Question about Cultural Relativism?

Question

For my ethics class I have to write an essay on how cultural relativism incorrectly answer the question what is right? That was my thesis. I Need some help as i don't know where to begin. Can someone help me.

Answer 1

Check out the Fontana Collins book for details or internet site for Dictionary. Cultural relativism - is a form of parochialsm or bias towards your own social culture within national cultures.

Eg.In japan the Japanses have their own way of operating their cultural values and norms,within a national framework,this is acceptable - food,language,customs,way of life. On the extreme of this is tourists or immigrants who have their own cultural upbringing when they arrive at this place - Russian,Chinese,German etc.....In a nut shell these other ethnic cultures and norms will not be really recognised by the national social culture - japanese............In a way every nation on earth his its own cultural relativivsm which operates as a system to safe guard its own culture.

Answer 2

I don't get what your essay question was.  Can you rephrase it?

Answer 3

Cultural relativism would postulate the different cultures are islands of difference and having quite different moralities, which can only be judged in the context of the individual cultures. A pernicious doctrine that would not allow one to even comment on such barbarism as female genital mutilation.

A genetic and evolved understanding of all humans in the world as one unified species would allow one to define what all peoples have in common in a moral fashion. People do not want to be slaves, hurt or disrespected. These are human universals that stand in direct refutation to the failed anthropological concept, " cultural relativism. "

Answer 4

Your question as such is not clear. Cultural relativism is usually compared to universalism. So from an anthropological point of view, it means you cannot judge other peoples customs, or traditions or morals, from your standpoint, just because it is different from your culture. For example there is a lot of questioning of traditional medicine nowdays, but up until recently westerners considered that only scientific medicine was accurate and everything else was witchery or inefficent, this is universalism, the one truth. With regards to ethics there is the example of the United Nations charter, so it's supposed to be universal and accepted by representatives from all nations, but in reality it was written up by westerners in a western context folowing WWII. Some else here in Y/A brought up the question on female genital mutilation. So how can we stand by and allow young girls to be circumcised just because it's a cultural practice? But then westerners accept male gender mutilation or circumcision, just because they are used to it, and it is believed healthier, but this practice also comes from a cultural custom, of the Jews from thousands of years back, as a way of distinguishing and identifying themselves. I think a more interesting question is if we as humans are basically ethical, that is always do what we consider is right

Answer 5

As an anthropolgy student use spell check, and for your cultural relativism, simply look around !