Cultural Relativism

The Cross-Cultural Relationship is the idea that people from different cultures can have relationships
that acknowledge, respect and begin to understand each others diverse lives. People with different
backgrounds can help each other see possibilities that they never thought were there because of
limitations, or cultural proscriptions, posed by their own traditions. Traditional practices in certain
cultures can restrict opportunity because they are “wrong” according to one specific culture. Becoming
aware of these new possibilities will ultimately change the people that are exposed to the new ideas.
This cross-cultural relationship provides hope that new opportunities will be discovered but at the same
time it is threatening. The threat is that once the relationship occurs, one can no longer claim that any
single culture is the absolute truth.

Cultural relativism is the ability to understand a culture on its own terms and not to make judgments
using the standards of one’s own culture. The goal of this is promote understanding of cultural practices
that are not typically part of one’s own culture. Using the perspective of cultural relativism leads to the
view that no one culture is superior than another culture when compared to systems of morality, law,
politics, etc. [11] It is a concept that cultural norms and values derive their meaning within a specific
social context. This is also based on the idea that there is no absolute standard of good or evil, therefore
every decision and judgment of what is right and wrong is individually decided in each society. The
concept of cultural relativism also means that any opinion on ethics is subject to the perspective of each
person within their particular culture. Overall, there is no right or wrong ethical system. In a holistic
understanding of the term cultural relativism, it tries to promote the understanding of cultural practices
that are unfamiliar to other cultures such as eating insects, genocides or genital cutting.

There are two different categories of cultural relativism: Absolute: Everything that happens within a
culture must and should not be questioned by outsiders. The extreme example of absolute cultural
relativism would be the Nazi party’s point of view justifying the Holocaust.

Critical: Creates questions about cultural practices in terms of who is accepting them and why. Critical
cultural relativism also recognizes power relationships.

Absolute cultural relativism is displayed in many cultures, especially Africa, that practice female genital
cutting. This procedure refers to the partial or total removal of the external female genitalia or any other
trauma to the female reproductive/genital organs. By allowing this procedure to happen, females are
considered women and then are able to be married. FGC is practiced mainly because of culture, religion
and tradition. Outside cultures such as the United States look down upon FGC, but are unable to stop
this practice from happening because it is protected by its culture.

A Chinese woman with her feet unbound

Cultural relativism can be seen with the Chinese culture and their process of feet binding. Foot binding
was to stop the growth of the foot and make them smaller. The process often began between four and
seven years old. A ten foot bandage would be wrapped around the foot forcing the toes to go under the
foot. It caused the big toe to be closer to the heel causing the foot to bow.[4]In China, small feet were
seen as beautiful and a symbol of status. The women wanted their feet to be “three-inch golden
lotuses”三寸金蓮[3] It was also the only way to marry into money. Because men only wanted women
with small feet, even after this practice was banned in 1912, women still continued to do it. To Western
cultures the idea of feet binding might seems torturous, but for the Chinese culture it was a symbol of
beauty that has been ingrained the culture for hundreds of years. The idea of beauty differs from culture
to culture.

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Cultural Relativism: Truth Is Relative

Cultural relativism is the view that no culture is superior to any other culture when comparing systems
of morality, law, politics, etc. It's the philosophical notion that all cultural beliefs are equally valid and
that truth itself is relative, depending on the cultural environment. Those who hold to cultural relativism
hold that all religious, ethical, aesthetic, and political beliefs are completely relative to the individual
within a cultural identity. Relativism often includes moral relativism (ethics depend on a social construct),
situational relativism (right or wrong is based on the particular situation), and cognitive relativism (truth
itself has no objective standard).

Cultural Relativism: A Misguided Movement Towards Pluralism & Tolerance

Cultural relativism, like moral relativism, pervades today's world. As long as we don't "hurt" anyone,
anything goes. Absolute truth has been discarded along with God. We live in a society of pluralism and
tolerance. We reject the idea of universal right and wrong. With a diminishing list of objective standards,
our legislative system is having a harder time defining the laws, and our court system is having a harder
time interpreting them. In just a few decades, our entertainment industry has pushed the "acceptance"
of lewdness and indecency to levels we never imagined. Our children are losing their moral compass and
lashing out in violence like never before. Our schools teach that we are an accident of evolution. Our
institutions teach that we must accept all types of lifestyles or be deemed "intolerant," or worse, "hate
mongers." Relativism encourages us to accept pornography in the media and fornication in our colleges
and universities. Many things that were deemed a "sin" only a few years ago are now either accepted or
promoted in our culture. According to the relativists, all points of view are true except for those that
teach absolutes -- absolute truth, absolute right or wrong, or an absolute God.

Of course, cultural relativism is appropriate in some respects. For example, food, clothing, language, and
driving rules are different within cultures, and it's important that these relative differences remain.
However, these are not issues of universal "right" and "wrong." These are not matters of mathematical
certainty. These are not issues of "truth." In a relativistic society, we have no right to judge or punish
anyone. Right and wrong are now defined by socialization. Society changes and morality becomes a
moving target. In truth, if the standard of right and wrong is based on relativism, then society has no
standards at all.

Cultural Relativism: Illogical Conclusion

Cultural relativism is the philosophical belief that all cultural views are equally valid. However, if you test
this position under general rules of logic, you soon discover that relativism is illogical and self-defeating.
If relativism is true and all points of view are true, then the assertion that relativism is false, is true. Is
this contradictory? Yes. Is truth contradictory? No.
Relativists believe that all truth is relative. Therefore, the statement, "All truth is relative," would be
absolutely true. If this statement is absolutely true, then not all things are relative and the statement is
false.

Relativists declare that "there are no absolute truths." However, this is an absolute statement, which is
supposed to be true. Therefore, it is an absolute truth and the statement is false.

According to the relativist position, I can have my own version of truth. Therefore, a truth for me is that
relativism is false. Based on the relativistic rules, I have just established that relativism is false. Of course,
the relativist will say "no" to my logic, but then what is true for me is not really true, and, again, I have
proven the philosophy of relativism false.

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