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Understanding Cultural Relativism and Its Significance

Categories: Cultural Relativism

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Published: Aug 24, 2023

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Defining cultural relativism, cultural diversity and contextual understanding, challenges and ethical dilemmas, cultural relativism in anthropology, cultural relativism and moral frameworks, cultural relativism and globalization, cultural relativism and education, critiques and limitations of cultural relativism, conclusion: embracing complexity through cultural relativism.

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Understanding Cultural Relativism and Its Importance

Kendra Cherry, MS, is a psychosocial rehabilitation specialist, psychology educator, and author of the "Everything Psychology Book."

Akeem Marsh, MD, is a board-certified child, adolescent, and adult psychiatrist who has dedicated his career to working with medically underserved communities.

Bartosz Hadyniak/E+/Getty

Beliefs of Cultural Relativism

Limitations
In Mental Health

Cultural Relativism vs. Ethnocentrism

How to Promote

Cultural relativism suggests that ethics, morals, values, norms, beliefs, and behaviors must be understood within the context of the culture from which they arise. It means that all cultures have their own beliefs and that there is no universal or absolute standard to judge those cultural norms.

"Cultural relativism leads us to accept that cultures are foundationally different, with differing social and ethical norms. This includes understanding that a person’s place of birth, including where or how a patient was raised during their formative years, is the basis of a person’s approach to the world and emotional self," says Anu Raj, PsyD , a clinical psychologist at New York Institute of Technology.

Advocates of cultural relativism suggest that one culture's values, beliefs, and norms should not be judged through the lens of another culture.

It is the opposite of ethnocentrism, which involves judging or understanding cultural beliefs from the perspective of your own. Instead, cultural relativism suggests that observers and researchers should focus on describing those practices without attempting to impose their own biases and judgments upon them.

History of Cultural Relativism

The concept of cultural relativism was introduced by anthropologist Franz Boas in 1887. While he did not coin the term, it later became widely used by his students to describe his anthropological perspective and theories.

Cultural relativism suggests that:

Different societies have their own moral codes and practices.
Norms, beliefs, and values must be judged and understood from the context of the culture where they originate.
No culture is objectively better than others; cultures and their customs and beliefs are not objectively superior or inferior to any other culture.
Practices and behaviors considered acceptable or unacceptable vary from one culture to the next.
Cultural relativism aims to help promote acceptance, tolerance, and an appreciation for diverse cultural beliefs and practices.
No universal ethical or moral truths apply to all people in all situations.
What is considered right and wrong is determined by society’s moral codes.
Researchers and observers should strive to observe behavior rather than pass judgments on it based on their own cultural perspective.

Different Types of Cultural Relativism

There are two distinct types of cultural relativism: absolute cultural relativism and critical cultural relativism.

Absolute Cultural Relativism

According to this perspective, outsiders should not question or judge cultural events. Essentially, this point of view proposes that outsiders should not criticize or question the cultural practices of other societies, no matter what they might involve.

Critical Cultural Relativism

Critical cultural relativism suggests that practices should be evaluated in terms of how and why they are adopted. This perspective suggests that cultural practices can be evaluated and understood by looking at factors such as the historical context and social influences.

It also recognizes that all societies experience inequalities and power dynamics that influence how and why certain beliefs are adopted and who adopts them.

Strengths of Cultural Relativism

Cultural relativism has a number of benefits that can help people gain greater insight into different cultures. This perspective can help:

Promote cultural understanding : Because cultural relativism encourages seeing cultures with an open mind, it can foster greater empathy , understanding, and respect for cultures different from ours.
Protect cultural respect and autonomy : Cultural relativism recognizes that no culture is superior to any other. Rather than attempting to change other cultures, this perspective encourages people to respect the autonomy and self-determinism of other cultures, which can play an important role in preserving the heritage and traditions of other cultures.
Foster learning : By embracing cultural relativism, people from different backgrounds are able to communicate effectively and create an open dialogue to foster greater learning for other cultures of the world.

Cultural relativism can also be important in helping mental health professionals deliver culturally competent care to clients of different backgrounds.

"What’s considered “typical and normal versus pathological” depends on cultural norms. It varies between providers and patients; it impacts diagnosis, treatment, and prognosis," Raj explains.

When mental health professionals account for the differences in values, and attitudes towards and of marginalized people (including communities of color and LGBTQ+ communities), providers develop respect for individual patients. Consequently, patients are less likely to be misdiagnosed and more likely to continue treatment.

Limitations of Cultural Relativism

While cultural relativism has strengths, that does not mean it is without limitations.

Failure to Address Human Rights

This perspective has been criticized for failing to address universal rights. Some suggest that this approach may appear to condone cultural practices that constitute human rights violations. It can be challenging to practice non-judgment of other cultures while still protecting people’s right to live free from discrimination and oppression.

Cultural relativism may sometimes hamper progress by inhibiting the examination of practices, norms, and traditions that limit a society’s growth and progress.

Reducing Cultures to Stereotypes

Cultural relativism sometimes falls victim to the tendency to stereotype and simplify cultures. Rather than fully appreciating the full complexity and diversity that may exist within a culture, people may reduce it to a homogenous stereotype. This often prevents outsiders from seeing the many variations that may exist within a society and fully appreciating the way cultures evolve over time.

Individual Rights vs. Cultural Values

This perspective may sometimes lead observers to place a higher priority on a culture’s collective values while dismissing individual variations. This might involve, for example, avoiding criticism of cultures that punish political dissidents who voice opposition to cultural norms, and practices.

Examples of Cultural Relativism

In reality, people make cultural judgments all the time. If you've ever eaten food from another culture and described it as 'gross' or learned about a specific cultural practice and called it 'weird,' you've made a judgment about that culture based on the norms of your own. Because you don't eat those foods or engage in those practices in your culture, you are making culture-biased value judgments.

Cultural differences can affect a wide range of behaviors, including healthcare decisions. For example, research has found that while people from Western cultures prefer to be fully informed in order to make autonomous healthcare conditions, individuals from other cultures prefer varying degrees of truth-telling from medical providers.

An example of using cultural relativism in these cases would be describing the food practices of a different culture and learning more about why certain foods and dishes are important in those societies. Another example would be learning more about different cultural practices and exploring how they originated and the purpose they serve rather than evaluating them from your own cultural background.

In medical settings, healthcare practitioners must balance the interests and autonomy of their patients with respect and tolerance for multicultural values.

Cultural Relativism in Mental Health

Cultural relativism can also play an important role in the practice and application of mental health. "An individual’s perception of mental health, including stigma, is often influenced by their cultural identity and social values," explains Raj.

People who experience cultural discrimination are also more likely to experience higher stress levels, which can seriously affect mental health. Research has shown that perceived discrimination increases psychological distress and predicts symptoms of anxiety and depression. It also contributes to worse physical health, including a higher risk for heart disease, diabetes, cancer, and stroke.

Therapists must strive to understand people from different backgrounds to provide culturally competent care. "Through the lens of cultural competency, providers can educate themselves and elevate the plethora of coping mechanisms that a patient already might possess," says Raj.

Cultural relativism and ethnocentrism are two contrasting perspectives that can be used to evaluate and understand other cultures.

Ethnocentrism involves judging other cultures based on the standards and values of one's own culture, often leading to a biased or prejudiced perspective .

Where cultural relativism suggests that all cultures are equally valid, ethnocentrism involves seeing your own culture as superior or more correct than others.

Cultural relativism emphasizes the importance of diversity and recognizes that values, beliefs, and behaviors can vary across societies. This can be contrasted with ethnocentrism, which promotes the idea that your own culture is the norm or benchmark against which others should be evaluated. This can limit understanding and decrease tolerance for people of different backgrounds.

How Do You Promote Cultural Relativism?

There are a number of strategies that can help promote cultural relativism. This can be particularly important for mental health professionals and other healthcare practitioners.

