What one may believe is right and worthy in their own culture may seem taboo in another culture’s 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
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The authors describe cultural relativism in this chapter. They explain cultural relativism with some examples such as Callatians‚ who lived in India and ate the bodies of their dead father‚ and Eskimos‚ who are native people of Alaska and had distinct moral codes‚ such as marriages‚ sexual practices‚ and infanticide. For instance‚ infanticide was common in Eskimos’ society of the early and mid-20th century. The customs seemed that they had little respect for human life. So‚ the two examples seem
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define and compare and 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
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Ethical Relativism Cannibalism‚ what do you think of it? Is it morally correct? Does the theory of ethical relativism support it or does it knock it down? Throughout this paper I am going to evaluate the pros and cons of ethical relativism for a case concerning cannibalism. An American man by the name of Daniel went to South America‚ for the reasons of writing a book on it and publishing it in the United States‚ to study a native tribe and to try to become part of it. While Daniel was studying
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This premise of cultural relativism shows prefigure of moral relativism. Moral relativism can be generally grouped into three categories; (1) descriptive moral relativism‚ (2) normative moral relativism‚ and (3) meta-ethical moral relativism. Descriptive relativism‚ according to Frankena‚ is the idea ‘that the basic ethical beliefs of different people and societies are different and even conflicting’ [1973:109]. The second form of ethical relativism conceives the idea that ‘what is really right or good
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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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JANE: Hi‚ Zach! ZACHERY: Hello‚ Jane. JANE: So‚ I was wondering‚ you just finished covering moral relativism in CRA‚ right? ZACHERY: Yup. JANE: Alright‚ well‚ John was talking to me the other day‚ and I was telling him about the work I’ve been doing to support education for women in Africa. And he told me that‚ according to some guy named Mackie‚ that people’s right to education isn’t actually a moral fact and me trying to increase the education of women isn’t justified‚ cuz I’m just forcing my own
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A Defense of Ethical Relativism-Ruth Benedict Summary Paper Ethical relativism is the theory that holds that morality is relative to the norms of one’s culture. That is‚ whether an action is right or wrong depends on the moral norms of the society in which it is practiced. The same action may be morally right in one society but be morally wrong in another. Benedict mentions emotions such as joy‚ anger‚ and grief‚ or human drives such as the sex drive‚ and argues that these emotions can be expressed
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In Support of Moral Relativism: My topic is on moral relativism‚ and I am trying to argue that moral relativism is applicable and is required to explain the current phenomenon. First I would try to show how culture affects moral decisions‚ and that such shows the need for a relativistic explanation. I would propose a few arguments and analogies for the need of relativism‚ such as that in different situations the same moral rule may not apply. I would then try to see if there are any moral standards
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The theory of cultural relativism is based on a valued judgment between beliefs‚ culture‚ and religion. However‚ cultural relativism incorrectly answers the question‚ “What is right?” since there is no right or wrong when considering validity. Cultural relativism creates a belief that is the “highest standard” and there should be no biased opinions. Certain cultures tend to believe that they are superior to others. As a result‚ the different customs that exist are not said to be incorrect or correct
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