Cultural relativism holds that there is no universal morality that is common among all cultures. Specifically‚ in an article on cultural relativism James Rachels states the following characteristics of cultural relativism: 1) Different societies have different moral codes; 2) There is no objective standard that can be used to judge one societal code better than another; 3) The moral code of our own society has no special status; it is merely one among many; 4) There is no "universal truth"
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Cultural Relativism This essay covers various aspects of cultural relativism and its argument to readers. Cultural relativism is a theory‚ which mainly concentrates on differences in values and moral beliefs of different people. To help explain the concept of cultural relativism I have used James Rachels argument. The main idea of cultural relativism is that "Different cultures have different moral codes" (Rachels 652). This means that there is no thing as universal truth ’‚ and what is right
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period of week 1 and week 6. Paper must be between 2 and 3 pages (excluding cover page‚ annexes‚ and reference page). Cultural Relativism Theory Cultural Relativism Theory is morality that differs in every society‚ and is a convenient term for socially approved habits. It is also the oldest philosophical theory that speaks about the nature of morality. Cultural relativism theory claims that different cultures have different moral codes and nothing is there or an objective standard that can judge
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Understanding other cultures without making judgments about the way they do things or the way they understand and react to things is the basic concept of cultural relativity. The importance of this idea is demostrated by Richard B. Lee in his story about the Christmas feast with the !Kung. In this story Lee‚ a social anthropologist living with the tribe‚ experiences a misunderstanding that almost caused him to pack his belongings and leave the bushmen which were the subject of his study
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Ethical Relativism; No moral truths‚ just relative to the individual/culture. When is different just different and when is it morally problematic? Diversity of standards often leads to issues with regards to; Corruption/work practices/child labour/inferior products/government influence Situation sensitive: need for tolerance/understanding of variety of cultures. Moral diversity: no wrongs/rights‚ based purely on social norms. Shouldn’t pass judgement on situations
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(Rachels 618). This claim is known as Cultural Relativism. "Cultural Relativism‚ as it has been called‚ challenges our ordinary belief in the objectivity and universality of moral truth. There is no such thing as universal truth in ethics: there there are only the various cultural codes‚ and nothing more. Moreover‚ our own code has no special status‚ it is merely one among many" (Rachels 618). It is clear that the answer to the question of ethics is‚ Cultural Relativism. The subject of murder is probably
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Popular Ethical Theories Relativism as defined by Merriam-Webster (2013)‚ is a theory that knowledge is relative to the limited nature of the mind and the condition of knowing. Philosophically‚ relativism references that all points of view are equally credible‚ and that all truth is related to the individual (Westacott‚ 2005). Relativism can more specifically be defined as “the nature and existence of items of knowledge‚ qualities‚ values or logical entities non-trivially obtain their natures
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the positives and negatives regarding the concept of cultural relativism‚ but his overall position is that cultural relativism is not a strong philosophy. On the flip side of that Immanuel Kant has a completely different ethical theory that is based around deontology. Despite its positives cultural relativism cannot be defended against Rachel’s criticism‚ but Kant’s ethical theory cannot necessarily defeat cultural relativism. Cultural Relativism is the idea that moral practices and social norms change
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What is cultural relativism‚ and how does the vision of ethics associated with it diverge from the traditional ethical theories? Cultural relativism is attempting to understanding and respects another culture’s beliefs and morals according to their culture and not our own. Right and wrong from one culture may not be the same in another culture. Something considered moral and right in one culture may be rude or completely immoral to another culture‚ cultural relativism says that morals are specific
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Concept of ethical relativism Ethical relativism is the theory that there are no universalized moral standards to apply to all people all the time. The relativity of ethics refers to the ethics may be different in different societies. The same situation and behavior may be morally acceptable in one society but morally unacceptable in another. However‚ this theory is rejected by most ethicists. First of all‚ some claim that while the moral practices of societies may differ‚ the fundamental moral
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