"Therapists must be able to view the world through the eyes of their patients. Most importantly, culturally competent therapists understand their patient’s behavior through the cultural framework in which they live," Raj says.

Promoting cultural relativism involves adopting an open-minded and respectful approach toward other cultures. Some things you can do to foster greater cultural relativism:

Embrace cultural diversity : Strive to appreciate other cultures, including their unique values, traditions, and perspectives. Remember that diversity enriches our lives, experiences, and world knowledge.
Learn more about other cultures : Take the time to explore cultures other than your own, including histories, traditions, and beliefs. Resources that can help include books, documentaries, and online resources.
Practice empathy : Seek to understand others by imagining things from their perspective. Try to understand their experiences, challenges, and aspirations. Cultivate empathy and respect for the differences between people and cultures.
Seek diversity : Make an active effort to spend more time with people from different walks of life. Talk to people from diverse backgrounds and approach these discussions with an open mind and a desire to learn. Be willing to share your own perspectives and experiences without trying to change others or impose your beliefs on them.
Challenge biases : Try to become more aware of how your unconscious biases might shape your perceptions and interactions with others. Practicing cultural relativism is an ongoing process. It takes time, open-mindedness , and a willingness to reflect on your biases.

Promoting Cultural Relativism Among Mental Health Professionals

How can therapists apply cultural relativism to ensure they understand other cultural perspectives and avoid unintentional biases in therapy?

A 2019 study found that the ideal training for therapists included graduate coursework in diversity, supervised clinical experiences working with diverse populations, experiential activities, didactic training, and cultural immersion when possible.

Avoiding Bias in Therapy

Raj suggests that there are important questions that professionals should ask themselves, including:

How do I identify?
How does my patient identify?
What prejudices or biases am I holding?
Are there biases or stereotypes I hold based on my own upbringing and culture?

She also suggests that therapists should always be willing to ask about client involvement in treatment planning. She recommends asking questions such as:

What approaches have been successful or failed in the past?
How does the patient perceive their ailment?
What were the results of the patient’s previous coping mechanisms?
How does the patient’s culture drive their behavior, coping skills, and outcomes?

By making clients an active part of their treatment and taking steps to understand their background better, therapists can utilize cultural relativism to deliver more sensitive, informed care.

The New Republic. Pioneers of cultural relativism )

Kanarek J. Critiquing cultural relativism . The Intellectual Standard. 2013;2(2):1.

Rosenberg AR, Starks H, Unguru Y, Feudtner C, Diekema D. Truth telling in the setting of cultural differences and incurable pediatric illness: A review . JAMA Pediatr . 2017;171(11):1113-1119. doi:10.1001/jamapediatrics.2017.2568

Williams DR, Lawrence JA, Davis BA, Vu C. Understanding how discrimination can affect health . Health Serv Res . 2019;54 Suppl 2(Suppl 2):1374-1388. doi:10.1111/1475-6773.13222

Benuto LT, Singer J, Newlands RT, Casas JB. Training culturally competent psychologists: Where are we and where do we need to go ? Training and Education in Professional Psychology . 2019;13(1):56-63. doi:10.1037/tep0000214

By Kendra Cherry, MSEd Kendra Cherry, MS, is a psychosocial rehabilitation specialist, psychology educator, and author of the "Everything Psychology Book."

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Cultural Relativism (Essay Sample)

Cultural relativism.

We all come from different cultures and therefore, have our own sets of beliefs and norms that we ascribe to. To some of us, it is accurate that we are slaves of our cultural beliefs. Often, people look at things and even pass judgement while being guided or being influenced by their cultural background. Therefore, it is indeed possible to find or say something from another culture is right or wrong or ethical and unethical especially when our cultures guide us. The above is often referred to cultural bias, and cultural relativism is the opposite of such thinking. Cultural relativism seeks to have people judge or view values, beliefs, principles, and practices within the confines of a particular culture. This means that while the norms may vary from culture to culture, everyone is right or equal simply because there is no single system which is fit enough to be used as a yardstick. Cultural relativism was born from the idea that the world lacks an ultimate standard measure of right or wrong and good or evil. Consequently, whatever people regard as right or wrong and good or evil is indeed the product of the society. Therefore, every deed in society is subject to an individual’s cultural perspective or simply an individual’s cultural background.

Currently, it appears that cultural relativism is almost upheld all over the world of course except a few societies. Today, use of words such as tolerance, pluralism, as well as acceptance has become rampant, and people are culturally creating space for others. People seem to understand each other better and are willing to seek to comprehend the workings of other cultures. To a large extent, cultural relativism has helped us to co-exist and to accommodate each other despite our diverse cultural backgrounds. People do not question or out-rightly say something is evil or good unless the action in question is universally considered good or evil.

However, it is essential to consider all factors that relate to cultural relativism. Initially, we had cultural perspective, and it brought about a willingness to seek to understand politics, history as well as psychology. People used to want to understand another culture’s actions rather than opt for the easy way out and say “we need to understand and accept the morals of other cultures.” The universal truths, lies, good as well as evil were coined because we had cultural perspective. Gradually, however, the world has moved on from seeking to understand history and psychology to simply accepting everything as it is. The world has slowly eroded the aspect of reason, and currently, it is almost impossible to categorize something as morally right or wrong.

In conclusion, it is true to say that cultural relativism has helped to become accommodative. However, it is also true that it is gradually robbing us off the ability to make or pass any judgements whatsoever. We have become more tolerant as well as accommodative to more bizarre and incomprehensible activities in the name of cultural relativism. As is always the case, people have turned what cultural relativism originally meant to something contradictory. The incorporation and global adoption of the words tolerance, acceptance, and pluralism have also helped to dilute the matter at hand. It is fair to say that absolute relativism is nearly impossible and that its basic premise of truth being relative is flawed.

Cultural Relativism: Definition & Examples

Charlotte Nickerson

Research Assistant at Harvard University

Undergraduate at Harvard University

Charlotte Nickerson is a student at Harvard University obsessed with the intersection of mental health, productivity, and design.

Learn about our Editorial Process

Saul Mcleod, PhD

Editor-in-Chief for Simply Psychology

BSc (Hons) Psychology, MRes, PhD, University of Manchester

Saul Mcleod, PhD., is a qualified psychology teacher with over 18 years of experience in further and higher education. He has been published in peer-reviewed journals, including the Journal of Clinical Psychology.

On This Page:

Key Takeaways

Cultural Relativism is the claim that ethical practices differ among cultures, and what is considered right in one culture may be considered wrong in another. The implication of cultural relativism is that no one society is superior to another; they are merely different.
This claim comes with several corollaries; namely, that different societies have different moral codes, there is no objective standard to judge how good or bad these moral codes are, and that the job of those who study cultures is not to compare these customs to their own, but to describe them.
Moral relativism claims that what is customary in a culture is absolutely right in that culture. Cultural relativism is not as strong, sometimes asserting that there is no real way to measure right or wrong.
Cultural relativism is contrary to ethnocentrism, which encourages people to look at the world from the perspective of their own culture.
While cultural relativism has been the subject of controversy — especially from philosophers — anthropological and sociological studies have led to a widespread consensus among social scientists that cultural relativism is true.

Cultural relativism is the principle of regarding the beliefs, values, and practices of a culture from the viewpoint of that culture itself.

It states that there are no universal beliefs, and each culture must be understood in its own terms because cultures cannot be translated into terms that are accessible everywhere.

The principle is sometimes practiced to avoid cultural bias in research and to avoid judging another culture by the standards of one’s own culture. For this reason, cultural relativism has been considered an attempt to avoid ethnocentrism.

Cultural Relativism refers to the ability to understand a culture on its own terms and consequently not make judgments based on the standards of one’s own culture.

Implications

From the cultural relativist perspective, no culture is superior to another when comparing their systems of morality, law, politics, etc.

