Cultural Relativism- November

Cultural Relativism

 

Is one culture correct in their morals and beliefs and another wrong? If so, who decides which culture is correct? I personally do not believe that one culture is more accurate than another. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. A person's ability to make judgments is biased around the culture in which they were raised. For example, a 60 degree day in New York is considered gorgeous. If you were in Florida on a 60 degree day, however, you would see locals wrapped up head to toe. Both groups of people were in 60 degree weather, but since they were raised in different environments, they respond to the same temperature in different ways. This frame of mind is true for cultures as well. No two cultures are exactly the same, thus there customs will more then likely not be alike. Since every culture is viewed differently, there is no telling if one culture is correct and another is not.

 

This topic is discussed in James Rachel's article, "The Challenge of Cultural Relativism." He discusses how cultures cannot be compared because people are biased to the culture they are raised in. He uses Eskimo practices as an example. In their culture, it is very common to kill infants, resulting in a high rate of infanticide. In our culture, we find this horrifying and immoral, whereas in Eskimo culture it is exactly the opposite. They live with a lack of resources, thus they occasionally find it necessary to kill their infants to provide for the family they already have. In an Eskimo's eyes this practice is perfectly logical. Just because one culture disapproves of another culture does not mean it is incorrect.

 

Many wars were started from intolerance of other's cultures. For example, during World War II, Hitler was intolerant of the Jewish practices. Instead of agreeing to disagree, he viewed the culture he was raised in as superior to that of others. Rather than respecting other people's beliefs, he took it upon himself to "fix" the Jews. Hitler does not exemplify the frame of mind that James Rachel was trying to get across. I believe people of different cultures should be tolerant of one another because no one has the right to declare another culture as incorrect.

Fate-October

Fate

 

Is there such a thing as fate? This is a very controversial topic in the media world. Are our actions and decisions already made for us by a greater power or do we have free will? I personally believe in a mix between the two. I believe that everything happens for a reason. Even when something negative occurs it is because God was keeping something worse from happening, given he has a plan for us. I believe that we have the power of choice, but God already knows the choices we are going to make, thus even though we are making day to day decisions, our choices are part of a larger plan. Another aspect of fate I believe in is that the decisions of others impact our own lives. Human interaction plays a large part in our perspectives on live and allows different opportunities to come our way. Since human lives are so tightly linked, any decision will alter another's life in some way. While I believe that our paths can be altered by others, I trust that our lives are monitored and planned out by God. Fate is a very tricky subject since it involves religious beliefs, which is why I believe in a mix between free will and a fated path by God.

 

In a story we read this month, Oedipus, the characters struggle to defy their prophesized fates. Ironically, even though they try to escape, their fates continue to happen in unexpected ways. For example, Oedipus' fate is to kill his father and marry his mother. Even though he is sent away, he ends up killing his father in an accident and unknowingly marries his mother. I agree with this perception of fate to a certain extent. I understand the idea of a destined path, but I do not think that a human can prophesize a fated future.

 

When I hear this story it reminds me of those movies where the character has to relive a certain day over and over again until he/she accomplishes what he/she is fated to do. One of these movies is called Twelve Dates of Christmas. In this movie, the main character relives Christmas Eve over and over again, until she finds the man she was fated to be with. This movie displays the idea I've been trying to express; our decisions effect our lives and others, but we are still on an overall path of fate by God.