Cultural relativism
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Cultural relativism is the position that all peoples' perspectives are biased by their cultural background. (This may extend to sensory perception as well as worldview, depending on whom you ask.)[1] In a broader sense, it's the opinion that all cultures are of equal value and quality to each other, therefore there is no "superior culture".
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[edit] "Working" use
A loose form of cultural relativism is effectively required in the field of anthropology, in order to avoid "contaminating" the culture with one's own while studying it. Many cultural anthropologists claim to be cultural relativists. However, it is usually possible to isolate some bias in any given ethnography.
The tradition of cultural relativism arose in the late 19th and early 20th centuries as a reaction to forms of biological determinism such as eugenics and scientific racism. It was instituted as a form of methodology in anthropology by Franz Boas.[2][3]
[edit] Ethical considerations
Cultural relativism raises ethical issues for anthropologists on field work projects who come from cultures strongly opposed to practices such as female genital mutilation.
The concept also raises questions (or should) for many differing groups of professionals in the world. Should businesses work with, therefore giving money to, governments that engage in practices which are considered reprehensible by the West but are widely practiced in the countries' with the governments in question? Should foreign aid be given by nations that oppose genital mutilation to nations that practice it?
[edit] Relation to moral relativism
Moral relativism is the concept that there is no such thing as absolute morals, morals change and shift depending on a myriad of factors. Cultural relativism states that accepted morals and values change depending on cultures, which have their own varying factors that create their moral code. Both concepts hold that there is no such thing as any "universal moral" that is inherent to either individual people or entire societies.
Because cultural relativism is often conflated with moral relativism, a number of distinctions have been made, such as methodological vs. philosophical relativism[4] and cultural vs. ethical relativism.[5]
In reaction to this common conflation, Clifford Geertz coined the term "anti-anti-relativism."[6]
[edit] Relation to human rights
There has been some protest that the concept of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights was more a declaration of Western style of rights. That the document didn't properly include people of all backgrounds, cultures, and societies, so that it is not really "universal" (we didn't consult aliens either). Some anthropologists hold the idea that the Western style of democracy and freedom is not compatible with what some cultures have practiced for hundreds or thousands of years, so that our measuring them with our (Western) measuring stick isn't really fair.
Cultural relativism also comes up at times when human rights groups don't condemn practices by certain cultures, but then does so when it occurs in different cultures[citation needed]. The thinking being that in one culture the practice was ordinary (but still negative), but in the other culture the perpetrators knew they were doing "wrong."
Human rights groups have been accused by some pundits of practicing cultural relativism for condemning actions by America or other western governments, but not condemning other (usually 3rd World) governments of the same thing.
[edit] See also
[edit] External links
- Cultural relativism in the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy
[edit] Footnotes
- ↑ See, e.g., the "carpentered world hypothesis": Marshall H. Segall, Donald T. Campbell, and Melville J. Herskovit. (1968) The Influence of Culture on Visual Perception. Chapter 14 in Social Perception, eds. Hans Toch and Clay Smith
- ↑ Peter Fettner. Rationality and the Origins of Cultural Relativism. Knowledge, Technology, & Policy, Spring - Summer 2002, Vol. 15, No. 1 & 2, pp. 196-203.
- ↑ Franz Boas. On Alternating Sounds. American Anthropologist, Vol. 2, No. 1, Jan., 1889
- ↑ Gananath Obeyesekere. Methodological Relativism and Philosphical Relativism. Man, New Series, Vol. 1, No. 3 (Sep., 1966), pp. 368-374
- ↑ Of Headhunters and Soldiers: Separating Cultural and Ethical Relativism, Renato Rosaldo, Markula Center for Applied Ethics, Santa Clara University
- ↑ Clifford Geertz. Distinguished Lecture: Anti-anti-relativism. American Anthropologist, vol. 86, 1984