This is because cultural norms and values, according to cultural relativism, derive their meaning within a specific social context.

Cultural relativism is also based on the idea that there is no absolute standard of good or evil. Thus, every decision and judgment of what is right or wrong is individually decided in each society.

As a result, any opinion on ethics is subject to the perspective of each person within their particular culture.

In practice, cultural relativists try to promote the understanding of cultural practices that are unfamiliar to other cultures, such as eating insects and sacrificial killing.

There are two different categories of cultural relativism: absolute and critical. Absolute cultural relativists believe that outsiders must and should not question everything that happens within a culture.

Meanwhile, critical cultural relativism questions cultural practices regarding who is accepting them and why, as well as recognizing power relationships.

Cultural relativism challenges beliefs about the objectivity and universality of moral truth.

In effect, cultural relativism says that there is no such thing as universal truth and ethics; there are only various cultural codes. Moreover, the code of one culture has no special status but is merely one among many.

Assumptions

Cultural relativism has several different elements, and there is some disagreement as to what claims are true and pertinent to cultural relativism and which are not. Some claims include that:

Different societies have different moral codes;

There is no objective standard that can be used to judge one societal code as better than another;

The moral code of one’s own society has no special status but is merely one among many;

There is no “universal truth” in ethics, meaning that there are no moral truths that hold for all people at all times;

The moral code of a society determines what is right and wrong within that society; that is, if the moral code of a society says that a certain action is right, then that action is right, at least within that society and;

It is arrogant for people to attempt to judge the conduct of other people. Instead, researchers should adopt an attitude of tolerance toward the practices of other cultures.

Illustrative Examples

Food choices.

Cultural relativism does not merely relate to morality and ethics. Cultural relativism, for example, explains why certain cultures eat different foods at different meals.

For example, traditionally, breakfast in the United States is markedly different from breakfast in Japan or Colombia. While one may consist of scrambled eggs and pancakes and the other rice and soup or white cheese on a corn arepa, cultural relativists seek to understand these differences, not in terms of any perceived superiority or inferiority but in description (Bian & Markman, 2020).

Mental Illness

One of the biggest controversies concerning classification and diagnosis is that the ICD (the manuals of mental disorders) are culturally biased because they are drawn up and used by white, middle-class men. This means they tend to use definitions of abnormality that are irrelevant to all cultures.

For example, Davison & Neale (1994) explain that in Asian cultures, a person experiencing some emotional turmoil is praised & rewarded if they show no expression of their emotions.

In certain Arabic cultures, however, the outpouring of public emotion is understood and often encouraged. Without this knowledge, an individual displaying overt emotional behavior may be regarded as abnormal when in fact, it is not.

Cross-cultural misunderstandings are common and may contribute to unfair and discriminatory treatment of minorities by the majority, e.g., the high diagnosis rate of schizophrenia amongst non-white British people.

Cochrane (1977) reported that the incidence of schizophrenia in the West Indies and the UK is 1 %, but that people of Afro-Caribbean origin are seven times more likely to be diagnosed as schizophrenic when living in the UK.

Hygienic Rituals

Another phenomenon explained by cultural relativism is hygienic rituals. Different cultures may use different modes or methods of disposing of waste and cleaning up afterward.

Ritualized ablution, or washing, also differs across cultures. Catholics may dip their fingers into blessed water and anoint themselves at church, and Jewish people may pour water over their hands in a specific way during Shabbat.

Although toilet and washing practices vary drastically across cultures, cultural relativists seek to describe these differences, noting that what is customary to culture is not necessarily “right” or “wrong.”

Cultural vs. Moral Relativism

Cultural relativism is a claim that anthropologists can make when describing how ethical practices differ across cultures; as a result, the truth or falsity of cultural relativism can be determined by how anthropologists and anthropologists study the world.

Many sociologists and anthropologists have conducted such studies, leading to widespread consensus among social scientists that cultural relativism is an actual phenomenon (Bowie, 2015).

Moral relativism, meanwhile, is a claim that what is really right or wrong is what that culture says is right or wrong. While moral relativists believe that cultural relativism is true, they extend their claims much further.

Moral relativists believe that if a culture sincerely and reflectively adopts some basic moral principle, then it is morally obligatory for members of that culture to act according to that principle (Bowie, 2015).

The implication of moral relativism is that it is absolutely necessary for someone to act according to the norms of the culture in which they are located.

For example, when asking whether or not it is ethical to bribe government bureaucrats, a moral relativist would look for the answer in the norms of how people within their country deal with bureaucracy.

If people bribe government officials, then the moral relativist would consider bribery not to be wrong in that country.

However, if people do not normally bribe bureaucrats, offering them a bribe would be considered morally wrong.

A cultural relativist would posit that while bribery is an ethical norm in the cultures where it is practiced, it is not necessarily morally right or wrong in that culture (Bowie, 2015).

Cultural Relativism vs. Ethnocentrism

Ethnocentrism is the tendency to look at the world largely from the perspective of one’s own culture.

This may be motivated, for example, by the belief that one’s own race, ethnic, or cultural group is the most important or that some or all aspects of its culture are superior to those of other groups.

Ethnocentrism can often lead to incorrect assumptions about others’ behavior based on one’s own norms, values, and beliefs (Worthy, Lavigne, & Romero, 2021a).

Cultural relativism, meanwhile, is principled in regarding and valuing the practices of a culture from the point of view of that culture and avoiding making judgments stemming from one’s own assumptions.

Cultural relativism attempts to counter ethnocentrism by promoting the understanding of cultural practices unfamiliar to other cultures. For example, it is a common practice for friends of the same sex in India to hold hands while walking in public.

In the United Kingdom, holding hands is largely limited to romantically involved couples and often suggests a sexual relationship.

Someone holding an extreme ethnocentrist view may see their own understanding of hand-holding as superior and consider the foreign practice to be immoral (Worthy, Lavigne, & Romero; 2021a).

Controversy

Cultural Relativism has been criticized for numerous reasons, both theoretical and practical.

According to Karanack (2013), cultural relativism attempts to integrate knowledge between one’s own culture-bound reality. The premise that cultural relativism is based on that all cultures are valid in their customs is vague in Karanack’s view.

Karanack also criticizes cultural relativism from a theoretical perspective for having contradictory logic, asserting that cultural relativism often asserts that social facts are true and untrue, depending on the culture in which one is situated.

Nonetheless, cultural relativism also has several advantages. Firstly, it is a system that promotes cooperation. Each individual has a different perspective that is based on their upbringing, experiences, and personal thoughts, and by embracing the many differences that people have, cooperation creates the potential for a stronger society.

Each individual definition of success allows people to pursue stronger bonds with one another and potentially achieve more because there are no limitations on a group level about what can or cannot be accomplished (Karanack, 2013).

Secondly, cultural relativism envisions a society where equality across cultures is possible. Cultural relativism does so by allowing individuals to define their moral code without defining that of others. As each person can set their own standards of success and behavior, cultural relativism creates equality (Karanack, 2013).

Additionally, Cultural relativism can preserve cultures and allow people to create personal moral codes based on societal standards without precisely consulting what is “right” or “wrong.”

However, it can do so while also excluding moral relativism. This means that the moral code of a culture can be defined and an expectation implemented that people follow it, even as people devise goals and values that are particularly relevant to them.

Lastly, cultural relativism has been praised for stopping cultural conditions — the adoption of people to adapt their attitudes, thoughts, and beliefs to the people they are with on a regular basis (Karanack, 2013).

Despite these advantages, cultural relativism has been criticized for creating a system fuelled by personal bias. As people tend to prefer to be with others who have similar thoughts, feelings, and ideas, they tend to separate themselves into neighborhoods, communities, and social groups that share specific perspectives.

When people are given the power to define their own moral code, they do so based on personal bias, causing some people to follow their own code at the expense of others (Karanack, 2013).

