Cultural Relativism VS Ethnocentrism
Sexuality, in the Western World, has been a taboo for hundreds of years (essentially from the time of the Roman Empire), however, it has always been openly discussed and practiced in other parts of the world. A cultural relativist would look at different cultures and their habits and practices, and he would not judge them as being wrong. Instead s/he would study the reasoning behind these “strange”/unique actions and evaluate why and how this works for this specific culture. For example, on the far islands of Fiji, a mother would calm her infant down by performing a version of oral sex or stroking his penis. Although this is not commonly practiced in our culture, a cultural relativist would not judge whether this is right or wrong, s/he would assess the success rate of the desired effect and mark this practice as yet another difference between the many people of our planet.
An ethnocentrism, on the other hand, does not believe that there are any unique cultures or societies. S/he preaches that only his/her culture is the correct one and even the slightest deviation from that is wrong. Therefor a western ethnocentrist would mark that mother on the Fiji island as being “sick” and as “corrupting her child”. This ethnocentrist would refer back to his/her culture (Judeo-Christian) and illustrate why this practice is morally wrong and socially unacceptable.
Cultural Relativists are open-minded people who do not judge others’ habits and rituals, but rather look at each culture as unique and as a source of knowledge and/or wisdom. Ethnocentrists believe that their culture and society is the best and the only “correct” culture and society. Ethnocentrism does not think of other societies as unique, but rather as “wrong”.
Другие работы по теме:
The Endless Quest For The Universalization Of
Morality Essay, Research Paper The Endless Quest for the Universalization of Morality Throughout history, philosophers have been preoccupied with the notion of a universal “right” and “wrong”. Philosophers want to have a sort of morality measuring stick that would enable them to judge a person’s decision as being morally right or wrong, independent of the situation and circumstances that led to that decision.
Morality Is Relative Essay Research Paper James
Morality Is Relative Essay, Research Paper James Rachels’ article, “Morality is Not Relative,” is incorrect, he provides arguments that cannot logically be applied or have no bearing on the statement of contention. His argument, seems to favor some of the ideas set forth in cultural relativism, but he has issues with other parts that make cultural relativism what it is.
Ethnocentrism Essay Research Paper A World of
Ethnocentrism Essay, Research Paper A World of Diversity Ethnocentric, derived from the Greek words of Ethnos, meaning race, people or cultural group, and Kentrikos, meaning concentrated
Moral Universalism Essay Research Paper Moral Universalism
Moral Universalism Essay, Research Paper Moral Universalism should be a worldview. I believe that it would be better for the human race to live in a world where moral universalism is the accepted worldview. I believe this because moral universalism almost offers the world a moral view that has no conflicts, no differences and has no bias.
African American Culture Essay Research Paper African
African American Culture Essay, Research Paper African American Culture Culture is not a fixed phenomenon, nor is it the same in all places or to all people. It is relative to time, place, and particular people. Learning about other people can help us to understand ourselves and to be better world citizens.
Ethnocentrism Essay Research Paper Ethnocentrism can be
Ethnocentrism Essay, Research Paper Ethnocentrism can be defined as ?regarding one?s own race or culture as supreme to others.? Unfortunately, minority groups living in the United States are under the impression they must conform to the American ways in order to succeed. As a result the ramifications of ethnocentrism in the United States have caused minorities to change in order to ?fit in? with society.
Ethnocentrism And Cultural Relativity Essay Research Paper
It is always troublesome not to understand another culture, especially, in New York City where we live in a society that is rapidly changing. The City has increasingly brought people of various cultures, to interact closer with each other. This interaction can be either positive or negative depending on the level of sensitivity and respect people have for other culture groups.
Socrates Arguments Regarding Moral Conventionalism Essay Research
Paper In assessing the validity of Socrates? arguments regarding moral conventionalism, Plato presents a multitude of premises on which Socrates? argument is based. These premises both support and weaken Socrates? beliefs against Sophist teachings. Using The Crito and The Apology, it is relatively easy to understand Socrates? reasoning in opposing the sophistic position of moral relativism.
Archeo Essay Research Paper A Cross Cultural
Archeo Essay, Research Paper A Cross Cultural Perspective of Polygyny As an institution, polygyny, the social arrangement that permits a man to have more than one wife at the same
Ethnocentrism At The Top Of The World
Essay, Research Paper In Hans Ruesch’s novel The Top of the World the author describes the life of the polar Eskimos (Inuits) in depth. The main focus of the novel is to show the differences between their culture and ours, and how the introduction of the white mans customs changed their way of life. The concepts of ethnocentrism and cultural relativism are major themes in The Top of the World.
Sociology European And Us Culture Essay Research
Paper Concept Paper # 2 My trip to Europe was an eye opening experience. It awakened my senses to so many different aspects of life I had not already been introduced to. It was almost like watching a movie, from the minute I stepped of the plane everything was different. When I think about the trip and what experiences I had many sociological concepts come to mind, such as, Culture shock, ethnocentrism, culture, social locators, cultural transmission, norms, language, and subculture.
