O cultural relativism seeks to understand the cultural values of a society from the standards in force in this social group.
Since antiquity, with the philosopher Protagoras of Abdera, there was a philosophical school that defended this view.
In the late nineteenth century, in order to reject ethnocentrism and positivism, the idea of cultural relativism gained strength through the works of Franz Boas (1858-1942).
Definition of Cultural Relativism
Before understanding what cultural relativism is, it is necessary to define relativism and culture.
Relativism
Relativism understands that there is no absolute truth, not even in the moral and cultural field. Therefore, it proposes a cultural and moral approach without preconceived judgments.
Culture
For its part, culture can be understood as the set of material or immaterial elements that belong to the same community.
It is important to remember that we are not only talking about the arts, but the customs and traditions of a people.
Cultural Relativism: what is it?
Therefore, cultural relativism proposes the understanding of different peoples and cultures through their own beliefs.
Instead of using terms like “superior” or “inferior”, cultural relativism seeks to understand certain behaviors according to the social dynamics of that population.
Therefore, no one would have the right to make value judgments about these practices and classify them as immoral or amoral, right or wrong.
A sentence by the German philosopher and historian Oswald Spengler (1880-1936) sums up this idea:
Every culture has its own criterion, on which its validity begins and ends. There is no universal morality of any kind.
Cultural Relativism and Ethnocentrism
Cultural relativism was a reaction to the positivist school created by Auguste Comte, which defended that human history was a continuous path to scientific progress, along European lines.
Those peoples who were not at the same stage as Western Europe were judged inferior.
Hence, notions such as "higher cultures", "lower cultures" and "evolutionism" are rejected by cultural relativists.
Cultural relativism brings the reflection that humanity should not necessarily reach the same technological level as other people to be "better" or "worse". Likewise, it moves away from the positivist notion that a society is constantly changing and denies moral progress.
While the ethnocentrism brings an idea of judgment and hierarchy of civilizations, cultural relativism seeks to consider customs and traditions as the result of a specific culture.
Likewise, it does not take into account moral criteria of right and wrong when studying these cultures.
Criticism of Cultural Relativism
Cultural relativism is criticized for its own internal contradiction. If "everything is relative", this statement is also relative.
Various arguments used in cultural relativism such as appeals to tradition - it has always been like that - in fact, they can be disassembled when we know the definition of fallacy.
If we agree with cultural relativism, we cannot judge or intervene in a culture that commits acts against human dignity. Therefore, it is necessary to pay attention to what is a custom and what is an aggression.
The sentence by Iranian lawyer Shirin Ebadi (1947) sums up this question:
The idea of cultural relativism is just an excuse to violate human rights.
Examples of Cultural Relativism
There are several examples of customs that are considered normal in one society and that seem exotic in another.
We selected four cases that cover different aspects of daily life and that may seem very strange to our habits and values.
Babies Sex
In India, female babies are less wanted than male babies, and many newborn girls are left to die.
Hygiene
In Arab countries, the right hand is used for eating, giving and receiving objects and the left for personal hygiene. Therefore it is considered a serious offense to use the left hand to take food.
This custom is enshrined in the Sunna, a set of norms left by the founder of Islam, Mohammed.
Cannibalism Ritual
In certain Indian tribes, prisoners of war were killed and then their ashes were consumed with mashed bananas or other foods.
The Indians believed that, in this way, they would be honoring the adversary and incorporating the enemy's strength.
food
In Brazil, it is customary to give bean broth or mashed beans to babies. As beans are plentiful and cheap, the custom is widespread.
However, in certain European countries, it is only recommended to ingest this food after two years of age.
read more:
- What is Culture?
- cultural identity
- ethic
- Preconception
- acculturation
- social organization
