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Cultural relativism philosophy
Cultural relativism philosophy
Cultural relativism philosophy
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Moral Objectivism says that there are set moral truths that characterize the way the world should or shouldn’t be. Cultural Relativism claims that to be wrong and that moral judgement is true just because it correctly describes what a society really stands for. The Relativist is incorrect, during this I will construct multiple arguments against Cultural Relativism and why their rebuttal would pose no problem to arguments presented in the realm of Moral Objectivism. Cultural Relativism theory has numerous holes in its theory beginning with that it holds all claims to be true relative to their culture. If all moral claims are to be taken literally then they create contradictories in Cultural Relativism starting with the theory itself. Cultural Relativism rids the world of objectivity even though if it is to …show more content…
Another issue with Cultural Relativism is that it creates a world of moral infallibility which indicated that no cultures morals are ever wrong regardless of contradicting with other cultures. If moral claims are to be taken as true then they must not create contradictories. Moral progress is something that humans have been striving for centuries, but if Cultural Relativism is to be true then there would be no such thing because all moral claims would only be able to change but would always be true for their culture therefore insinuating there is no moral progress in the world. While, I have shown a number of problems with the theory of Cultural Relativism, there are relativists that would counter with a number of repeated arguments attempting to legitimize the theory. One argument posed is the attitudinal strategy, which states that when we speak on moral claims that humans are only expressing their
Finally, in Beckwith’s fourth point, he evaluates the absurd consequences that follow moral relativist’s arguments. In his final critique, Beckwith uses typical philosophical examples that Mother Teresa was morally better than Adolf Hitler, rape is always wrong, and it is wrong to torture babies. Beckwith argues that for anyone to deny these universal claims is seen as absurd, yet it concludes with moral objectivism that there are in fact universally valid moral positions no matter the culture from which those individuals
In “Cultural Relativism”, Harry Gensler criticizes Cultural Relativism and defends what he calls “the objective view” or in other words Moral Realism. To start off, what exactly is Culture Relativism and what does it claim? Cultural Relativism claims that the appropriate or correct way to behave or act is relative to a culture or society in which one stands. Gensler writes, “What is ‘good’ is what is ‘socially approved’ in a given culture” (“Cultural Relativism”, 44). Meaning that an act is only morally acceptable if it is allowed in the society in which it is performed, and is immoral if it's forbidden in the society in which it is performed.
"Who's to judge who's right or wrong?" In the case against moral relativism Pojman provides an analysis of Relativism. His analysis includes an interpretation of Relativism that states the following ideas: Actions vary from society to society, individuals behavior depends on the society they belong to, and there are no standards of living that apply to all human kind. An example that demonstrates these ideas is people around the world eat beef (cows) and in India, cows are not to be eaten. From Pojman second analysis an example can be how the Japanese take of their shoes all the time before entering the house. In Mexico it is rare that people take off their shoes. They might find it wired or not normal. In his third analysis he gives that sense moral relativism and cultural relativism are tied together, that their can be no
In its entirety, moral relativism is comprised of the belief that, as members of various and countless cultures, we cannot judge each other’s morality. If this theory stands true, then “we have no basis for judging other cultures or values,” according to Professor McCombs’ Ethics 2. Our moral theories cannot extend throughout cultures, as we do not all share similar values. For instance, the Catholic tradition believes in the sacrament of Reconciliation. This sacrament holds that confessing one’s sins to a priest and
Cultural Relativism is a moral theory which states that due to the vastly differing cultural norms held by people across the globe, morality cannot be judged objectively, and must instead be judged subjectively through the lense of an individuals own cultural norms. Because it is obvious that there are many different beliefs that are held by people around the world, cultural relativism can easily be seen as answer to the question of how to accurately and fairly judge the cultural morality of others, by not doing so at all. However Cultural Relativism is a lazy way to avoid the difficult task of evaluating one’s own values and weighing them against the values of other cultures. Many Cultural Relativist might abstain from making moral judgments about other cultures based on an assumed lack of understanding of other cultures, but I would argue that they do no favors to the cultures of others by assuming them to be so firmly ‘other’ that they would be unable to comprehend their moral decisions. Cultural Relativism as a moral theory fails to allow for critical thoughts on the nature of morality and encourages the stagnation
Cultural relativism is perfect in its barest form. Even though many peoples have many different beliefs and many of these people believe that their own moral code is the only true one, who can say which is better than another? This is the struggle that cultural relativism sets out to permanently resolve. It seems as if cultural relativism could bring about natural equality among groups of differing beliefs. After all, no one belief can be qualified (attributed) as being superior or better than any other belief. ...
