Cultural Relativism Flashcards
How is the case of indigenous women in Val D’or related to the downsides of cultural relativism?
Its related to the downsides because of the 4 objections of the theory:
1) Making anything right objectionable:
If cultural relativism were true, it would mean that its right for the majority of ppl to side with the SQ agents and its right that they think the indigenous women should be condemned
2) reformers objection
If cultural relativism were true, it would mean that the ppl who made the documentary are evil
3) moral progress objection
If cultural relativism were true, it would mean that we can’t say that the situation improved, we can just say its different
4) social groups objection
If cultural relativism were true, we need to find out which one and only social group applies to us
Is cultural relativism relativist or objectivist ?
Relativist, because what is morally right is defined by the perspective of individuals, rather than being objective and universal.
Describe the theory of cultural relativism
The theory to which we should always do what the majority within any cultural group accepts as morally right
Strengths of cultural relativism
- less chaotic
- tolerance of other cultural groups
- gives freedom to cultural groups
Weaknesses of cultural relativism
- they are intolerant towards minority
- tolerance (shouldn’t judge other peoples beliefs)
4 objections of cultural relativism
- Making anything right objection
If cultural relativism were true, it would mean that any behaviour is right as long as the majority think its right - Reformer’s objection
If cultural relativism were true, it would mean that moral reformers would be evil
Ex: Martin Luther kind and Jesus were evil because they fought against the norms - Moral progress objection
If cultural relativism were true, it would mean that moral progress is meaningless (the fact that we are getting better)
Ex: if moral progress is true, it means Nazi didn’t progress, they just changed - Social group objection
The need to find which social group we associate with (one and only). Relativism says that your morality is determined by the social group you belong to. But, a person can belong in more than 1 distinct group with different beliefs and values. Relativism has trouble with determining a persons morality when they associate with more than 1 social group
2 problematic arguments of cultural relativism and explain why those two are problematic
Thesis 1: cultural relativism is great
Premise 1: its aligned with the fact that different social groups seem to have different moral codes
Premise 2: its morally right that each social group should determine their moral code
Thesis 2: cultural relativism is great
Premise 1: Cultural relativism rules out the possibility of our judging a particular society’s moral standard as better or worse than any other
Premise 2: tolerance is good
Problematic Argument 1:
Explanation:
This becomes problematic because it fails to address universal human rights violations, such as genocide or slavery, which are condemned across cultures. upon closer examination, these differences often derive from differences in the way ppl view the world rather than from their actual acceptance of moral principles. Additionally, cultural relativism can be used to justify harmful practices like female genital mutilation or child marriage, disrespecting human rights.
Problematic Argument 2:
Explanation:
It’s problematic because we may fail to challenge harmful traditions or injustices within societies. For example, tolerating cultural practices that oppress women or discriminate against minority groups goes against principles of equality and justice.
Relativism is no special friend of tolerance. Explain what this means
It means that relativism is just as capable of supporting intolerance equally as supporting tolerance, because the majority of people can destroy whoever opposes or disagrees with the majority
