Cultural Relativism

Cultural Relativism

SO, whereas ethnocentrism is where you use your own culture as a standard – Cultural Relativism is trying to appreciate other groups ways of life without judging them superior or inferior to our own. 1) It helps avoid ‘Cultural Smugness’ 2) Cultural Relativism is a value free approach to understanding other cultures So you see it would be ethnocentric for a U.S. Anthropologist or Sociologist to judge that a bushman from Australia was backward and ignorant because they could not read, just as it would be ethnocentric if a bushman from Australia were to consider a U.S. Sociologist to be backward and ignorant because he or she could not throw a boomerang correctly. We must analyze values and norms and all of ‘Culture’ within the context of the culture being studied.

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However, Robert Edgerton argues that cultures should be evaluated on a scale based on their ‘quality of Life’. Edgerton is not a true Cultural Relativist, he says that a culture that exploits people should not be morally equivalent to those who do not. (read the WIKI article below on FGM as one example of possible cultural exploitation – also read the Hosper’s article for the differences between sociological and ethical relativism.) WIKI Article link (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Female_genital_mutilation )

Edgerton argues that all societies are sick, but some are sicker than others. And even though all societies have some customs and social institutions that compromise human well being, he notes there are traditional beliefs and practices that threaten human health and happiness more in some societies than in others. – He notes: “Populations the world over have not been well served by some of their beliefs such as, for example, those concerning witchcraft, the need for revenge, or male supremacy, and many of their traditional practices involving nutrition, health care, and the treatment of children have been harmful as well. Slavery, infanticide, feuding, suicide, and environmental pollution have sometimes been needlessly harmful to some or all members of a society and in some circumstances they can threaten social survival” (Sick Societies, p1) These question below you have to answer. 1) Do you agree with Edgerton when he suggests that some beliefs and behaviors serve “human needs” and social requisites better than others? 2) Do you believe one can evaluate on a “quality of life” scale comparing and contrasting these issues among cultures? Or would this be ethnocentric? On this discussion board, explore, in detail, these questions, including the material found in the Hosper’s article which i have attached – you may have to print it out – it is a PDF and it is sideways.