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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standards. This is because of the use of cultural relativism‚ which is the belief that something is good or wrong if and only if it is approved or disapproved in a given culture. Right and wrong values vary from society to society; therefore‚ there is no standard base to judge what is universally right or wrong between the different cultures. Because of this‚ societies may disagree about the morality of what is right and wrong. Gensler believes that if cultural relativism is true‚ then there are no right
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9/30/14 MRA: “The Challenge of Cultural Relativism” In the text "The Challenge of Cultural Relativism‚" James Rachels breaks down and discusses the theory of Cultural Relativism by presenting the pros and cons of this theory. He exposes some of the shortcomings of the theory arguing that some of the claims are wrong and contradictory. The theory of Cultural Relativism states that “there is no such thing as universal truth in ethics; there are only the various cultural codes.” In other words‚ the
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the world of cultural studies‚ there is a balance. There is a balance‚ especially‚ in the continuum of the relationship between the concepts of cultural relativism and ethnocentrism. Ethnocentrism is defined as “a point of view that one’s own way of life is to be preferred above all others” (Rosado). This is an interesting viewpoint on life‚ contrasted by the definition of cultural relativism‚ which is the view that “values that are established by a culture are relative to the cultural ambiance out
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The term ethnocentrism was introduced by William Sumner in 1906‚ it comes from the Greek word‚ “ethno” meaning or referring to a nation‚ a people or cultural grouping‚ and the Latin word “centre” meaning center. It is the belief that one’s own society is superior to others based on judging other societies with the standards of one’s own. (Perry) It is found in all known societies and in all groups and in practically all individuals. Nearly every person is ethnocentric most likely without intention
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PHIL1001 ESSAY Evaluate Rachel’s arguments against cultural relativism. Is he right to endorse objective moral realism? DINH NAM TRAN 308213904 Cultural relativism‚ as defined by the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy. “Is the thesis that a person’s culture strongly influences her modes of perception and thought” Most cultural relativists add to this definition saying that there is no standard of morality. This means that morality is relative to the particular society that one lives in
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questioned with lack of knowledge‚ just as if any other scholarly subject wasn’t studied such as math or English. Albert Camus once stated‚ “A man without ethics is a wild beast loosed upon this world.” According to Benedict’s “A Defense of Moral Relativism‚” every culture has to draw a line between what is normal and what is abnormal. The line between normality and abnormality has to be distinguished in order to understand others in that same culture. For example‚ noises that people in American culture
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contrast ETHNOCENTRISM and CULTURAL RELATIVISM. Discuss how you have experienced OR witnessed both concepts in our American Society. Ethnocentrism is viewing your own culture as more superior than any other culture‚ that all other groups are measured in relation to one’s own. Ethnocentrism can lead to cultural misinterpretation and it often distorts communication between human beings. + while cultural relativism is "the concept that the importance of a particular cultural idea varies from one society
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are two perfect examples of real life accounts of the problems that they face in the field‚ and it is found that in order for anthropologists to be able to truly study a certain culture‚ they must understand the meanings of ethnocentrism and cultural relativism. Ethnocentrism must be understood so that it can be avoided‚ because it is the belief in the superiority of one’s own ethnic group‚ which could ultimately make it very difficult to truly study and learn about a culture if you are constantly
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Gensler’s reasoning against cultural relativism(CR) is that the existence of so many subgroups makes it impossible to be correct. The fact that so many subcultures have so many varying morals means that nothing in thought can be morally wrong and therefore nothing is objective. Gensler uses the example “My Nazi society approves of racism‚ so racism is good” ( page 187) this shows the effectivity of this ethical theory. Gensler’s reasoning is supported by Enochs “Why I Am an Objectivist about Ethics
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