Nonetheless, cultural relativism promotes understanding cultures outside of one’s own, enabling people to build relationships with other cultures that acknowledge and respect each other’s diverse lives.

With cultural relativism comes the ability to understand a culture on its own terms without making judgments based on one’s own cultural standards. In this way, sociologists and anthropologists can draw more accurate conclusions about outside cultures (Worthy, Lavigne, & Romero, 2020).

Bian, L., & Markman, E. M. (2020). Why do we eat cereal but not lamb chops at breakfast? Investigating Americans’ beliefs about breakfast foods. Appetite, 144, 104458.

Bowie, N.E. (2015). Relativism, Cultural and Moral. In Wiley Encyclopedia of Management (eds C.L. Cooper and ). Culture and Psychology. (2021). Glendale Community College.

Brown, M. F. (2008). Cultural Relativism 2.0 . Current Anthropology, 49 (3), 363-383.

Cochrane, R. A. Y. M. O. N. D. (1977). Mental illness in immigrants to England and Wales: an analysis of mental hospital admissions, 1971. Social psychiatry, 12 (1), 25-35.

Davison, G. C., & Neale, J. M. (1994). Abnormal Psychology . New York: John Willey and Sons.

Kanarek, Jaret (2013) “ Critiquing Cultural Relativism ,” The Intellectual Standard: Vol. 2: Iss. 2, Article 1.

Spiro, M. E. (1992). Cultural relativism and the future of anthropology . Rereading cultural anthropology , 124, 51.

Tilley, J. J. (2000). Cultural relativism . Hum. Rts. Q. , 22, 501.

Worthy, L. D., Lavigne, T., & Romero, F. (2020). Self and Culture. Culture and Psychology .

Zechenter, E. M. (1997). In the name of culture: Cultural relativism and the abuse of the individual . Journal of Anthropological Research, 53 (3), 319-347.

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Cultural Relativism: Do Cultural Norms Make Actions Right and Wrong?

Author: Nathan Nobis Category: Ethics Word Count: 1000

Listen here

Consider these cultural practices:

arranged marriages; female genital cutting; male circumcision; requiring women to wear veils or burkas; canings as punishments; whaling and dolphin hunting; eating cats and dogs; eating meat; human sacrifice; harsh punishments throughout history. [1]

Many readers will judge at least some practices like these to be morally wrong. If they announce this, however, they might get a response like this:

“Don’t judge these cultures’ practices! It’s their culture, their traditions, so what they do should be tolerated!”

People who say things like this may be expressing sympathy for an ethical theory called cultural relativism . [2] This essay introduces this theory. [3]

1. Understanding Cultural Relativism

Cultural relativism proposes that what is ethical is relative to , or depends on , cultural attitudes:

if a culture disapproves of people doing an action, then it is wrong for people in that culture to do that action;
if a culture approves of people doing an action, then it is not wrong for people in that culture to do that action. [4]

Cultural relativism is not the empirical observation, accepted as true by everyone , that different cultures sometimes have different ethical views, or that what people believe , think , or feel about the morality of an action is sometimes “relative” to the culture they are in.

Cultural relativism is a theory of what makes actions right and wrong. The “don’t judge!” and “be tolerant!” reactions above might be based on it and reasoning like this:

“People in other cultures aren’t doing anything wrong because ethics is determined by cultural attitudes: so they shouldn’t be judged; they should be tolerated.”

2. Cultural Relativism’s Implications

We can better understand cultural relativism by thinking about what follows from it: [5]

if cultural relativism were true or correct , then:

1. the majority view on any moral issue is always correct;

relativism identifies the majority view with what’s ethically correct in that culture, so the majority view is always correct, no matter what;

2. people who criticize majority views and advocate for change are always wrong:

since according to relativism, majority views are always correct, anyone who critiques them must be mistaken;

3. what’s ethical is identified by opinion polls;

according to relativism, to find out whether an action is ethical or not, we survey the population to find the majority view: research, reflection, and wise guidance aren’t needed;

4. there is only cultural change, never progress or improvement:

according to relativism, if, e.g., a culture approved of slavery then slavery was not wrong in that culture at that time; if that culture came to reject slavery, then slavery would become wrong in that culture; this, however, was not moral improvement or progress since slavery earlier was not wrong according to relativism: there was merely a change of views.

Many people think these implications show that relativism is a false theory since the majority isn’t always right, cultural critics are sometimes correct, opinion polls don’t tell us what is really ethical, and cultural views really can improve and, unfortunately, decline.

3. Arguments For Cultural Relativism

What can be said for cultural relativism? What’s appealing about it?

3.1. Tolerance

Some people argue for cultural relativism on the grounds that we should be tolerant and accepting of cultural differences .

One problem with this reasoning is that (almost?) no culture holds that we should tolerate and accept everything , no matter what. So, a principle of universal tolerance and acceptance contradicts relativism, which maintains that ethical standards are culture-bound and not universal. To think that we should be tolerant and accepting of everything is to reject relativism.

According to relativism we should accept and tolerate only what our culture accepts. Since many cultures condemn many of the actions above, relativism implies that people who reject these judgments – like those above who urge toleration – are usually mistaken. So, if our cultures should be even just more accepting and tolerant, we should reject relativism.

3.2. Disagreements

Everyone observes that there are some profound ethical disagreements between cultures. From this fact, relativists conclude we should accept relativism.

This reasoning, however, is doubtful. In general, when there are disagreements on an issue, at most one general “side” can be correct: [6] e.g., if one person believes the Earth is spherical and another believes the Earth is flat, they can’t both be correct. Relativists urge that everyone can be right when they should think that, at most, one “side” is correct. [7]

But how can we tell which side is correct? Evaluate the arguments on each side : e.g., do cultures that support female genital cutting give good reasons for the practice? Or is the case against it stronger? [8]

About many issues, understanding and evaluating the arguments in genuinely fair and balanced ways is difficult. Whatever the challenges though, they don’t support accepting cultural relativism, which makes answering hard ethical questions very easy: do an opinion poll! [9]

Finally, some people might appeal to relativism to try to avoid challenging issues: if relativism is correct, it’s a simple “the majority rules” and there’s no need to investigate and discuss. [10]

4. Conclusion

Cultural relativists are correct that sometimes we should be more tolerant and accepting of cultural differences. [11] Some things done in other cultures are unfamiliar and may seem strange. But “different” is not the same as “wrong,” and learning about relativism can remind us of that.

But just because some culture approves of something does not mean it’s OK. Cultures, like individuals, sometimes approve of practices that are very wrong: they aren’t perfect and neither are we.

Rejecting cultural relativism usually involves accepting ethical realism , that what’s ethical is determined by factors that are “objective” and not relative to cultural attitudes: e.g., whether actions are harmful or beneficial to whoever is affected by them, or whether actions are done with the consent of all involved, and other objective considerations.

What’s of primary philosophical interest is not that some culture approves or disapproves of an action, but why , their reasons. Do they have good arguments for what they support? Do we? That’s the question that ethics is all about.

[1] For information on these cultural practices, see Wikipedia, “Arranged marriage”; Brian Earp, “Boys and girls alike: An un-consenting child, an unnecessary, invasive surgery: is there any moral difference between male and female circumcision?” Aeon , 1/13/2015, and Brian Earp, “Does Female Genital Mutilation Have Health Benefits? The Problem with Medicalizing Morality.” University of Oxford Practical Ethics blog , 8/15/2017; James Vyver, “Why do Muslim women wear a burka, niqab or hijab?” ABC News , 8/17/2017; Wikipedia, “Caning in Singapore”; Natasha Daly, “Japan’s controversial annual dolphin hunt begins,” National Geographic , 09/09/2021; Justin McCurry, “Japan resumes commercial whaling for first time in 30 years. The Guardian , 06/30/2019; George Petras. 2/25/2019. “South Koreans eat more than 1 million dogs each year — but that’s slowly changing. Here’s why. Young Koreans lead efforts to end a centuries-old practice.” USA Today ; Melanie Joy, Why We Love Dogs, Eat Pigs, and Wear Cows: An Introduction to Carnism , Red Wheel, 2020; Wikipedia, “Human sacrifice”; Greta Christina, “How Religious Fundamentalism, Ironically, Leads to a Screwed-Up Moral Relativism,” The Orbit , 4/17/2014.

