Chapter 2 Flashcards
According to Ruth Benedict, morality differs…
in every society, and is an convenient name for socially approved habits
According to Rachels cultural relativism is the view that
different cultures have different moral codes.
According to Rachels for cultural relativists the idea of universal truth in ethics
is a myth/incorrect
According to cultural relativists (customs)
the customs of different societies are all that exist.
Cultural relativism challenges…
challenges our beliefs in objectivity and universal truth.
According to Cultural relativism (universal truths)
there is no such thing as universal truth in ethics, there are only various cultural codes, and nothing more.
For many the key to understanding morality is this observation different cultures ___________
different cultures have different moral codes.
Which of the following claims have been made by cultural relativists?
1) different societies have different moral codes.
2) The moral code of a society determines what is right within that society.
Which claims have been made by cultural relativists? (4)
1) There is no objective standard that can be used to judge one society’s code as better than another’s.
2) The moral code of our own society has no special status.
3) It is arrogant for us to judge other cultures.
4) We should be tolerant of other cultures.
The cultural differences argument is the view that ____ it tries to
1) right and wrong are matters of opinion and opinions and vary from culture to culture.
2) tries to draw a substantive conclusion from the mere fact that people disagree.
Properly speaking cultural relativism holds that the norms of a culture
reign supreme within that culture.
Cultural relativists often employ a certain form of argument, beginning with
they begin with facts about cultures and end up drawing a conclusion about morality.
The cultural differences argument tries to (b/c ppl disagree)
derive a substantive conclusion about a subject from the mere fact that people disagree.
The cultural differences argument is invalid because
the truth of its conclusion does not follow from the premise.
From the mere fact that cultures disagree
it does not follow that there is no objective truth on the matter.
If Cultural relativism is true,
1) we can no longer say that the customs of other societies are morally inferior to our own.
2) we could no longer criticize the code of our own society.
3) the idea of moral progress is called into doubt.
According to Rachel’s often when we examine what seem to be big differences between cultures we find that
cultures differ less than we thought.
Often when we examine what seem to be big differences between cultures we find that
some values seem to be shared by all cultures.
Which of the following values does Rachel’s suggest may be shared by all cultures? (3)
- children have to protected.
- societies values not lying.
- societies prohibit murder.
According to Rachel’s there are some moral rules that all societies must embrace
because those rules are necessary for society to exist.
One difficulty with Cultural relativism, is that if it’s correct
if cultural relativism is correct, there is no culture-dependent moral standard to appeal to.
According to Rachel’s one standard that can be used in thinking about any social practice is,
does the practice promote or hinder the welfare of the people affected by the practice
For what reason(s)are people reluctant to criticize other cultures? (3)
a. there is a nervousness about interfering in the social customs of other people.
b. many feel they should be tolerant of other cultures.
c. people don’t want to judge because they do not want to express contempt for the society being criticized.
According to Rachel’s what can be learned from cultural relativism?
it warns us of the danger of assuming that all of our standards are based on some absolute standard.
According to Rachel’s what can be learned from cultural relativism?
there are many things we think of in terms of right and wrong that are nothing more than social conventions.
According to Rachel’s there is an appeal of cultural relativism because it is based upon a genuine insight
that warns us of the danger of assuming that all of our standards are based on some absolute standard.