Race Pierre Van Den Berghe Essay Research
Paper When we look at physical characteristics such as skin color from the social definition perspective, there is no clear meaning, but these characteristics do have what is referred to as social meaning. Pierre van den Berghe defined a racial group as a “human group that defines itself and/or is defined by other groups as different from other groups by virtue of innate and immutable physical characteristics” (8).
Indian 2 Essay Research Paper When comparing
Indian 2 Essay, Research Paper When comparing the cultural differences between European Americans and Native Americans, nothing can be said about Native Americans as a whole. Every tribe is different from every other in some aspects and similar in other aspects. In general we can express cultural differences; how differently we see things and vision things, look at things, language, religion, and cultural holidays.
Cultural Relativism Essay Research Paper Topic 1
Cultural Relativism Essay, Research Paper Topic 1: Cultural Relativism Cultural relativism, as defined by Ruth Benedict in her article A Defense of Cultural Relativism, is the theory that human morality is based on the society in which an individual is a part of. The basis of a society?s morality comes from cultural traditions, habits, and what the majority believes to be right and wrong.
Cultural Relativism Essay Research Paper The thesis
Cultural Relativism Essay, Research Paper The thesis of meta-ethical cultural relativism is the philosophical viewpoint that there are no absolute moral truths, only truths relative to the cultural context in which they exist. From this it is therefore presumed that what one society considers to be morally right, another society may consider to be morally wrong, therefore, moral right’s and wrongs are only relative to a particular society.
A Critique Of Cultural Relativism Essay Research
Paper A critique of cultural relativism In his article “Cultural relativism and cultural values”, Melville Herkovits defines the principle of cultural relativism as “judgements are based on experience, and experience is interpreted by each individual in terms of his own enculturation” (26). This is the basic premise of cultural relativism, that beliefs, values, and morals are all based on one’s culture.
Moral Standards Essay Research Paper ARE MORAL
Moral Standards Essay, Research Paper ARE MORAL STANDARDS ?RELATIVE?? Ethics are moral principles or values that specify acceptable conduct, and determine how an institution will be governed. According to Shanahan and Wang, in their book Reason and Insight, the subject of ethics is morality, which is concerned with the practices, judgments, principles, and beliefs that guide people?s actions.
Early Chrisitanity Essay Research Paper Cultural Values
Early Chrisitanity Essay, Research Paper Cultural Values Of Early Christianity Early Christianity was started with Jesus Christ’s idea on reforming the Jewish faith. He wanted to introduce a loving god. This signifies that an important value wanted to be loved and accepted by god and vice versa. Before this the only views of god was that he was vengeful and ruthless.
American Pie Essay Research Paper America has
American Pie Essay, Research Paper America has stepped into the twenty first century as a dominant economic and multicultural nation of the world. American composition and culture has undergone cultural changes during the last century due to the constant migration of people from all across the world with different backgrounds to USA.
Crosscultural Communication Barriers Essay Research Paper Thesis
Cross-cultural Communication Barriers Essay, Research Paper Thesis: A number of different factors contribute to cross-cultural communication barriers. This thesis will be proven through the examination of Canada?s past history, current policies and future plans concerning immigration and assimilation of immigrants into Canadian society.
MetaEthical Position Essay Research Paper My
?Meta-Ethical? Position Essay, Research Paper My ‘Meta-ethical’ Position When asked the question “Are there any ethical truths?” I respond with a resounding “Yes” and when asked “What makes the ethical truths true?” I respond “Facts independent of anyone’s say-so”. That makes me an ethical realist. I reject all forms of conventionalism and also subjectivism.
Interracial Relationships Today Essay Research Paper Please
Interracial Relationships Today Essay, Research Paper Please cut and pastIn today?s society interracial relationships are more prevalent than ever before. When we view interracial relationships more closely we are able to create an individual opinion based on our own cultural upbringing. We will look at interracial relationships from a cultural relativists perspective, as well as, an ethno centrist?s point of view.
Untitled Essay Research Paper Essay IRelativism The
Untitled Essay, Research Paper Essay I Relativism: The Tangible Theory Since the beginning of rational thought, philosophers have searched for the true meaning of morality. Many theorists have attempted to answer this question with
Ethical Relativism Essay Research Paper Ethical RelativismCannibalism
Ethical Relativism Essay, Research Paper 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.
The Sociological Quest Essay Research Paper THE
The Sociological Quest Essay, Research Paper THE SOCIOLOGICAL QUEST – SUMMARY OF CHAPTERS 3 & 4. The term ’sociology’ is an amalgam of the Latin and Greek word meaning reasoning about the social’. Sociologists attempt to find the quest for sociological understanding through explanation and reasoning.