Ethnocentrism is the conception of members of a culture or social group as being the center, the normal, and superior to others. Cultural relativism, on the other hand, is based on the idea of the other (alterity) as being relative, there is no cultural model of reference.
Ethnocentrism is a kind of lens through which all cultures are seen and interpreted from a single conception, assuming an excluding character. Terms such as "barbarians", "primitives" or "savages", used to describe other cultures and peoples are marks of ethnocentrism. A way of life is taken as a reference and different ways of life are excluded.
Cultural relativism is the idea that the way of life of a certain group may not be valid or valued in another social system. Cultural relativism demonstrates that human behavior is not based on nature, but on the development of customs.
| Ethnocentrism | cultural relativism | |
|---|---|---|
| Meaning | Anthropological concept about the idea of superiority of one culture over the others. | Anthropological concept referring to the idea that different cultures have different ways of life, without hierarchy. |
| Characteristics |
|
|
| Reviews | Disrespect for differences, intolerance and the self-centered reading of the world. | Relativism can lead to the emptying of universal values, permissiveness and disrespect for human rights. |
What is ethnocentrism?
Ethnocentrism is a term developed by anthropology that criticizes the reading of the world centered on the perspective and way of life of a social group or culture.
Anthropology itself arose from the intention of European peoples to study the social organizations of the original peoples in the colonies and in the newly discovered lands.
These studies were done from the perspective that European culture was the apex of human civilization, while other social systems were measured against this parameter. Thus, different peoples were classified as more or less civilized.
Many of these original peoples, with different degrees of complexity, were classified as primitive or barbarians because their way of life was not adequate to the way of life of the European metropolises.
It can be said that ethnocentrism has the advantage of making the individual easily recognize himself as an integral part of a social group, generating a sense of belonging.
However, over the years, ethnocentrism has taken on the meaning of any reading that reinforces the superiority of one social group over another. In this perspective, a standard is considered "normal" or desirable and demands that other social groups adhere to this standard.
Thus, an ethnocentric attitude is a form of intolerance, disrespect for differences and different ways of life and social organization. It consists of denying minority groups their right to preserve their own cultural traits, the right to religious freedom or their cultural manifestations.
What is cultural relativism?
Cultural relativism is a term also coined by anthropology as an opposition to ethnocentrism. In it, the relative position between "us and the others" is discussed, which varies according to the point of view.
In ethnocentrism, the position of "we" is fixed, always part of the group that is understood as superior. For cultural relativism, any social system will cause the strangeness of those who are not included. The position of "us" and "others" is relative.
Thus, the entire historical, social and cultural path of each society must be taken as a basis, respecting its differences and particularities. From the perspective of cultural relativism, respect for different ways of life and different forms of social organization is required.
However, relativist perspectives are also targets of criticism. The idea that all cultures are equally autonomous in their social construction and cannot be targets of criticism, can generate the idea that everything is allowed, as long as it is based on a culture.
Thus, some social practices can harm rights and values understood as universal.
For example, in some patriarchal societies, women do not have the same rights as men, or child marriages are common. This stance may call into question cultural relativism. Is it fair that women have less rights than men or are placed in situations of oppression due to customs or cultural constructions?
Anthropologists and sociologists seek to answer these questions and find a third way, away from ethnocentrism, but without falling into a radical relativism.
See also the difference between:
- race and ethnicity
- Examples of ethics and morals
- ethic and moral
- Exact, human and biological sciences
- creationism and evolutionism
- Human evolution
