|
LECTURE 2 SLIDE NOTES CULTURAL RELATIVISM
2.1. How Different Cultures Have Different Moral Codes
"Morality differs in every society, and is a convenient term for socially approved habits."
Ruth Benedict, Patterns of Culture (1934)
• Consider the example in our text from Herodotus's (c. 484-425 BC) History. There he describes how the ancient Greeks burned while the Callatians ate the bodies of their dead fathers. Can one practice said to be the right one?
Cultural Relativism
"The “right” way is the way which the ancestors used and which has been handed down. The tradition is its own warrant. It is not held subject to verification by experience. The notion of right is in the folkways. It is not outside of them, of independent origin, and brought to test them. In the folkways, whatever is, is right….When we come to the folkways we are at the end of our analysis."
William Graham Sumner, Folkways(1906)
Common Features of Cultural Relativism
1. Different societies have different moral codes.
2. The moral code of a society determines what is right in that society.
3. There is no objective standard that can be used to judge one society’s code as better than an other’s.
4. The moral code of our society has no special status.
5. We should adopt an attitude of tolerance.
Is Cultural Relativism Plausible?
• We’ve often heard :
"When in Rome, do as the Romans do."
• But does this mean anything goes as long as we remain within the bounds of a culture?
• Here we must appeal to reason and argument.
The Cultural Differences Argument
1. The Greeks believed it was wrong to eat the dead.
2. The Callatians believed it was right to eat the dead.
3. Therefore, eating the dead is neither objectively right nor objectively wrong: it is merely a matter of opinion from culture to culture.
Generalized Cultural Differences Argument
1.Different cultures have different moral codes.
2.Therefore, there is no objective “truth” in morality. Right and wrong are merely matters of opinion, and opinions vary from culture to culture.
(See Rachel’s p.20)
Compare: An Analogical Argument
1.Some people think that earth is flat.
2.Some people think the earth is round.
3.Therefore, there is no objective truth about the matter.
What If….. Cultural Relativism Were True?
1.We could no longer say that the customs of other societies are morally inferior/superior to our own.
2. We could decide whether our actions are right or wrong just by consulting the standards of our society.
3. The idea of moral progress is called into doubt.
Are these claims plausible?
How Much Do Cultures Disagree?
• Reconsider the case of eating the dead. Perhaps this is done protect the spirit of the deceased.
• Indeed compare this with the practice to the Catholic Eucharist or Holy Communion.
• Has there ever been a society that allows for murder?
• Has there ever been a society that allows for perpetual lying?
General Point & A Question
It seems that not every moral rule can vary from society to society. Thus cultural relativism cannot hold across the board.
This naturally leads to the question: Are any moral standards neutral with respect to culture?
One of our goals is to search for such standards.
Some Concluding Thoughts
Recall Rachel’s point about two fundamental elements of ethics :
1. Our feelings are important, but they must be guided by reason.
• Note that those who defend cultural practices typically give reasons. (Consider again the case of female genital mutilation.) This suggests it is not merely "culture" that determines morality.
2. Ethics includes the idea of impartiality.
• Note that cultural relativism violates the fundamental norm of impartiality by giving preferences to individual cultural groups.
|
