Tag Archive | "cultural relativism"

What is Cultural Relativism?

Friday, November 7, 2008

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What is Cultural Relativism?

Cultural relativism is the view that all beliefs, customs, and ethics are relative to the individual within his own social context. In other words, "right" and "wrong" are culture-specific; what is considered moral in one society may be considered immoral in another, and, since no universal standard of morality exists, no one has the right to judge another society's customs. Cultural relativism is widely accepted in modern anthropology. Cultural relativists believe that all cultures are worthy in their own right and are of equal value. Diversity of cultures, even those with conflicting moral beliefs, is not to be considered in terms of right and wrong or good and bad. Today's anthropologist considers all cultures to be equally legitimate expressions of human existence, to be studied from a purely neutral perspective.

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