[2] Cultural relativism is an ethical theory , or a normative ethical theory. Such theories attempt to explain, in general, why actions are wrong (or right, or permissible) or what makes them so.

“Cultural relativism” is also sometimes called “ethical relativism,” “moral relativism” and sometimes even just “relativism.” These are names for the same view, which proposes that what’s really right and wrong – not just believed to be right and wrong – is relative to , or dependent on , cultural approval.

Another form of relativism is “individual relativism,” which is also sometimes (but sometimes not) called “ethical subjectivism,” which holds that what is right and wrong for a person to do is relative to, or dependent on, that person’s own approval or attitudes towards what they are doing. Individual relativism is very implausible since it seems to suggest, e.g., that if a person approves of their being, say, an ax-murderer, it is not wrong for them to be an ax-murderer: any action can be morally permissible provided the person doing the action approves of what they are doing.

Another view called just “relativism,” is “relativism about truth,” which claims that if someone, or a group, believes some claim, that claim is true. This view, however, is not true because belief and truth are distinct, and so what anyone believes to be true, or thinks is true, need not be actually true: e.g., sincerely, confidently believing you are a billionaire doesn’t mean or make you a billionaire and someone merely believing you are dead or imprisoned doesn’t make you that. Usually, if someone says something is “true to them” or “their truth,” they are best understood as stating what they believe or think, which may or may not be true. For more discussion, see Huemer, Michael. “Relativism: What is this Nonsense?” Fake Noûs , December 25, 2021.

[3] The understanding of relativism discussed in this essay is the version developed and discussed by James and Stuart Rachels in their Elements of Moral Philosophy textbook, as well as James Rachels’ “Some Basic Points About Arguments” chapter from their anthology The Right Thing to Do.

[4] Cultural relativism is sometimes presented as “if a culture believes an action is wrong , then that action is wrong in that culture” and “if a culture believes an action is permissible , then that action is permissible in that culture.”

This statement of the view, however, doesn’t make sense and is incorrect, since what would it be to “believe an action is wrong” on this proposal of what relativism is? What would a culture be believing or thinking here, if they believed an action is wrong? What thought would they be thinking about what “wrong” means? What would the content of the thoughts or judgments “is wrong” and “is permissible” be?

[5] There are deeper concerns about cultural relativism in terms of simply understanding what the view actually is.

Cultural relativism claims that ethics depends on cultures’ attitudes, but exactly what is a cultures’ attitudes? What percent of the population or how pervasive must some attitude be to be considered representative of the culture?

And what is a culture anyway? What is it to be part of a culture? (Is a visitor in a new culture “part of that culture”?).

However cultures are defined (can an individual person and their views be considered a culture?), each individual person is a member of different cultures, which often have different attitudes on the same actions. E.g., suppose some college students are also part of a “conservative,” “traditional” religion. Their college student culture may approve of what their religious cultures disapprove of, and vice-versa, and so it is unclear what action cultural relativism would require of them in these cases of intra-personal cultural conflicts. Which culture should an individual “follow” in cases of conflicts?

These interesting, theoretical questions about defining cultural relativism will not be addressed here.

[6] A potential exception to the rule that, in cases of disagreement, at most one general position is correct are aesthetic disagreements, disagreements about what’s most beautiful or attractive or pleasing.

For example, one person might think that the first song on an album is the best song, but their friend thinks that song is the worst. They seem to disagree, but it also might seem that neither of them is correct: no song is “objectively” best if “beauty is in the eye of the beholder,” as is sometimes said: it just depends on what someone likes, and we often like different things.

One theory of aesthetic judgments is that they are about what someone finds pleasing or attractive. So, on this view, one person here is saying, “I enjoy this song the most,” whereas the other says, “I don’t enjoy this song the most.” On this view, they don’t really disagree, since they are both just talking about what pleases them most: they are both accurately reporting what they like; they are both telling the truth.

A difficulty for this view, however, is that it sometimes seems that people can be mistaken in their aesthetic judgments: e.g., if a beginning songwriter claims his songs are as good as Dolly Parton’s, or a tone-deaf singer thinks she’s as good a singer as Whitney Houston, or a local church choir thinks they are as good as the Mormon Tabernacle choir, it seems to many like all those judgments are false. If that’s correct, that means that beauty isn’t quite “in the eye of the beholder,” since some judgments about what’s beautiful, or more or most beautiful, can be mistaken. What might make them mistaken, however, is a challenging philosophical issue.

Nevertheless, judgments about what’s, say, the most flavorful ice cream or who the best guitar player is or whether someone is more beautiful or attractive than someone else are importantly different from whether killing someone was wrong or not, whether a law is just and other weighty ethical concerns.

[7] Another response to ethical disagreements is concluding that nothing is wrong or not wrong at all : there is no such thing as “wrongness.” Ethical irrealists or anti-realists called “error theorists” develop this position. See Ethical Realism by Thomas Metcalf and Moral Error Theory by Ian Tully. For a critique of moral error theory, see “Bah Fortiori: On the peculiarly specific character of our moral outrage” by Oliver Traldia.

[8] In “What’s Culture Got to Do with It? Excising the Harmful Tradition of Female Circumcision” it is observed that female genital cutting is sometimes argued, by its advocates in cultures where it is practiced, to be morally permissible because it is a tradition , it reduces promiscuity , it increases fertility and eases childbirth , it is required by their religion(s) , and it makes women more attactive to the men in these cultures . Whether any of these arguments is sound might depend on any of those claims being true and that claim’s corresponding, unstated premise being true also: all traditions are morally permissible (a premise similar to cultural relativism); all actions that decrease promiscuity are morally permissible ; all actions that increase fertility and/or ease childbirth are morally permissible ; all actions required by someone’s religion are morally permissible ; and all actions that make someone more attractive to someone else are morally permissible .

[9] Another potential motivation for relativism is people simply not knowing much about better methods to ethical reasoning. Few people take ethics classes where they learn to systematically engage issues using ethical theories that are arguably better than relativism. In such classes, students are usually exposed to ethical theories that deny cultural relativism, see Deontology: Kantian Ethics by Andrew Chapman, Consequentialism by Shane Gronholz, and John Rawls’ ‘A Theory of Justice’ by Ben Davies. For an approach that seeks to combine positive insights of many of these theories, see Principlism in Biomedical Ethics: Respect for Autonomy, Non-Maleficence, Beneficence, and Justice by G. M. Trujillo, Jr.

Some people seem to assume that the only options for what could make wrong actions wrong is either individual or cultural approval (so relativism) or God’s approval and commands: this explanation is known as the “Divine Command Theory” of ethics. There are, however, as noted there are many other plausible explanations for what makes wrong actions wrong and, interesting, the Divine Command Theory is subject to some objections that are similar to objections to relativism since both claim that its “just because ” some authority disapproves or approves of an action that makes that action wrong or not. See Because God Says So: On Divine Command Theory by Spencer Case.

[10] For this interpretation of common appeals to relativism, which sees these appeals as attempts to avoid careful and rigorous discussion, see Satris’s (1986) very insightful discussion of what he calls “Student Relativism.”

