The Challenge of Cultural Relativism James Rachels 1986 Ethics & Contemporary Issues Professor Douglas Olena
Different Moral Codes *How Different Cultures Have Different Moral Codes Darius, King of Persia Query: would you eat your dead or burn them? (Greeks and Callatians) Eskimo marriage and infanticide. *All quotes from Philosophical Problems, Laurence Bonjour and Ann Baker
Cultural Relativism 547 The argument of cultural relativism arises from the reports of the great pioneering sociologist William Graham Sumner, writing in 1906 The search for verification of moral values ends with the folkways. There is no universal moral code.
1. 547 Different societies have different moral codes. 2. There is no objective standard that can be used to judge one societal code better than another. 3. The moral code of our own society has no special status. 4. There is no universal truth in ethics that is, there are no moral truths that hold for all peoples at all times.
1. 2. 3. 4. 5. The moral code of a society determines what is right within that society; that is, if the moral code of a society says that a certain action is right, then that action is right, at least within that society. 6. It is mere arrogance for us to try to judge the conduct of other peoples. We should adopt an attitude of tolerance toward the practices of other cultures.
What is Correct and What is not Correct? 548 What is correct in cultural relativism and what is incorrect? The following will attempt to expose this.
Cultural Differences 548 The claim: Different cultures have different moral codes. Therefore there is no objective moral truth. Just a matter of opinion and opinion differs between cultures. Greeks and Callatians about death ceremonies. Eskimo and North American about infanticide.
Cultural Differences 549 The fundamental mistake in the Cultural Differences Argument is that it attempts to derive a substantive conclusion about a subject (morality) from the mere fact that people disagree about it. People disagree about scientific facts, yet trust that a resolution will come about with further research.
Consequences of Taking it Seriously. 549 We could no longer say that the customs of other societies are morally inferior to our own. Slavery, anti-semitism, women s rights, etc.
Consequences of Taking it Seriously. 549 We could decide whether actions are right or wrong just by consulting the standards of our society. apartheid in South Africa.
Consequences of Taking it Seriously. 550 The idea of moral progress is called into doubt. The idea of social reform will be limited to what the culture considers appropriate. (none of the following:) Slavery, civil rights, women s rights, animal rights.
There is Less Disagreement than it seems Many factors work together to produce customs. Greeks and Callatians: both customs are meant to honor the dead. Eskimos and N. Americans: infanticide is a way of balancing a very fragile economy and ecology.
Common Values Between Cultures Nurture of young which preserves the culture and people. Presumption of truth telling. Prohibition of murder.
What Can Be Learned? 552 Cultural relativism warns us, quite rightly, about the danger of assuming that all our preferences are based on some absolute rational standard. They are not.
What Can Be Learned? 553 The second lesson has to do with keeping an open mind. For if anyone, no matter who, were given the opportunity of choosing from amongst all the nations of the world the set of beliefs which he thought best, he would inevitably, after careful consideration choose his own country.
What Can Be Learned? 553 The second lesson has to do with keeping an open mind. Realizing this can result in our having more open minds. We can come to understand that our feelings are not necessarily perceptions of the truth they may be nothing more than the result of cultural conditioning.