points Earned: 1/1 Your Response: D 3. The emergence of Starbucks in China represents what aspect of culture? A. innovation B. globalization C. diffusion D. cultural relativism Wrong Points Earned: 0/1 Your Response: C 4. What term did William Ogburn introduce to refer to the period of maladjustment when the nonmaterial culture is still adapting to new material conditions? A. culture lag B. cultural relativism C. ethnocentrism D. diffusion Right Points Earned: 1/1 Your Response: A 5. What term do sociologists use to refer to the process by which a cultural item spreads from group to group or society to society? A. innovation B. globalization C. diffusion D. cultural relativism Right Points Earned: 1/1 Your Response: C 6. The process of introducing a new idea or object to a culture is known as A. innovation. B. diffusion. C. globalization. D. cultural relativism. Right Points Earned: 1/1 Your Response: A 7. Sociobiologists apply ______________ principle of natural selection to the study of social behavior. A. Herbert Spencer's B. Charles Darwin's C. Karl Marx's ...
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...wrong, or is it morally right within certain contexts. Cultures exist that make having multiple children an extreme financial burden, or due to population control, illegal to have more than one child. Even within these contexts, does it make it morally right to practice infanticide? No, it does not! The practice of infanticide is universally morally wrong. Infanticide is practiced in several cultures, one of which is Pakistan. According to cultural relativism, this practice is deemed morally right. Cultural relativism deals with actions that are specific to a culture and the individuals within a specific culture. The beliefs and customs of a particular culture are relative to the individuals within that culture. What may be morally right in one culture may not be right in another (gotquestions.org, 2011). Relativism deals with the fact that individual societies may deem, for themselves, what is right or wrong. Since truth is non-discriminatory, there really cannot be a set of standards that apply to all cultures. Relativism says that it is wrong for one society to pass judgment on another society for this reason. Pakistani's believe that infanticide is right based on reasons such as babies being born out of wedlock or the baby being the wrong sex, where here in the United States we believe that the baby has to...
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...Benedict supports Cultural Relatvism and whereas Rachels argues against this. Benedict uses her anthropological research to build her case for relativity and depends on different histories and environments of a few cultures. Rachels analyzes Cultural Relativism and justifies why it isn’t necessarily right or wrong. I have reviewed and thought about each of their arguments and have decided to side with James Rachels. The following paragraphs will be an attempt at showing why I believe both arguments seem to basically be equally strong with a slight lead by Ruth...
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...the systematic study of the former (Joseph Omoregbe 1993 p.3)2. How then do we decide what is morally right? Is it based on universal laws or divine instructions? Are laws truly universal? If they are not, how then can the rightness or wrongness of culturally divergent societies be determined? Philosophers agree and disagree in varied proportions on answers to these questions. It is normal if you disagree too. For the purpose of this paper, an attempt will be made to look into the concept of ethical relativism, its importance and areas of deviation from ethical absolutism. History of Ethical Relativism Though moral relativism did not become a prominent topic in philosophy or elsewhere until the twentieth century, it has ancient origins. In the classical Greek world, both the historian Herodotus and the sophist Protagoras appeared to endorse some form of relativism. The early Sophist Greek philosopher Protagoras provides an early philosophical precursor to modern Moral Relativism in his assertion that "man is the measure of all things". The Greek historian Herodotus (c. 484 - 420 B.C.) observed that each society typically regards its own belief system and way of doing things as better than all others. Plato also pointed out that much of what is believed to be...
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...Ethics; PHIL 235 Prof. Susan Downs James Quarles The cultural relativism’s thesis about the nature and objectivity of morality explains that because there are so many differences about the ways of life between different cultures that there is no universal code for morality or what is right and what is wrong.inn the readings Rachels uses a quote that says, “The “right” way is the way which the ancestors used….” (Rachels, p.196) he uses this quote to help support cultural relativism’s thesis that’s explains that that what is morally right can only be determined by your culture. Cultural relativism is not an objective theory of morality. If the theory was an objective theory then Rachels would feel as though we would be able to settle our moral disagreements. The arguments that a cultural relativism uses to supports their views are the fact that cultures do have different moral codes. For example in America they believe that a man should only be able to have one wife whereas in come cultures they believe that it is acceptable to have multiple wives and some even believe in sharing their wives with their guest. Another example to show that different cultures do have different would be that in China because of the overpopulation household families are only allowed to produce a certain amount of babies and once the limit is reached any baby made after the limit can be killed and there is no punishment for that type of action in China because that is accepted in their culture,...
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...relativist? [25 marks] In this essay I will include what it means in ethics to call a theory relativist. Relativism is when people don’t always agree about what's right and what's wrong, this means there is no need to interfere whether its wrong or right. This suggests it has different cultures express different codes of conduct. Subjective links to relativism because it is when your dependent on some types of emotion or thoughts, Subjective is internal also it is about what you think about something. Theological is the final outcome and what comes out of it this is important in normative terms; some philosophers believe that the end is not how you achieve it is mainly about the outcome. Cultural relativism is an individual belief and activities should be understood an individuals own culture. It is the sort of approach which leads people to say things, 'When in Rome, do as the Romans do'. For example the Maassai Tribe drink the blood of their animals to get important nutrients for their bodies, although they are careful not to kill the cattle, as their wealth is measured in the number of animals they keep. This suggests they are not doing anything wrong according to culture relativism because they are following their traditions, they believe that they are not doing wrong as they are following society's morals. Also different cultures should respect each other cultures, for example in Islam some women may choose to wear a scarf but some people may criticize why women are wearing...
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...may seem from the point of view of our values? Words: 3480 Introduction The aim of this essay will be to discuss whether respect should always be considered when facing others habitudes; however cruel they may seem from the point of view of our values. The relevance of this topic to relativism is found since controversy immediately breaks outs when the question of moral and cultural respect interferes with relativism. As we have seen in the previous cessions, everything is relative and especially when we are talking about respect. Since ages, many conflicts were emerging from divergent points of view, unaccepted practices of other’s cultures and disagreements on certain ethical beliefs. And since they are already two or more points of views in a conflict, relativism could be applied to all of them. Every single opinion could be relative, so which one should we respect? Well, this question therefore brings me to the other part of the problem which is concerning truth. What is true, good, and right to do? This question arouses a lot of debates among philosophers today. Since the nature of truth and goodness hasn’t been identified yet, it is still subjected to relativism. And respect cannot be worldly applied to specific values. In other words we cannot change the mind of people that are living by following what they believe to be true and right to do. It is know that everyone sees the world differently, but can we accept that someone is seriously harmed due to some...
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