[11] Cultural “conservatives” sometimes claim that “liberals” accept relativism since liberals sometimes say things along the lines of “people should be able to do what they want,” “if people like doing that, they should be able to do that,” and so on. But what they don’t notice is that liberals say this only about actions they argue are not wrong , since, for actions that are not wrong, it makes sense to say that people should be able to do them, if they want. It’s not like “liberals” claim that if someone wants to be a school shooter or dump toxic waste in the river, they should do it. So “conservatives” sometimes do not think about the contexts and subjects that relativistic- sounding , but not genuinely relativistic, claims are made.

Christina, Greta. 4/17/2014, “How Religious Fundamentalism, Ironically, Leads to a Screwed-Up Moral Relativism,” The Orbit .

Daly, Natasha. 9/09/2021. “Japan’s controversial annual dolphin hunt begins.” National Geographic .

Earp, Brian. 1/13/2015. “Boys and girls alike: An un-consenting child, an unnecessary, invasive surgery: is there any moral difference between male and female circumcision?” Aeon .

Earp, Brian. 8/15/2017. “Does Female Genital Mutilation Have Health Benefits? The Problem with Medicalizing Morality.” University of Oxford Practical Ethics blog.

Huemer, Michael. December 25, 2021. “Relativism: What is this Nonsense?” Fake Noûs .

Joy, Melanie. 2020. Why We Love Dogs, Eat Pigs, and Wear Cows: An Introduction to Carnism . Red Wheel.

McCurry, Justin. 6/30/2019. “Japan resumes commercial whaling for first time in 30 years.” The Guardian .

Petras, George. 2/25/2019. “South Koreans eat more than 1 million dogs each year — but that’s slowly changing. Here’s why. Young Koreans lead efforts to end a centuries-old practice.” USA Today .

Rachels, James and Stuart. 2019. The Elements of Moral Philosophy , 9th Edition . McGraw Hill.

Rachels, James. 2019. “Some Basic Points About Arguments.” In James and Stuart Rachels’ The Right Thing to Do , 8th Edition, Rowman & Littlefield .

Satris, Stephen. 1986. “Student Relativism.” Teaching Philosophy . 9(3). 193-205.

Traldia, Oliver. January 27, 2019. “Bah Fortiori: On the peculiarly specific character of our moral outrage.” Arc Digital .

Vyver, James. 8/17/2017. “Why do Muslim women wear a burka, niqab or hijab?” ABC News .

“What’s Culture Got to Do with It? Excising the Harmful Tradition of Female Circumcision.” 1993. Harvard Law Review . 106( 8). 1944–1961.

Wikipedia, “Arranged marriage.”

Wikipedia, “Caning in Singapore.”

Wikipedia, “Human sacrifice.”

For Further Reading and Viewing

Boghossian, Paul. July 24, 2011. “The Maze of Moral Relativism.” New York Times.

Brain in a Vat . August 16, 2020. “Is Cultural Relativism Racist? With Justin Kalef.” Youtube.

Edgerton, Robert B. 1992. Sick Societies: Challenging the Myth of Primitive Harmony . Free Press.

Huemer, Michael. 2013. “The Progress of Liberalism”: Michael Huemer at TEDxMileHigh. Youtube.

King, Nathan. January 18, 2017. “Donald Trump and the Death of Freshman Relativism.” Huffington Post.

Prinz, Jesse. January/February 2011. “Morality is a Culturally Conditioned Response.” Philosophy Now . 82.

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Principlism in Biomedical Ethics: Respect for Autonomy, Non-Maleficence, Beneficence, and Justice by G. M. Trujillo, Jr.

Because God Says So: On Divine Command Theory by Spencer Case

Ethical Realism by Thomas Metcalf

Moral Error Theory by Ian Tully

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Acknowledgments

The author appreciates feedback and guidance on this essay from Felipe Pereira, Dan Lowe, Thomas Metcalf, Chelsea Haramia, and a set of Facebook friends who helped him develop a list of cultural practices of ethical significance.

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About the Author

Nathan Nobis is a Professor of Philosophy at Morehouse College, Atlanta, GA. He is co-author of Thinking Critically About Abortion , author of Animals & Ethics 101 , and the author and co-author of many other writings and materials in philosophy and ethics. NathanNobis.com

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Ethnocentrism and Cultural Relativism

Ethnocentrism is the tendency to look at the world primarily from the perspective of one’s own culture. Part of ethnocentrism is the belief that one’s own race, ethnic or cultural group is the most important or that some or all aspects of its culture are superior to those of other groups. Some people will simply call it cultural ignorance.

Ethnocentrism often leads to incorrect assumptions about others’ behavior based on your own norms, values, and beliefs. In extreme cases, a group of individuals may see another culture as wrong or immoral and because of this may try to convert, sometimes forcibly, the group to their own ways of living. War and genocide could be the devastating result if a group is unwilling to change their ways of living or cultural practices.

Ethnocentrism may not, in some circumstances, be avoidable. We often have involuntary reactions toward another person or culture’s practices or beliefs but these reactions do not have to result in horrible events such as genocide or war. In order to avoid conflict over culture practices and beliefs, we must all try to be more culturally relative.

Two young men walking and holding hands.

Cultural relativism is the principle of regarding and valuing the practices of a culture from the point of view of that culture and to avoid making hasty judgments. Cultural relativism tries to counter ethnocentrism by promoting the understanding of cultural practices that are unfamiliar to other cultures such as eating insects, genocides or genital cutting. Take for example, the common practice of same-sex friends in India walking in public while holding hands. This is a common behavior and a sign of connectedness between two people. In England, by contrast, holding hands is largely limited to romantically involved couples, and often suggests a sexual relationship. These are simply two different ways of understanding the meaning of holding hands. Someone who does not take a relativistic view might be tempted to see their own understanding of this behavior as superior and, perhaps, the foreign practice as being immoral.

D espite the fact that cultural relativism promotes the appreciation for cultural differences, it can also be problematic. At its most extreme, cultural relativism leaves no room for criticism of other cultures, even if certain cultural practices are horrific or harmful. Many practices have drawn criticism over the years. In Madagascar, for example, the famahidana funeral tradition includes bringing bodies out from tombs once every seven years, wrapping them in cloth, and dancing with them. Some people view this practice disrespectful to the body of the deceased person. Today, a debate rages about the ritual cutting of genitals of girls in several Middle Eastern and African cultures. To a lesser extent, this same debate arises around the circumcision of baby boys in Western hospitals. When considering harmful cultural traditions, it can be patronizing to use cultural relativism as an excuse for avoiding debate. To assume that people from other cultures are neither mature enough nor responsible enough to consider criticism from the outside is demeaning.

The concept of cross-cultural relationship is the idea that people from different cultures can have relationships that acknowledge, respect and begin to understand each other’s diverse lives. People with different backgrounds can help each other see possibilities that they never thought were there because of limitations, or cultural proscriptions, posed by their own traditions. Becoming aware of these new possibilities will ultimately change the people who are exposed to the new ideas. This cross-cultural relationship provides hope that new opportunities will be discovered, but at the same time it is threatening. The threat is that once the relationship occurs, one can no longer claim that any single culture is the absolute truth.

Culture and Psychology Copyright © 2020 by L D Worthy; T Lavigne; and F Romero is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License , except where otherwise noted.

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James Rachels’ The Challenge of Cultural Relativism Essay

The article “The Challenge of Cultural Relativism” by Rachels explores the issue of ethics. According to the article, moral philosophy focuses on the issues that can steer an acceptable life. The term “cultural relativism” describes the moral codes embraced by different societal groups. Moral ethics differ significantly from one culture to another. The philosopher uses several characteristics to describe cultural relativism.

For instance, different communities have dissimilar moral codes. Cultural relativism also explains why there is no “truth” in ethics and morality. This is the case because “wrong” and “right” are matters of human opinion. Such opinions will definitely change from one region to another. Rachels also explains why there is no formula for judging people’s societal codes.

