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Cultural relativism is a perspective
Cultural relativism is a perspective
Cultural relativism is a perspective
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The Nacirema article can be applied to both ethnocentrism and cultural relativism. There are obvious differences between the Nacirema culture and our culture. The Nacirema performed a mouth-rite ritual because they had a horror and fascination with the mouth, in this ritual they would place hog hairs in the mouth along with magical powders. Ethnocentric individuals would judge this ritual because it seems bizarre to them as it is not part of their culture. Individuals who believed in cultural relativism would view he ritual of the mouth as a standard of its the Nacirema culture, and that this ritual is performed because of their belief that a strong relationship exists between oral and moral characteristics.
To the Nacirema people, culture
Human needs are similar- health, physical appearance, human body and economic resources to meet these needs. Nacirema culture bears some semblance to more civilized culture. While reading this article it seems most of the practices are similar with modern culture. A major difference is the magic, ritual and the crude method of doing things. One of the cultural practices that stood out for me is the “holy-mouth-men” ritual, which seems like what a dentist will do. I also find interesting the diagnostic ability of the diviner.
“Body Rituals among the Nacirema” is a document written by Mr. Horace Miner. Miner was a graduate of the University of Chicago, with a degree in anthropology. Throughout his life, Miner was dedicated to his studies ranging in anthropology to sociology. He was very interested in the study of anthropology, but Miner disagreed with the way that other cultures were represented. He thought American anthropologists believed that the American culture was “normal” and, that the other studied cultures were misrepresented (Hoogland). Miner was convinced to prove otherwise. He wanted to prove to other anthropologists that to other cultures the American culture could be viewed as unusual.
Is a person’s beliefs and morality predetermined and rigidly adhered to by the culture they exist within, or are these fluid elements that can be shaped by one’s own being? Arthur Miller’s fictional adaptation of the Salem witch trials of 1692, The Crucible, highlights the theory of cultural relativity. Cultural relativism is the theory that customs, beliefs, and morality are constructed in relation to the culture from which they are derived. Miller explores both the pertinacity and adaptability of cultural relativity using characterisation, specifically through the development of the text’s protagonist, John Proctor, and antagonist, Abigail Williams. Miller utilises The Crucible’s omnipresent relevance to represent the significant role culture
Cultural relativism is powerful and unique, ascertaining and appreciating people cultural. Cultural relativism is unique but can be hard to understand, upsetting the views, morals, and outlines of culture from the standpoint of that civilization. When analyzing the hominid culture, it provides the luxury of understanding their philosophy from their viewpoint. Taking in another culture without being basis can be daunting. Anthropologist deliberated cultures by exploiting two methods, the emic perspective, and etic perspective. Crapo, R. H. 2013, Section 1.1 defines, the Etic perspective that is, an outsider's or observer's alleged "objective" account—creates a model of a culture by using cross-culturally valid categories, which anthropologists
After analyzing cultural relativism over the semester, I have come to the conclusion that cultural relativism under anthropological analysis defines every single culture with some aspect of worth as viewed by an individual within that society. Franz Boas, termed the “Father of American Anthropology”, first introduced the concept of cultural relativism. He wanted people to understand the way certain cultures conditioned people to interact with the world around them, which created a necessity to understand the culture being studied. In my words, cultural relativism is the concept that cultures should be viewed from the people among that culture. When studied by anthropologists, cultural relativism is employed to give all cultures an equal
In the article “Body Ritual among the Nacirema” by Horace Miner, the author describes that the Nacirema civilization connected by their social believe through the mythology of their cultural hero. According to the analysis of the author, the Nacirema culture uses different people to maintain their social believes and exercise their power to create social solitary. The people of Nacirema society believes their civilization was originated by a cultural hero, and they believe they should follow their rituals in order to survive (2, Miner). In my view, the peoples of Nacirema were connected by the tales of their religion. However, the people outside their religion might disagree their tradition, but the believe system of Nacirema still help this
Adversity is commonplace for black youth in the inner city. In Patterson’s The Cultural Matrix, there are a plethora of examples that express these various facets of hardship and differentiate the institutional blockades from the cultural obstacles.
Finally, the rituals and beliefs regarding the human mouth are extreme, in my opinion. The article sums up the mouth rituals stating, “preponderantly masochistic people have developed sadistic specialist” (Miner, 1956). In my opinion, Miner was right in stating that the Nacirema people are masochistic. The descriptions of the mouth-practices are shocking, and raise the question of why anyone would want to have such painful procedures done. From an anthropological standpoint, it’s hard to grasp the thoughts behind the procedures since pain and injury are not conducive to fostering a healthy and thriving culture. The Nacirema people and their rituals are fascinating and deserving of greater study.
Societies have different cultures and people in each culture are grown and raised with a set of norms, values, and beliefs. These shared values and beliefs are learned from their childhood through their adulthood. Culture is not something which everyone is born with, but it is something which everyone learns while growing up. It does not only influence the daily lives, but it also influences the business activities which take place in that particular society. Many of us work with people who have different backgrounds and that makes it important for us to understand the differences between cultures. So, although cultures might look similar, there are differences in many aspects which distinguish them from each other. There are five cultural
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.
Culture Relativism; what is it? Culture Relativism states that we cannot absolute say what is right and what is wrong because it all depends in the society we live in. James Rachels however, does not believe that we cannot absolute know that there is no right and wrong for the mere reason that cultures are different. Rachels as well believes that “certain basic values are common to all cultures.” I agree with Rachels in that culture relativism cannot assure us that there is no knowledge of what is right or wrong. I believe that different cultures must know what is right and what is wrong to do. Cultures are said to be different but if we look at them closely we can actually find that they are not so much different from one’s own culture. Religion for example is a right given to us and that many cultures around the world practices. Of course there are different types of religion but they all are worshipped and practice among the different culture.
Ethnocentrism and cultural relativism are two contrasting terms that are displayed by different people all over the world. Simply put, ethnocentrism is defined as “judging other groups from the perspective of one’s own cultural point of view.” Cultural relativism, on the other hand, is defined as “the view that all beliefs are equally valid and that truth itself is relative, depending on the situation, environment, and individual.” Each of these ideas has found its way into the minds of people worldwide. The difficult part is attempting to understand why an individual portrays one or the other. It is a question that anthropologists have been asking themselves for years.
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 term culture has a wide range of meanings, because it has been changing continuously. Thus, the meaning similar to 'cultivating' may be found in words such as viviculture, agriculture, and horticulture. In the sixteenth century 'cultivating' was a description of the way of taking care of body through training. Later on it became the non-physical aspect of a person. Since the nineteenth century, the meaning is broadened and includes the general state of human intellectual, aesthetic, and spiritual development. Giving rise to the 'artistic works and practices' refers to movie, theater, painting, and music (Bowe 2007: 2).
“Cultural relativism asserts that what is right is relative to the individual culture. In some cultures, things that are considered “right” in the United States are considered “wrong,” and some “wrong” things are considered “right” abroad” (ITT-Technical Institute, 2014). I selected the culture of Ireland and found the following information: