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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.

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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."

Essay on Cultural Relativism

Students are often asked to write an essay on Cultural Relativism in their schools and colleges. And if you’re also looking for the same, we have created 100-word, 250-word, and 500-word essays on the topic.

Let’s take a look…

100 Words Essay on Cultural Relativism

What is cultural relativism.

Cultural Relativism is the idea that all beliefs, customs, and ethics are relative to the individual within his own social context. In other words, ‘right’ and ‘wrong’ are culture-specific; what is considered moral in one society may be seen as immoral in another.

Origins of Cultural Relativism

Cultural Relativism started with the idea of “cultural pluralism” in the early 20th century. Anthropologists like Franz Boas noticed that human behavior differs greatly across cultures. They argued that we should understand these differences in the context of each culture, not judge them.

Importance of Cultural Relativism

Cultural Relativism helps us keep an open mind. It encourages us to understand and respect other cultures, instead of judging them based on our own. It reminds us that our way of life is not the only correct one, and others are not wrong just because they are different.

Limitations of Cultural Relativism

While Cultural Relativism promotes understanding, it can also lead to moral confusion. If all cultures are equally valid, how do we decide what is truly right or wrong? This is a big question that Cultural Relativism leaves us with.

Cultural Relativism is a useful tool for understanding the diversity of human cultures. It reminds us to respect differences and not to judge others. But it also leaves us with questions about morality and ethics.

Also check:

• Advantages and Disadvantages of Cultural Relativism

250 Words Essay on Cultural Relativism

Understanding cultural relativism.

Cultural Relativism is a concept that says all cultural beliefs are equal and valid. It means that no culture is better or worse than another. This idea is important because it encourages us to respect and understand different cultures.

Key Features of Cultural Relativism

Cultural Relativism teaches that what is considered right or wrong, good or bad, can vary greatly from one culture to another. For example, some cultures might value individual freedom while others might value community harmony. Both views are correct within their own cultural context.

Benefits of Cultural Relativism

One big benefit of Cultural Relativism is that it promotes tolerance and acceptance. It helps us to understand that just because someone’s beliefs or practices are different from ours, it doesn’t mean they are wrong. This can lead to more peaceful interactions between cultures.

Challenges of Cultural Relativism

But Cultural Relativism also faces some challenges. If all cultures are equal, it might be hard to criticize harmful practices within a culture. So, it’s important to balance respect for cultural differences with the need to promote human rights.

In conclusion, Cultural Relativism is a powerful tool for understanding and respecting different cultures. But it should not stop us from standing up against harmful practices. It’s all about finding a balance between respect for cultural diversity and the promotion of human rights.

500 Words Essay on Cultural Relativism

Cultural Relativism is a cool idea that says we should look at other cultures without judging them using our own culture’s rules. Think of it like this: if you’re playing a game, you should follow the rules of that game, not rules from a different game. It’s the same with cultures. We should try to understand them using their own rules, not ours.

Why is Cultural Relativism Important?

Cultural Relativism is important because it helps us respect and understand people from different cultures. It’s like learning a new language. When you learn a new language, you can understand and talk to more people. The same goes for understanding different cultures. If we only saw things from our own culture’s point of view, we would miss out on learning about the rich and diverse cultures around the world.

Understanding Cultural Relativism can be a little tricky, but it’s not impossible. Remember when you were little and you thought your parents’ rules were the only rules? But then you went to a friend’s house and saw they had different rules? That’s a bit like Cultural Relativism. It’s understanding that just because something is different, doesn’t mean it’s wrong or bad.

Even though Cultural Relativism is a good idea, it can be hard to practice. Sometimes, it’s hard to accept that other cultures have different rules, especially if those rules seem strange or wrong to us. But remember, it’s not about agreeing with everything, it’s about understanding and respecting differences.

Cultural Relativism can bring many benefits. It can help us become more open-minded and tolerant. It can also help us learn about and appreciate the diversity of the world. And who knows, we might even find some aspects of other cultures that we like and want to adopt into our own lives.

The Role of Cultural Relativism in Today’s World

In today’s world, where people from different cultures are more connected than ever, Cultural Relativism is very important. It helps us understand and respect each other, which can lead to a more peaceful and friendly world.

In conclusion, Cultural Relativism is a way of understanding and respecting other cultures. It’s not always easy, but it’s worth it. Because in the end, we’re all part of the same big world, and understanding each other can only make it better.

That’s it! I hope the essay helped you.

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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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1.6: Cultural Relativism

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The Cross-Cultural Relationship is the idea that people from different cultures can have relationships that acknowledge, respect and begin to understand each others 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. Traditional practices in certain cultures can restrict opportunity because they are “wrong” according to one specific culture. Becoming aware of these new possibilities will ultimately change the people that 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.

Cultural relativism is the ability to understand a culture on its own terms and not to make judgments using the standards of one’s own culture. The goal of this is promote understanding of cultural practices that are not typically part of one’s own culture. Using the perspective of cultural relativism leads to the view that no one culture is superior than another culture when compared to systems of morality, law, politics, etc. [11] It is a concept that cultural norms and values derive their meaning within a specific social context. This is also based on the idea that there is no absolute standard of good or evil, therefore every decision and judgment of what is right and wrong is individually decided in each society. The concept of cultural relativism also means that any opinion on ethics is subject to the perspective of each person within their particular culture. Overall, there is no right or wrong ethical system. In a holistic understanding of the term cultural relativism, it tries to promote the understanding of cultural practices that are unfamiliar to other cultures such as eating insects, genocides or genital cutting.

There are two different categories of cultural relativism : Absolute : Everything that happens within a culture must and should not be questioned by outsiders. The extreme example of absolute cultural relativism would be the Nazi party’s point of view justifying the Holocaust.

Critical : Creates questions about cultural practices in terms of who is accepting them and why. Critical cultural relativism also recognizes power relationships.

Absolute cultural relativism is displayed in many cultures, especially Africa, that practice female genital cutting. This procedure refers to the partial or total removal of the external female genitalia or any other trauma to the female reproductive/genital organs. By allowing this procedure to happen, females are considered women and then are able to be married. FGC is practiced mainly because of culture, religion and tradition. Outside cultures such as the United States look down upon FGC, but are unable to stop this practice from happening because it is protected by its culture.

Cultural relativism can be seen with the Chinese culture and their process of feet binding. Foot binding was to stop the growth of the foot and make them smaller. The process often began between four and seven years old. A ten foot bandage would be wrapped around the foot forcing the toes to go under the foot. It caused the big toe to be closer to the heel causing the foot to bow. [4] In China, small feet were seen as beautiful and a symbol of status. The women wanted their feet to be “three-inch golden lotuses”三寸金蓮 [3] It was also the only way to marry into money. Because men only wanted women with small feet, even after this practice was banned in 1912, women still continued to do it. To Western cultures the idea of feet binding might seems torturous, but for the Chinese culture it was a symbol of beauty that has been ingrained the culture for hundreds of years. The idea of beauty differs from culture to culture.

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• Schultz, Emily A., and Robert H. Lavenda. Cultural Anthropology : A Perspective on the Human Condition. New York: Oxford UP, Incorporated, 2009.pg.79.
• Philosophy Home, 2009. http://www.cultural-relativism.com/
• Zmago Šmitek and Božidar Jezernik, “The anthropological tradition in Slovenia.” In: Han F. Vermeulen and Arturo Alvarez Roldán, eds. Fieldwork and Footnotes: Studies in the History of European Anthropology. 1995.
• American Anthropological Association Statement on “Race”(May 17, 1998) http://www.aaanet.org/stmts/racepp.htm
• Peter L. Berger, Invitation to Sociology: A Humanistic Perspective, Anchor, 1963, ISBN 0385065299
• C. Wright Mills, The Sociological Imagination, Oxford University Press, 1961, ISBN 0195133730
• Louisa Lim, Painful Memories for China’s Footbinding Survivors www.npr.org/templates/story/s...toryId=8966942
• James A. Crites Chinese Foot Binding, http://www.angelfire.com/ca/beekeeper/foot.html
• www.allaboutphilosophy.org/cu...relativism.htm
• Justin Marozzi, The son of the Father of History, 2007, www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/b...f-History.html
• Introduction to The Journey of Friar John of Pian de Carpine to the Court of Kuyuk Khan, 1245-1247, as translated by William Woodville Rockhill, 1900,depts.washington.edu/silkroad...s/carpini.html
• Schultz, Emily A., and Robert H. Lavenda. Cultural Anthropology A Perspective on the Human Condition. 7th ed. New York: Oxford UP.
• “RACE – The Power of an Illusion . What Is Race |.” PBS. 08 Mar. 2009 <www.pbs.org/race/001_WhatIsRa...01_00-home.htm>.
• Miller, Barabra. Cultural Anthropology. 4th ed. Boston: Pearson Education Inc., 2007.
• Lorber, Judith. “Night to His Day”: The Social Construction of Gender.” From Inquiry to Academic Writing: A text and Reader. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2008. 617-30.
• Bourgois, Philippe. “Workaday World, Crack Economy.” The Nation (1995): 706-11.

