LESSON 6

CULTURE RELATIVISM VS. ETHNOCENTRISM

IN THIS LESSON….

 Give the meaning of culture relativism and

ethnocentrism
 Differentiate culture relativism from ethnocentrism
 Reason out how cultural relativism mitigates
ethnocentrism
CULTURE RELATIVISM

 This concept was first formulated by William Graham Summer in his book
Folkways. He said that there are no universal moral standards of right and wrong
and good and bad for evaluating cultural phenomena. This means that what is
right in one place may be wrong in another, or vice versa.
 Standards are relative to the culture in which they appear. Customs, therefore, can
be judged by how well or how poorly they fit in with the standards of a certain
society.
 For example, having several wives (polygamy) functions in a society where
women are needed to work in the fields
(Point for discussion: Polyandry in Tibet)
ETHNOCENTRISM
 Ethnocentrism is judging another culture solely by the values and standards of one’s
own culture.
 Ethnocentric individuals judge other groups relative to their own ethnic group or
culture, especially with concern for language, behavior, customs, and these ethnic
distinctions and subdivisions serve to define each ethnicity’s unique cultural identity.
 It may be overt or subtle, and while it is considered a natural proclivity of human
psychology, it has developed a generally negative connotation.
 It is also a major reason for divisions amongst members of different ethnicities,
races, and religious groups in society. Ethnocentrism is the belief of superiority in
one’s personal ethnic group, but it can also develop from racial or religious
differences.
(Point for discussion: Regionalism and Manila’s “Imperialism”)
CONT…

 Ethnocentric individuals believe that they are better than other

individuals for reasons based solely on their heritage. Clearly, this
practice is related to problems of both racism and prejudice.
 While many people may recognize the problems, they may not
realize that ethnocentrism occurs everywhere and everyday at both
the local and political levels.
Cultural Relativism Mitigates
Ethnocentrism
 Sociologists use generalizations to explain tendencies, shed light on
values and compare cultures.
 Cultural relativism based on moral relativism (which says there is no
right and wrong) argues that all cultures are valuable and none is
better than the other.
 An example of cultural relativism is a certain practice in a given
society that is viewed as taboo in another (e.g. the view of sexuality
and related norms and folkways across different societies).
Sharpen your mind

1. Are you proud of your culture? Justify your answer.

2. Why do some people consider their culture superior to
others or the best of all? Give your reason.
3. In a certain place in the Philippines, majority of the
legally- married men and women living there have
number 2 or even number 3 and is considered a normal
way of life in that area. Live-in arrangements are also
normally rampant. Evaluate their society and culture.