The first observation from Rachels’ article is that human beings tend to appreciate the differences existing between cultural groups. Every culture also has its unique moral codes. Many people strongly believe that this approach is critical towards understanding morality. However, James Rachels believes that moral relativism has numerous problems. That being the case, Rachels argues that many cultures tend to have unique opinions about different ethical issues. Such opinions vary from one society to another. He describes how different cultures dispose the dead.

The important thing is embracing the opinions supported by different cultures. However, the philosopher believes that human beings should use universal standards to understand whether specific actions are wrong or right. This argument examines why cultural relativism is inapplicable in the society today. This is true because moral relativism can make it impossible for a given culture to improve its moral values. According to Rachels, the idea of cultural relativism fails to follow the anticipated premises. For instance, the philosopher explains why universal morality is attainable and possible. This is true despite the fact that some ethical differences exist in various societies. Human beings should explore these shortcomings in order to deal with every immoral practice in their societies.

According to Rachels, cultural relativism fails to support the existence of universal moral standards. The philosopher rejects cultural relativism because it discourages individuals from criticizing the practices and beliefs of different societies. Rachels uses several arguments to explain why cultural relativism is unacceptable. The philosopher explains how cultural relativism fails to criticize malpractices such as discrimination and slavery.

Cultural relativism describes how individuals can determine what is bad or good by examining the ethical standards of a given society. The philosopher criticizes the concept of moral relativism because it makes moral progress impossible. Rachels believes that fundamental values cannot differ significantly from one society to another. These weaknesses of cultural relativism encourage human beings to formulate universal laws that can result in happiness.

The best argument for cultural relativism is that it has many problems. To begin with, the cultural practices of a given society are not different from those of other communities. Rachels believes that there are slight differences between cultures. This situation explains why a universal ethical practice can be critical towards governing all human beings. This approach will ensure there is moral progress in the world.

It is agreeable that cultural relativism is a powerful concept that analyzes the existence of different cultures. However, cultural relativism is incomplete because it ignores the similarities existing between societies. For instance, murder is an immoral action in every society across the globe. This discussion explains why the world should embrace Rachels’ arguments in order to produce better universal moral standards.

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The Debate Over Utilitarianism
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Philosophy: What Is Confucianism?
Philosophy of Authority and Philosophy of Value-Ethics
Philosophy Issues: Utilitarianism or Deontology?

Cultural Relativism Essay

Relativism refers to a philosophical theory that explains the subject circumstance of all morals in the world. This entails the principle that knowledge, morality as well as truth occur due to relation in a specific society, historical content or a particular culture which are not absolute. What can be morally right for a specific individual believing in a certain culture, historical content or society is absolutely morally right to another person with a different believe. Therefore, the wrongness or correctness of something depends on what our government, culture or religion indicates to be.

Cultural relativism claims that the society that one lives in determines the moral norms of that particular individual. For example, there exists many traditions which were practiced in past cultures such as foot-binding among the Chinese people where they viewed the tradition as an acceptable as well as a rightful cultural practice (Demuijnck, 2015). However, the western people now view it as sick cultural practice. As according to the relativist aspects of life, since they considered the practice to be right, then they should also consider it to be right in the modern life. These differences therefore give rise to both values as well as limits of relativism.

Cultural relativism fashions learning opportunities upon an individual thus making humanity stronger. When two or more differences associated with cultural practices come together as people, the differences tend to build an individual’s knowledge. Without limiting people to set settle all their personal standards at any level, stronger potential bonds are created assisting to achieve certain knowledge hence becoming more than we previously were before allowing our variances to tutor one another. For example, different philosophers engage in justifying the moral practices as explained in cultural relativism whereby different opinions are generated regarding relativism hence increasing their knowledge about the cultural practices.

However, the practices are either valid or invalid as per each of the philosophers’ cultural practice, society or his/her historical contents. After exploring their best personal thinking without limits at any level, the difference in correctness or wrongness of the action is determined by the societal concept, culture or even the historical value that governs each of the philosophers.

Elimination of the idea of diverse qualities is warranted by cultural relativism but replaced with equal principles between people of diverse cultures. When majority of people share similar principles, they are enabled to create a society that only meets their own needs while in turn neglecting the requirement of other people who pertains a different cultural practice. Therefore, considering cultural relativism tends to bring together people with diverse cultural practices where equal practices pertaining the difference in cultural or societal values are addressed. An example involves philosophical work by Wong (1984: ch. 12) describing the history of civil rights movement that was carried out in United States, through women’s suffrage efforts, and also movements of same sex marriages (Sawrikar, 2016). Cultural relativism therefore would base equality among all these people’s rights thereby diminishing the movements since the separateness has been removed and replaced with equal principles to the diverse cultures.

Cultural relativism therefore forms systems of role expertise towards performing a specific value. This is because people will tend to focus on areas where they are best in rather than trying to improve weakness points. The fact being that someone’s weakness is another’s strength, every individual is geared towards making efforts to obtain the best in area of participation but instead leaves the person’s weakness unsolved. This further encourages the person’s respect unto the fellow community members in which they are in diverse cultural beliefs.

The perspectives in providing humanity by the diverse cultural values ensured through relativism contribute to better good in a specific action thereby basing the foundation of respect as a result of success in that specific area. An example by philosophers entails participation in a particular practice such as religion, straining on the best perspectives to ensure humanity and finally ensuring equality such as in workplace finally results in respect that is founded as a result of ensuring equality practices in the workplace. In such a scenario, philosophers illustrate the respected work of anthropologists who strive to be impartial and at the same time unprejudiced in operation of their anthropolinguistic activities.

However, despite the interpersonal benefits ensured by cultural relativism, it also embraces numerous disadvantages. For example, some actions carried out in particular culture are either defined to be violent, wrong or even unsafe to another cultural value of the involved individual. Philosophers explain this principle when someone tends to perform actions that are considered to be wrong in the society by the majority of people as a result of the freedom in establishing their own moral code of conduct. Such actions disregarded by most community members are like murder, rape, theft or even child abuse. Some cultures values will therefore illustrate these actions to be wrong when another particular culture upholds it to be right.

Perfection principles upon individuals of a particular culture are created, this contradicts the fact that human beings are fond of making mistakes. This is too way far from the truth since human actions aren’t perfect, that finally leads to personal bias. In this scenario, personal bias is met as a result of shifting group responsibility outlooks to an individual based strategy in order to ensure perfect humanity. Martha Nussbaum (1993) with clear orientation to Aristotle contends that individual consideration of human decent is the measure of perfection hence making people across different cultures to transform group orientated functions to be individual targets of life which first forces people to step down in order to raise the others.

Also, elimination of the impression that personal change or reform is a good thing is enabled. Most of greatest philosophers as well as teachers end up being considered as wrong by the system of cultural relativism. If they would have known to finally be wrong therefore founds the ideas that their change towards exploring their actions was wrong since everyone’s hearts and minds is tied their own standards (Velleman, 2015). These conflicting ideas are explained by Isaiah Berlin (1998) by arguing that even there exists some universal moral standards, there are still many conflicting objective values which are incommensurable with each other.

Bernard Williams (1981 and 1985: ch. 9) proposes an argument on notional confrontation about impropriation to describe a specific outlook pertaing a specific culture, society or historical consent to be just or unjust. However, cultural relativism communicates about broad-mindedness in an individual but its theory is founded on the awareness that all human actions are perfect. It is yet for human actions to be right, maybe it may help in the future but not today. This becomes the potential harm for the idea since only God is perfect, and neither human knowledge nor actions are superior than His deeds.