External Links

• What is Anthropology? – Information from the American Anthropological Association
• SLA– Society for Linguistic Anthropology
• ^ Schultz, Emily A., and Robert H. Lavenda. Cultural Anthropology : A Perspective on the Human Condition. New York: Oxford UP, Incorporated, 2009. pg.79.
• ^ Schultz, Emily A., and Robert H. Lavenda. Cultural Anthropology : A Perspective on the Human Condition. New York: Oxford UP, Incorporated, 2009. pgs. 332-333

Group 6: Potpourri

Cultural relativism, an introduction to cultural relativism – from a sociological perspective.

background to understand this concept

Cultural relativism is the principle that a person’s or group’s beliefs and activities should be understood in terms of the person’s or group’s own culture, and not judged using the standards of one’s own culture. Its goal is to promote understanding of cultural practices that are not typically part of one’s own culture.

For example, anthropologist Ken Barger experienced (1971) discovered this when he conducted a participatory observation in an Inuit community in the Canadian Arctic. Originally from Indiana, Barger hesitated when invited to join a local snowshoe race. He knew he’d never hold his own against these experts. Sure enough, he finished last, to his mortification. But the tribal members congratulated him, saying, “You really tried!” In Barger’s own culture, he had learned to value victory. To the Inuit people, winning was enjoyable, but their culture valued survival skills essential to their environment: how hard someone tried could mean the difference between life and death. Over the course of his stay, Barger participated in caribou hunts, learned how to take shelter in winter storms, and sometimes went days with little or no food to share among tribal members. Trying hard and working together, two nonmaterial values, were indeed much more important than winning.

Practicing cultural relativism requires an open mind and a willingness to consider, and even adapt to, new values and norms, since cultural relativism asserts that cultural norms and values derive their meaning within a specific social context. However, indiscriminately embracing everything about a new culture is not always possible. Even the most culturally relativist people from egalitarian societies—ones in which women have political rights and control over their own bodies—would question whether the former practice of foot binding in China was humane, or whether the widespread practice of female genital mutilation in countries such as Ethiopia and Sudan should be accepted as a part of cultural tradition. Sociologists attempting to engage in cultural relativism, then, may struggle to reconcile aspects of their own culture with aspects of the culture they are studying.

Social scientists strive to treat cultural differences as neither inferior nor superior. That way, they can understand their research topics within the appropriate cultural context and examine their own biases and assumptions at the same time.

However, philosophers and ethicists sometimes critique the concept of cultural relativism because it is based on the idea that there is no absolute standard of good or evil; every decision and judgment of what is right and wrong is individually decided in each society. The concept of cultural relativism also means that any opinion on ethics or morals is subject to the perspective of each person within their particular culture.

A Philosopher’s Perspective on Cultural Relativism

a text to evaluate in terms of logical argument – 2 parts

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1.6 Cross-Cultural Comparison and Cultural Relativism

Learning outcomes.

By the end of this section, you will be able to:

• Define the concept of relativism and explain why this term is so important to the study of anthropology.
• Distinguish relativism from the “anything goes” approach to culture.
• Describe how relativism can enlighten our approach to social problems.

Recall our earlier discussion of cultural styles of clothing. American clothing style is related to American values. Ghanaian clothing style is related to Ghanaian values. We have seen how different realms of culture are interrelated, fitting together to form distinctive wholes. Anthropologists use the term cultural relativism to describe how every element of culture must be understood within the broader whole of that culture. Relativism highlights how each belief or practice is related to all of the other beliefs and practices in a culture. The anthropological commitment to relativism means that anthropologists do not judge the merits of particular beliefs and practices but rather seek to understand the wider contexts that produce and reinforce those elements of culture. Even when studying controversial topics such as piracy and guerilla warfare, anthropologists set aside their personal convictions in order to explore the complex web of cultural forces that determine why we do the things we do.

Relativism Is Not “Anything Goes”

Critics of the notion of relativism, believing so strongly in their own cultural norms that they cannot set them aside, even temporarily. They argue that relativism is amoral, a refusal to condemn aspects of culture considered to be wrong and harmful. For them, relativism means “anything goes.”

For anthropologists, cultural relativism is a rigorous mode of holistic analysis requiring the temporary suspension of judgment for the purposes of exploration and analysis. Anthropologists do not think that violent or exploitative cultural practices are just fine, but they do think that the reasons for those practices are a lot more complex than we might imagine. And frequently, we find that the judgmental interventions of ethnocentric outsiders can do more harm than good.

Morality, Activism, and Cultural Relativism

A striking example of the application of cultural relativism in anthropology is the controversy surrounding female genital cutting (FGC) , sometimes called female genital mutilation. FGC is a cultural practice in which an elder cuts a younger woman’s genitalia, removing all or part of the clitoris and labia. The practice is common in parts of Africa and the Middle East. FGC is not only extremely painful; it can also lead to infection, urination problems, infertility, and complications in childbirth.

The World Health Organization and the United Nations condemn the practice as a form of violence against children, a danger to women’s health, and a violation of basic human rights. These organizations view FGC as a form of discrimination against women, enforcing extreme inequality among the sexes. Efforts to ban FGC have focused on educating parents and children about the medical harms associated with the practice. Local governments are encouraged to enact laws banning FGC and impose criminal penalties against the elders who perform it.

Despite decades of campaigning against FGC, however, the practice remains widespread. If condemning FGC has not been effective in reducing it, then what can be done? Anthropologist Bettina Shell-Duncan has taken a more relativist approach, attempting to understand the larger cultural norms and values that make FGC such an enduring practice. Setting aside her personal opinions, Shell-Duncan spent long periods in African communities where FGC is practiced, talking to people about why FGC is important to them. She learned that FGC has different functions in different sociocultural contexts. Among the Rendille people of northern Kenya, many people believe that men’s and women’s bodies are naturally androgynous, a mix of masculine and feminine parts. In order for a girl to become a woman, it is necessary to remove the parts of female genitalia that resemble a man’s penis. Likewise, in order for a boy to become a man, the foreskin must be removed because it resembles the folds of female genitalia.

Other societies value FGC for different reasons. Some Muslim societies consider FGC a form of hygiene, making a girl clean so that she can pray to Allah. Some communities see FGC as a way of limiting premarital sex and discouraging extramarital affairs. In the colonial period, when FGC was banned by the colonial government, some Kenyan girls practiced FGC on themselves as a form of resistance to colonial authority. As FGC is promoted and carried out by senior women in most contexts, the practice becomes a way for senior women to solidify power and exert influence in the community.

People in communities practicing FGC are often aware of the efforts of outside groups to ban the practice. They know about medical complications such as the risk of infection. But the denunciations of outsiders often seem unconvincing to them, as those denunciations tend to ignore the cultural reasons for the endurance of FGC. People who practice FGC do not do it because they despise women or want to harm children. Shell-Duncan argues that parents weigh the risks and benefits of FGC, often deciding that the procedure is in the best interest of their child’s future.

Personally, Shell-Duncan remains critical of FGC and works on a project with the Population Council designed to dramatically reduce the practice. Cultural relativism does not mean permanently abandoning our own value systems. Instead, it asks us to set aside the norms and values of our own culture for a while in order to fully understand controversial practices in other cultures. By suspending judgment, Shell-Duncan was able to learn two important things. First, while campaigns to eradicate FGC frequently target mothers, providing them with educational material about the medical risks involved, Shell-Duncan learned that the decision to go ahead with the procedure is not made by parents alone. A large network of relatives and friends may pressure a girl’s parents to arrange for the cutting in order to ensure the girl’s chastity, marriageability, and fertility. Secondly, Shell-Duncan learned that people who practice FGC do it because they want the best for their girls. They want their girls to be respected and admired, considered clean and beautiful, fit for marriage and childbearing.

Shell-Duncan argues that outside organizations should reconsider their efforts, focusing more on communities than on individual parents. Awareness campaigns will be more effective if they resonate with local norms and values rather than dismissively condemning them as part of the whole culture of FGC. Some researchers urge anti-FGC activists to connect with local feminists and women’s groups in an effort to empower local women and localize the movement against FCG. Some alternative approaches press for more incremental forms of change, such as moving the practice to more sanitary conditions in clinics and hospitals and reducing the severity of the procedure to smaller cuts or more symbolic nicks.

As this example illustrates, cultural relativism is not an amoral “anything goes” approach but rather a strategy for forming cross-cultural relationships and gaining deeper understanding. Once this foundation has been established, anthropologists are often able to revise their activist goals and more effectively work together with people from another culture in pursuit of common interests.

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Cultural Relativism and Cultural Values Definition Essay

Introduction, the classification of cultures, ethnocentrism and cultural conditioning, critical evaluation.

Cultural relativism is the study of the part that values play in shaping cultures in different societies.The idea behind cultural relativism is that our judgment of morality is squarely founded upon our exposure to certain norms which uphold specific values in preference to others. The truth is that these cultures develop their value system based on certain assumptions borne out of experiential wisdom.

Cultures are classified by studying them under various headings such as economic structure, religious beliefs and practices, political organization and moral standards. Scholars of world cultures and their communities of origin have placed these cultures in the order of their complexities and functionality. These two attributes however may not consistently correlate as some complex social structures have been known to be dysfunctional at making life equally comfortable for all members.

This therefore demonstrates the conflicts that exists in judging cultures especially in the lines of their standards of morality. In most communities, the judgment that determines which cultural practice is right is based on what works towards the desired values of that community. These desired values when assessed by an outsider may seem outrageously unorthodox. The society however manages to inculcated them into each members personal value system in order to create the harmony needed to perpetuate the culture.

Other scholars have extended this view to propose that even our perception of reality is bound by cultural upbringing since we explain the universe using languages which are a core creation of our cultures.

Ethnocentrism is a mind set that creates the idea that a certain way of life is superior to others. It make the people who follow such a culture develop elements that perpetuate and entrench these beliefs amongst them. These elements may include myths, poems and sayings. The repercussions of this are not favorable because they influence members of the said community to impose their cultures to all others who do not fit into their group.

It is difficult to conclude that one culture is better than another unless we base our arguments on technological advancement. The reason for this is that, certain value systems preclude the more obvious basic advantages that are to be gained from the environment.

It is these kinds of value systems that define what practices can be allowed to take form. They form taboos and ritualistic trends. When firmly ingrained into the members of society these value systems can even condition the human psyche to react physically or rather involuntarily to the lack of their observance. This is what essentially defines cultural conditioning.

It is clear that the values held by each different culture create the foundations of their moral structure. The criterion used for choosing moral structures in different societies may not be consistent. Subsequently, given the relativistic nature of culture as described above, one would question the existence of a general platform for moral reference.

Taking up this stance implies that morality in itself necessitates uniformity from the entire human race. It would give the notion that morality should indeed be absolute. The reality however, is that we instead have universal and absolute values. Absolute values apply across all eras and communities while universal values are specific to different periods and cultures.

The best argument to this matter is that since cultures develop from certain strings of experiences in place and time, then moral codes should likewise follow suit to serve the purpose at the present scenarios. For instance, a community faced with drought might need to change their ideals concerning taboos that prohibit eating certain foods in order to secure that communities survival.

• Chicago (A-D)
• Chicago (N-B)

IvyPanda. (2019, November 19). Cultural Relativism and Cultural Values. https://ivypanda.com/essays/cultural-relativism-and-cultural-values/

"Cultural Relativism and Cultural Values." IvyPanda , 19 Nov. 2019, ivypanda.com/essays/cultural-relativism-and-cultural-values/.

IvyPanda . (2019) 'Cultural Relativism and Cultural Values'. 19 November.

IvyPanda . 2019. "Cultural Relativism and Cultural Values." November 19, 2019. https://ivypanda.com/essays/cultural-relativism-and-cultural-values/.

1. IvyPanda . "Cultural Relativism and Cultural Values." November 19, 2019. https://ivypanda.com/essays/cultural-relativism-and-cultural-values/.

Bibliography

IvyPanda . "Cultural Relativism and Cultural Values." November 19, 2019. https://ivypanda.com/essays/cultural-relativism-and-cultural-values/.

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