Week 9 Cultural Relativism

CULTURAL
RELATIVISM
Complied by Dr. Ocon
OBJECTIVES
Consider the Eskimos. They are a remote and
inaccessible people. Numbering only about 25,000, they
live in small, isolated settlements scattered mostly along
the northern fringes of North America and Greenland. Until
the beginning of this century, the outside world knew little
about them. Then explorers began to bring back strange
tales. Eskimo customs turned out to be very different from
our own. The men often had more than one wife, and
they would share their wives with guests, lending them for Retrieved from
http://www.blogbeginsatforty.com/wp-content/up
the night as a sign of hospitality. loads/2018/07/inuit-coloring-pages-inuit-
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esk-on-eskimo-chiefs-coloring-pages.jpg
Moreover, within a community, a dominant male might demand -- and get

--regular sexual access to other men's wives. The women, however, were free
to break these arrangements simply by leaving their husbands and taking up
with new partners--free, that is, so long as their former husbands chose not to
make trouble. All in all, the Eskimo practice was a volatile scheme that bore
little resemblance to what we call marriage.
But it was not only their marriage and sexual practices
that were different. The Eskimos also seemed to have
less regard for human life. Infanticide, for example, was
common. . . . Female babies, he found, were especially
liable to be destroyed, and this was permitted simply at
the parents' discretion, with no social stigma attached to
it. Old people also, when they became too feeble to
contribute to the family, were left out in the snow to
die. So there seemed to be, in this society, remarkably
little respect for life. (James Rachels, The Elements of Moral
Philosophy (Philadelphia: Temple University Press, 1986)u
4
Cultural Relativism
What is cultural relativism?
Is the view that all beliefs, customs, and ethics are
relative to the individual within his own social context.
“Different cultures have different moral codes” often is used as a

key to understanding morality. Proponents argue that there is not as
universal truth in ethics; there are only the various cultural codes
and nothing more. The customs of different societies is all that exist
In other words, “right” and

“wrong” are culture-specific
Tightening the Definition–
The focus here is on whether or not one culture can judge another; the
focus is not on whether or not one individual can judge another.
Cultural Relativism
Challenges our ordinary belief in the objectivity and
universality of moral truths--
 It says in effect that there is no such thing as a
universal truth or ethical standard that can be
applied.
 Refutes ethnocentrism-- Your own code of ethics
offers nothing special and is no better than that of
another culture.
Sounds appealing… 6
Some Conflicting Approaches
 Moral Realism (aka Moral Objectivism): There are objective moral facts.
Therefore, ethics is somewhat like science: Its task is to discover (not decide)
what these moral facts are.
 Ethical Absolutists: There is a single standard ethical standard; that standard
is usually their own.
 Ethical (cultural or moral) Relativists: Each culture as an island unto itself,
right in its own world, and they deny any overarching standard with which
conflicting cultures (not individuals) can be judged.
 Ethical Pluralists: Cultures can legitimately pass judgments on one another,
but encourages us to listen to what other cultures say about us as well as what
we say about them.
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What happens when something that is legally
and morally permissible in one culture is illegal
and immoral in another?
 Female circumcision or genital mutilation

 Marriage of underage girls
 Infanticide
 Polygamy
 Slavery
Retrieved from https://encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com/images?
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Retrieved from
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Conflicting Approaches
 Moral Realist– Try to examine the situation and context
to discover the moral “facts.”
 Ethical relativist—Each culture is right unto itself, so

such practices would be morally permissible in some
countries and morally wrong in the US.
 Ethical absolutists—There is a single moral truth in terms
of which all cultures and individuals are to be judged.
 Pluralists—Try to find some middle ground (in some
situations this practice may make sense, less
judgmental)
Different Moral Codes
Reminder-- Different cultures have

different moral codes. What is right
within one group maybe abhorrent to
another.
 Treatment of the dead
 Polygamy
 Sharing of wives among Eskimos
 Infanticide
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What is our reaction to “strange or different”
customs?
 Label them as backward, uneducated, or primitive.

 Label them heathens…
 Discriminate or harass them.
 Convert them to “our” custom or thought.
correlates with imperialist approaches…

“’The right way’ is the way which the ancestors used and which has
been handed down. The tradition is its own warrant. It is not held
subject to verification by experience. The notion of right is in the
folkways.” - William Graham Sumner
“If we assume that our ethical ideas will

be shared by all people at all times,
we are merely naïve.”
Consider ethical ideas in our society

may have changed over the years…
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Claims of Cultural Relativists
1. Different societies have different moral codes.

2. The moral code of a society determines what is
right within that society.
3. There is no objective standard that can be used to
judge one societies code as better than another.
4. The moral code of our society offers nothing
special.
5. There is no universal truth in ethics…
6. It is arrogant to judge the conduct of other
societies; we should adopt an attitude of tolerance
toward the practices of other cultures.
The Cultural Differences Argument
Different cultures have different moral codes.
Therefore, there are no objective truth in morality.
Right and wrong are only matters of opinion, and opinions vary from culture
to culture. This is cultural differences argument--They argue from facts
about differences between cultural outlooks to making conclusions about
the status of morality How is this a logical fallacy? In other words, how is it
logically unsound?
The trouble is that the conclusion does not follow from the premise—that is
even if the premise is true, the conclusion might be false. – logical fallacy is
called non sequitur. WHY? The premise concerns what people believe; some
believe one way and others believe another, but the conclusion concerns
what really is the case. Just because two cultures believe differently
does inherently mean that one belief cannot be true.
14
The Greeks believed it was
wrong to eat the dead. The
Callatians believed it was right.
Does it follow, from the mere fact

