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.