Moral relativism is the concept that people’s moral judgement can only goes as far a one person’s standpoint in a matter. Also, one person’s view on a particular subject carries no extra weight than another person. What I hope to prove in my thesis statement are inner judgements, moral disagreements, and science are what defend and define moral relativism.
Moral relativists believe that no one has the right to judge another individuals choice, decisions, or lifestyle because however they choose to live is right for them. In addition everyone has the right to their own moral beliefs and to impose those beliefs on another individual is wrong. At first glance moral relativism may appear ideal in allowing for individual freedom. After all why shouldn’t each individual be entitled to their own idea of moral values and why should others force their beliefs on anyone else. “American philosopher and essayist, Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803-1882), tells us, what is right is only what the individual thinks is right. There is no higher court of appeals, no higher, universal, or absolute moral standard.” (pg 121) Moral relativism means if does not feel wrong than it must be right.
...bly in the world today. The creation of global moral standards would start the slippery slope to imperialism where the dominating moral codes would rule the rest of the world and therefore corrode the cultures of the lesser states. Every society could take a lesson from moral relativism by being tolerant and understanding of other’s beliefs.
In explaining Cultural Relativism, it is useful to compare and contrast it with Ethical Relativism. Cultural Relativism is a theory about morality focused on the concept that matters of custom and ethics are not universal in nature but rather are culture specific. Each culture evolves its own unique moral code, separate and apart from any other. Ethical Relativism is also a theory of morality with a view of ethics similarly engaged in understanding how morality comes to be culturally defined. However, the formulation is quite different in that from a wide range of human habits, individual opinions drive the culture toward distinguishing normal “good” habits from abnormal “bad” habits. The takeaway is that both theories share the guiding principle that morality is bounded by culture or society.
There are different countries and cultures in the world, and as being claimed by cultural relativists, there is no such thing as “objective truth in morality” (Rachels, 2012). Cultural relativists are the people who believe in the Cultural Ethical Relativism, which declares that different cultures value different thing so common ethical truth does not exist. However, philosopher James Rachels argues against this theory due to its lack of invalidity and soundness. He introduced his Geographical Differences Argument to point out several mistakes in the CER theory. Cultural Ethical Relativism is not totally wrong because it guarantees people not to judge others’ cultures; but, Rachels’ viewpoints make a stronger argument that this theory should not be taken so far even though he does not reject it eventually.
Nearly all of mankind, at one point or another, spends a lot of time focusing on the question of how one can live a good human life. This question is approached in various ways and a variety of perspectives rise as a result. There are various ways to actually seek the necessary elements of a good human life. Some seek it through the reading of classic, contemporary, theological and philosophical texts while others seek it through experiences and lessons passed down from generations. As a result of this, beliefs on what is morally right and wrong, and if they have some impact on human flourishing, are quite debatable and subjective to ones own perspective. This makes determining morally significant practices or activities actually very difficult.
The practices of many cultures are varied from one another, considering we live in a diverse environment. For example, some cultures may be viewed as similar in comparison while others may have significant differences. The concept of Cultural Relativism can be best viewed as our ideas, morals, and decisions being dependent on the individual itself and how we have been culturally influenced. This leads to many conflict in where it prompts us to believe there is no objectivity when it comes to morality. Some questions pertaining to Cultural Relativism may consists of, “Are there universal truths of morality?” “Can we judge
Cultural Relativism holds that because individuals and cultures disagree on what is moral, there is no truth nor objectivity in morality, but, rather, it is up to the people’s subjective judgments. This path of logic does not hold up, and history teaches us otherwise. The fact there exists disagreement among people does not justify the idea the idea that there exists truth in morality. Cultural relativism is an excuse that places personal truth and emotions over factual truth. An analysis into history and empirical evidence dismantles this postmodern way of thinking.
The minimum conception of morality could allow people to see disagreements in a larger perspective, which could ultimately help resolve tension in a moral aspect. Cultural relativism is the view that ethics from the perspective of different cultures are all “equal” and that one system isn’t necessarily better than the other. A person’s culture strongly influences point of view and thought. According to cultural relativism, there is no universal truth, only diverse cultural codes. Since there is no universal standard of what morality is, nobody has a right to judge other cultures.