Cultural Relativism & Ethnocentrism

In Bolivia, 14-year-old girls can legally get

married. In China, men have to wait until
they're 22.
In America, eye contact suggests that you are
paying attention and interested in what a
person has to say. Yet, in other cultures, eye
contact can be considered rude and a challenge
of authority.
What is cultural relativism?
is the view that all beliefs, customs, and ethics are
relative to the individual within his own social context.

“Different cultures have different moral

codes” often is used as a key to
understanding morality. Proponents
argue that there is not as universal truth
in ethics; there are only the various
cultural codes and nothing more. The
customs of different societies is all that
exist
 What about
ethnocentrism?
Ethnocentrism is the view that
one particular ethnic group is
somehow superior to all
others.

A common idiom is “tunnel vision.” In this context, ethnocentrism

is the view that a particular ethnic group’s system of beliefs and
values is morally superior to all others
Discrimination plays a direct role in
the ethnocentric belief.
 Xenocentrism
It is the rejection by
people of their group or
some part of its culture
 During the exploration
period the discrimination
against blacks by whites
was a major controversial
issue.
In England many
believed that the darker
a person is the "dirtier
and impure" they are.

Some people believed

that some races were not
even races. Instead they
were considered animals
and not humans.
 Human Rights & Cultural Relativism

Female Genital
Mutilation poses a
significant health risk to
women. It can lead to
infection, death,
permanent psychological
damage, among other
complications. Women
subject to this practice
are being oppressed by
men seeking to reinforce
their dominance over
females
 Consequences of Accepting Cultural
Relativism
1. We could no longer say that custom of other
societies are morally inferior to others.
2. We could decide whether actions are right or
wrong just by consulting the standards of our
society.
3. The idea of moral progress is called into
doubt