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Ethnocentrism And Cultural Relativism Essay Examples

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Topic: America , Supreme Court , Criminal Justice , Diversity , Morality , Belief , Behavior , Culture

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More than often, culture is learned, shared and patterned in the society through aspects of enhancing unified cultural institutional change throughout interactions among individuals. Nonetheless, diverse cultures exist in a social environment allows for increased constant interactions between internal and external cultural values that articulates in the concepts of ethnocentrism and cultural relativism (Spade & Ballantine, 2012). Even though, it is not easier to accept the beliefs, values and practices of other cultures it is essential not to become judgmental and harsher towards any specific cultural value and norms. More noticeably, ethnocentrism and cultural relativism remains as ways in which individuals from different cultures can understand the perceptions of different cultures that should be grounded in the empirical reality and perceptions with increased relations to socio-cultural differences.

Ethnocentrism is considered as the tendency in which individuals undertake to judge other cultures according to the criteria of an individual’s own culture depending on the level of correctness of their way of life especially those from primitive cultures. In most cases, ethnocentrism makes individuals to either judge others as positive, negative or extremely negative based on their cultural differences (Spade & Ballantine, 2012). On the other hand, cultural relativism is mainly characterized by the idea that different cultures or ethnic groups have to be appraised based on the basis of its own values and norms of behavior. As a result, cultural relativism is more likely to give rational decisions as compared to ethnocentrism as it is based on different cultures as it is not based on the basis of another culture (Ballantine & Roberts, 2012).

As a matter of fact, both ethnocentrism and cultural relativism are similar because they give different perspectives on diverse cultures based on the behaviors and beliefs of other people raised in other cultures. In addition, as measures of cultural differences both ethnocentrism and cultural relativism is based on the notion that allows individuals to view different habits, traits and values of an individual based on relevance another set of different cultural values.

In most cases, ethnocentrism makes individuals to always view their own culture to be more superior to any other culture as they measure other communities’ values, beliefs and practices in relation to their own culture. As a result, ethnocentrism as a way of perceiving different cultures can lead to cultural misinterpretation as it often misrepresents communication between human beings (Ballantine & Roberts, 2012).

On the other hand, cultural relativism remains rational as it enhances the concept of importance of a particular cultural idea as it acknowledges that it varies from one society to another. As a result, cultural relativism allows individuals to view people from different cultures based on varied ethical and moral standards that remain relative to what a particular culture believes to be good or bad, right or wrong. More importantly, cultural relativism allows sociologists to look at a culture and understand it as much as possible before making judgments in accordance with values, norms and morals of a particular culture (Spade & Ballantine, 2012). As a result, cultural relativism gives a wider perspective of diverse cultures, in terms of attaining the finest possible understanding of diverse cultures.

In addition, cultural relativism seeks to understand an individual based on their own culture while ethnocentrism bases itself centrally on an individual’s use of their cultural norms, morals, as well as values to judge and compare other cultures. As a result, individuals tend to view their way of life based on their practices and behaviors in which we think, live and act as correct even though, it indicates a clear deviance from the fact that the internal norms is seen as wrong in other cultures. More significantly, the perspective of other cultures depends on the different three levels of cultural perspective of ethnocentrism that is either a positive one, a negative one, or an extreme negative one. This is because positive ethnocentrism remains coherent, this is because it seeks a point of view that is widely accepted as it is based on an individual’s way of life that remains preferable to all others, as it gives a wider perspective that acknowledges others based on the initiative that there is nothing erroneous with feelings that define different cultures.

Perhaps, the American culture tends to have increased levels of ethnocentrism as compared to cultural relativism as individuals had increased tendency to view their own culture as being superior and apply their cultural values, norms, beliefs and behavior when judging individuals who initially lived or were raised in other cultures (Spade & Ballantine, 2012). In most cases, the idea of not giving diverse cultures an equitable opportunity, propagates as it remains a measure that make Americans become judgmental and harsher towards any specific cultural value and norms (Ballantine & Roberts, 2012). Even though, ethnocentrism seems to discriminate and rationalize individuals from different cultures it is essential to understand that the perceptions of different cultures is grounded in the empirical reality and perceptions with increased relations to socio-cultural differences. On the other hand, it is indispensable to consider that behavior of Americans in terms of other individuals’ standards remains relevant because it is normal for individuals to view actions that take place in other cultures from the codes of their native culture. As a result, there should always remain a perception that gives an assumption of fairness.

More importantly, ethnocentrism has an increased level of influence within the society as it contributes to social solidarity among individuals from the same culture as it creates a sense of value and community especially among the American people who share a cultural tradition (Spade & Ballantine, 2012). However, there is increased likelihood that individuals who judge other based on their relatively familiar expectations and their opinions and customs focus on being right, true, proper, natural and moral. As a result, most of the individuals who interact with the different American culture find the different behavior and beliefs that individuals hold as strange, unnatural, immoral and savage. In most cases, ethnocentrism seeks to believe that individuals who come from other cultures have primitive cultures, as they relate their own way of lives with that of individuals from other cultures. In addition, individuals from the American culture create an instant tendency to believe that some cultures remain more backward in their lack the technology and consumerism in their practices.

Arguably, cultural relativism allows individuals to view people from different cultures based on varied ethical and moral standards. In fact, this remain relative to what a particular culture believes to be bad or good, wrong or right (Spade & Ballantine, 2012). As a result, cultural relativism, as opposed to ethnocentrism allows individuals from within the American culture and outside to look at different cultures and understand each as much as possible before making judgments in accordance with values, norms and morals of a particular culture (Ballantine & Roberts, 2012). More considerably, cultural relativism is mainly characterized by the idea that different culture or ethnic group differ and as a result, has to be appraised based on the center of its own norms and values of behavior. In most cases, cultural relativism is more likely to give rational decisions as compared to ethnocentrism as it is based on different cultures as it is not based on the basis of another culture.

Conclusively, it is essential to always be rational based on judgment given on an individual’s belief, behavior, values and norms to ensure uniformity. In most cases, it is essential to apply the measures of uniformity based in cultural relativism into practice as it easily allows all the nations to develop unique sects of ethnic, as well as cultural norms. As a result, the level of biasness and lack of uniformity from such cultural values that vary depending with individuals from one ethnic group to the other can enhance increased superiority of diverse cultures. More significantly, it is necessary to understand that ethnocentrism gives a tendency in which individuals undertake to judge other cultures according to the criteria of their own culture depending. Without a doubt, cultural relativism is more likely to give rational decisions as compared to ethnocentrism as it is based on different cultures as it is not based on the basis of another culture.

Ballantine, J. & Roberts, K. (2012). Our social world: introduction to sociology. Los Angeles: Sage Publishers.

Spade, J. & Ballantine, J. (2012). Schools and society: a sociological approach to education. Los Angeles: Sage Publishers.

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Cultural Relativism is the claim that ethical practices differ among cultures, and what is considered right in one culture may be considered wrong in another. The implication of cultural relativism is that no one society is superior to another; they are merely different. This claim comes with several corollaries; namely, that different ...
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In addition, cultural relativism seeks to understand an individual based on their own culture while ethnocentrism bases itself centrally on an individual's use of their cultural norms, morals, as well as values to judge and compare other cultures. As a result, individuals tend to view their way of life based on their practices and behaviors ...

Understanding Cultural Relativism and Its Significance

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Beliefs of Cultural Relativism

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History of Cultural Relativism

Different Types of Cultural Relativism

Absolute Cultural Relativism

Critical Cultural Relativism

Strengths of Cultural Relativism

Limitations of Cultural Relativism

Failure to Address Human Rights

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Cultural Relativism (Essay Sample)

Cultural Relativism: Definition & Examples

Key Takeaways

Implications

Assumptions

Illustrative Examples

Mental Illness

Hygienic Rituals

Cultural vs. Moral Relativism

Cultural Relativism vs. Ethnocentrism

Controversy

Cultural Relativism: Do Cultural Norms Make Actions Right and Wrong?

1. Understanding Cultural Relativism

2. Cultural Relativism’s Implications

3. Arguments For Cultural Relativism

3.1. Tolerance

3.2. Disagreements

4. Conclusion

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