Challenges Of Cultural Relativism

Cultural Relativism is a perspective that moral codes vary from culture to culture, no moral code within in a culture is superior to the other codes in different cultures; This ideology comes from there is no universal truth, meaning there is no philosophical standard that determines if something is either right or wrong, therefore one cannot establish that something is “better.” In “The Challenge of Cultural Relativism,” James Rachels introduces the topic by introducing Darius whom is a king of ancient Persia. Darius visits different societies, he observed the differences between the Callatians and the Greeks. One major difference that struck the King was the honoring of the dead. The King asked the Greeks if they would eat their dead, just

Another example, sexist practices are right according to the values of a sexist culture. If we do not have a comparative basis than we cannot dictate whether something is morally right. Since, we do not have a basis for analyzing morals of our own culture’s creations or comparing whether something is wrong in a different society. One can argue, that slavery is too hard to abolish, thus the reason why it exists in the society because there are not enough resources to prevent slavery. However, other societies that have abolished slavery have stated that the slaves were suffering and treated inhumanely; and slavery perpetuates the abuse of children. Ethically, slavery increases the majority of unhappiness and slavery also violates the Universal Declaration of Human rights, which states that slavery is forbidden. All human beings are born free and are equal. All humans have the right to life, liberty, and security of person. If we deny their code, then we are objectifying the culture relativism

For example, a Muslim funeral and an Irish funeral will be significantly different. In a typical Muslim funeral, the dead is mourned, their life is not celebrated, and people attending the funeral will wear all black. However, in an Irish funeral the dead’s life is celebrated for the deceased’s accomplishments. Yes, the funeral practices are possibly completely different, but there is one goal both groups strive for which is honoring of the dead. Being tolerant and open-minded allows you to have the capability to learn more about different cultures. If a society is not tolerant about other moral codes, this could possibly lead to wars. Tolerance is needed to have a civilization. For example, if your neighbor has different values than you, would you burn down his house because his values differ? If we are not tolerant of each other’s values than we risk the consequence of being at war all the