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How Languages influence thought
The Challenge of Cultural Relativism
The Challenge of Cultural Relativism
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Recommended: How Languages influence thought
1. Culture relativism: is the process of understanding other cultures on their own terms, rather than judging according to one 's own culture. This means not to think any less of a culture because their beliefs, values, norms, and cultural practices are different than yours. By having an open mind about different cultures and immersing yourself into their values and norms it will allow you appreciate their way of life. Also, it helps you to see the world and our personal lives through a different light.
2. An example of ethnocentrism that is happening in our society today is Terrorism and Hate Crimes. Ever since the bombing of the Twin Towers by suicide bombers in 2001, the United States Citizens (Black, White, Asian, Mexican etc) have all started to question every Middle Eastern or Muslim American. These people were born in America and most likely have no affiliation with the Middle East, that 's just where their roots come from. They are constantly being racially profiled as suicide bombers,
“Language is a system of communication using vocal sounds, gestures, or written symbols; the basis of symbolic culture and the primary means through which we communicate with one another and perpetuate our culture” (Pg 78) Language is the most significant element of culture. It has allowed us to develop and separate ourselves from all other species on the planet. Language is what connects us from the past, present and future. It allows us the grasp concepts complicated concepts to pass along to future generations. “Language is so important that many have argued that it shapes not only our communication but our perception” (Pg 78 Para 5 Line 1) The Sapir and Whorf Hypothesis broke from the traditional idea of language and made it concrete that language actually structures a thought, “That perception not only suggests the need for words with which to express what is perceived but also that the words themselves help create those perceptions” (Pg 78 Para 5 Line
Cultural relativism is defined as the belief that no one culture is superior to another morally, politically, etc., and that all “normal” human behavior is entirely relative, depending on the cultural
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.
(1) Ethnocentrism is looking at one’s own culture and placing it above other cultures, constantly comparing it to the other cultures “below”. In America today, many people look at conflicted areas in the globe such as the Middle East and wonder why their system cannot keep a stable democracy. This idea of constantly comparing other cultures to one’s own and expecting them to be alike or follow the example is a problem in reading historical documents and understanding history as a whole. Nomadic invaders such as the Mongols were described as horrible savage people in the written accounts of the sedentary peoples. This must not be taken quite as literally because accounts tend to be biased more often than not. In examining ethnocentrism, one must always remember that few, if not none, cultures behave extremely irrationally as they may seem. For example, referring back to the views of Middle East today, one must remember that the system of Islamic law and customs has held for centuries, and would not have survived that long if they truly are as irrational as they might seem. Referring back to the example of the Mongols, the attacked people were obviously biased and the Mongols would not have had ruled for so long if they were cruel, savage, irrational monsters. Ethnocentrism is extremely difficult to avoid and is apparent in many documents, such as Columbus’s description of the American Natives (in comparison to the “civilized” Europeans), and should be dealt with carefully. In order to understand all sides of an account, one must look at what is written with deference and understanding.
Ethnocentrism is a profound habit and a steady propensity, however its significance to political issues relies on upon the circumstances at hand. The United States is often accused of being unduly arrogant in world affairs or intervening in other nations affairs for self-interest with ill intentions rather than have the pure intention to promote freedom and democracy. Believing that America should foist its practices of democracy in the Middle East can be considered in partaking in ethnocentric thinking (Stoller, par. 12). Ethnocentric Americans favored military intercession over diplomatic strategy.
The prehistoric times stand evidence to the power of language as a tool for communication and growth. Language has proven to be an effective medium and factor surrounding the evolution of man. Language has played a big role in the development of individuals and societies. What is spoken and/or written, help in the initiation of imagination, expression of feelings, and conveyance of thoughts and ideas.
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
Even nowadays, there still an issue that connected with language and related to cultures such as cultural relativism and ethnocentrism. Cultural relativism is a behavior in one culture that should not be judged by another’s value system which basically is a belief of own culture practice with respect and understand the different of other culture. While ethnocentrism is the opposite of cultural relativism. It is the ideal that one’s own culture is the main standard and better than other cultures such if other’s culture practice is contrary to your cultural norm, that practice would be immediately wrong. In Language Myths provide many examples of this issue in many chapters which I will be discussing below.
Vaughn first defines ethical relativism by stating that moral standards are not objective, but are relative to what individuals or cultures believe (Vaughn 13). Rachels says that cultural relativism states “that there is no such thing as universal truth in ethics; there are only various cultural codes,
Every individual is taught what is right and what is wrong from a young age. It becomes innate of people to know how to react in situations of killings, injuries, sicknesses, and more. Humans have naturally developed a sense of morality, the “beliefs about right and wrong actions and good and bad persons or character,” (Vaughn 123). There are general issues such as genocide, which is deemed immoral by all; however, there are other issues as simple as etiquette, which are seen as right by one culture, but wrong and offense by another. Thus, morals and ethics can vary among regions and cultures known as cultural relativism.
We live in a world society that is changing rapidly. It causes people of various cultures to interact with each other. This interaction can be positive or negative depending on the respect people have for other cultural groups and the level of sensitivity. These behaviors are directly related to the two very important concepts in sociology, which are known as Ethnocentrism and Culture relativism. Negative attitudes toward other ethnic groups or cultures can be a result of ethnocentrism.
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.
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, as stated above, means the belief that one’s own culture is above and beyond all other cultures. Although this is somewhat of a shallow definition, it still provides an adequate explanation of a very complex issue. We see ethnocentrism every single day, in all aspects of life. The United States of America is a prime example of ethnocentrism is action. The people of this country have a tendency to disregard other cultures, instead believing that American culture is the only way to go. This is not to say that this is how everyone thinks, although most people, at one time or another, have had thoughts along these lines.
With cultural relativism, events in our lifetime would be stable and consistent. There would be no room for things to improve due to the fact we may think everything is as it should be. Just as Rachel's had mentioned previously, we can take into account slavery. (Sher, 155) There would be no progression in regards to the abolishment of slavery if we adhered to Cultural Relativism as a set standard. We would accept slavery as the way things are, we would hold this view that we could not voice our own opinion as we should “respect,” other cultures. Rachel’s also makes an important point stating there is actually less disagreement than it seems when it comes to Cultural Relativism. (Sher, 174) In summary, he explains that our disagreement between other cultures needs to be looked more into. The actions of an individual from another culture needs to be looked in at a different perspective. He uses people who refuse to eat cows as an example. Are we judging them because they don’t want to eat an animal? Or do they not want to eat an animal because they believe there is a form of reincarnation involved? Rachels says this is not too far from our beliefs in where for example, some believe in going to heaven. When comparing ourselves to them, we are valuing the same things but show it in different
Culture refers to the collection of values, customs, and attitudes of a group of people belonging to certain area, country or a place. It shapes individuals’ habits, knowledge, experiences, and their perspectives. It is important to avoid ethnocentricity since it creates a bias in which, one views their own culture to be superior over other cultures. In the age of globalization, such single-minded bias can prove to be costly as it can lead to undermining positive characteristics of other cultures. This in return can create negative relationship with citizens from other cultures as well as their governments.