that they disagreed, that there is
no objective truth in the matter?
No, it does not follow—it could be
objectively right or wrong that one or the other was simply mistaken.
It attempts to derive a substantive conclusion about a subject from

the mere fact that people disagree about it.
Caution: This is a simple point of logic. This does not necessarily mean that
the conclusion is false, the logic is that the conclusion does not follow from
the premise. 15
The Consequences of Accepting Cultural Relativism
1. We could no longer say that custom of other societies are morally inferior to
others. (This is one of the main points of Cultural Relativism.)
+ We would have to stop condemning other societies merely because they are different.
- Tolerance towards slavery, anti Semitism, hatred towards ethnic groups, or minorities,
child porn, sex slave trade
• If we took the cultural relativism seriously, we would have to regard these behaviors as
immune from criticism as long as they are considered morally acceptable within the
practicing culture.
2) We could decide whether actions are right or wrong just by consulting the
standards of our society.
In Colonial America slavery was OK, women were not allowed to vote or own property,
primogeniture was practiced, etc.; therefore, these things were right.
+ Deciding what is right or wrong in a situation is easier
- This position requires that we accept moral codes as proper and can not be improved.
•
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3. The idea of moral progress is called into doubt
• Progress implies doing things better, but cultural relativism
rejects making judgments about past eras.
• Reform movements such as rights to women and minorities that
implies modern society is better is a judgment that is impossible
to make.
3. The idea of moral progress is called into doubt

• Progress implies doing things better, but cultural relativism
rejects making judgments about past eras.
• Reform movements such as rights to women and minorities that
implies modern society is better is a judgment that is impossible
to make.
Problems with Cultural Relativism
1. No blame of other cultures for “wrong” or “evil” deeds.

Are cultures morally infallible?
2. No criticism of our own culture
3. No idea of moral progress
4. In a relativist society the view of the majority
rules. Is this fair?
5. Is tolerance a universal value, in which case
relativism is paradoxical?
7. Don’t we all instinctively believe that some things are
universally right and wrong?
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The Result?
1. Many reject the cultural relativism arguments -- .

It makes sense to condemn some practices
wherever they occur.
2. It makes sense to acknowledge that our society
while imperfect has made moral progress.
3. Because Cultural Relativism implies these
judgments make no sense, the argument goes, it
cannot be right.
There is less disagreement than it seems
There are differences across societies but the differences are often over-stated.
Need to explore not particular practices or values but the belief systems
that lie behind the practices.
The differences are often in the belief system.
Beliefs—religious beliefs
Physical circumstances of the society
Just because customs differ, there may be
less disagreement on basic values
Example: Eskimos infanticide

“drastic measures are sometimes needed to ensure the family’s survival” The Eskimos values are not
all that different than our own. It is only that life forces upon them choices that we do not have to
make” 20
Universal Values in Societies
 Value of protecting the young
 Truth telling
 Prohibition of murder
There are some moral rules that all societies must have in common,
because those rules are necessary for society to exist.”
What other universal values or moral rules can you think of?
 Prohibition against incest
 Personal responsibility
 The proper role of government is to take care of its citizens
 Everyone should serve their country
 Everyone should obey the law
Lessons From Cultural Relativism
While it rests on invalid argument, it is still an appealing theory…
It warns us about the dangers Keep an open mind—

of assuming that our Maybe our feelings about
preferences are based upon practices, values and beliefs
some absolute rational are merely social conventions.
standard. They are not. Many of
our practices are merely Maybe our feelings are not necessarily
particular to our society and it perceptions of the truth…they may be
nothing more than cultural conditioning.
is easy to forget this.
There are many matters that we tend to

think of in terms of objective right or
wrong, that are really nothing more than
social conventions.
Thank you. 23
Cultural relativism. (2014, August 28). Retrieved from
https://www.slideshare.net/beansomoray/cultural-relativism-38449104
Sources:
Cultural Relatvism. (2014, November 14). Retrieved from
https://www.slideshare.net/miatheresa/cultural-relatvism-41561132
https://www.csus.edu/indiv/g/gaskilld/ethics/emp%20chapter2.htm
Retrieved from https://www.ebscohost.com/uploads/imported/thisTopic-
dbTopic-1247.pdf
Retrieved from
https://freerangeresearch.files.wordpress.com/20
12/10/cultural-awareness-learning-module-
one.pdf
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CULTURAL

Moreover, within a community, a dominant male might demand -- and get

“Different cultures have different moral codes” often is used as a

In other words, “right” and

 Female circumcision or genital mutilation

 Ethical relativist—Each culture is right unto itself, so

Reminder-- Different cultures have

 Label them as backward, uneducated, or primitive.

correlates with imperialist approaches…

“If we assume that our ethical ideas will

Consider ethical ideas in our society

1. Different societies have different moral codes.

Does it follow, from the mere fact

It attempts to derive a substantive conclusion about a subject from

3. The idea of moral progress is called into doubt

1. No blame of other cultures for “wrong” or “evil” deeds.

1. Many reject the cultural relativism arguments -- .

Example: Eskimos infanticide

While it rests on invalid argument, it is still an appealing theory…

It warns us about the dangers Keep an open mind—

There are many matters that we tend to

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