CULTURE

AND
CULTURAL
RELATIVISM
CULTURE
AND
CULTURAL
RELATIVISM
CULTURE Culture can be
defined as the values,
beliefs, behavior and
material objects that
together form a
people’s way of life
(Macionis, 2007).
CHARACTERISTICS OF CULTURE
1. Culture is learned
2. Culture is collective or shared
3. Culture is transmitted orally
and in writing
4. Culture is holistic and integrated
5. Culture interacts and undergoes
transformation
The Influence
of Culture in
Moral
Development
The Influence of Culture in Moral Development

1. Culture defines the normative principles

and behaviors of the society.
The Influence of Culture in Moral Development

2. A culture is best exemplified in the

experience of the people, develops restrictions
and sets boundaries and limitations as they live
and relate with one another.
The Influence of Culture in Moral Development

3. Culture helps in generating the character

and identity.

4. Culture identifies the authorities or the

governing individuals or groups.
CULTURAL
RELATIVISM
Ethical Relativism holds that
moral principles are valid
relative to a particular society
or individual.
According to the relativist perspective, the
rightness or wrongness of an act depends on
the moral norms of society or the moral
inclinations of the individual, and no absolute
standard exists by which differing rules or
inclinations of the individual can be judged.
Individual Ethical Relativism holds
the basis of what morally right or wrong
ultimately lies on the person’s own
standard, and there is no objective
standard outside the individual’s
perspective by which his/her moral
belief or standard can be judged.
Cultural relativism or Cultural
Ethical Relativism is the ability
to understand a culture on its
own terms and not to make
judgements using the standards
of one’s own culture.
According to the Cultural
relativism or Cultural Ethical
Relativism, the rightness or
wrongness of an action
depends on society’s norms.
The
Attractions
of Ethical
Relativism
Diversity Argument is premised on
the factual or empirical claim that
moral beliefs and moral rules vary
from culture to culture.
Dependency Argument lies on the
view that moral beliefs are true or
valid only relative to certain groups.
Toleration argument justifies that
the view acknowledging the differences
among various societies in terms of
their mora beliefs and practices leads to
respect, social harmony, and peaceful
co-existence among the different
cultural, religious, and social groups.
The
challenges
of Ethical
Relativism
1. A point raised against ethical relativism has to
do with the negative implications of accepting
such theory.
a. It is senseless to criticize a particular cultural
or social group’s belief or practice however
abhorrent or inhumane it is.
b. Another implication regarding social norms as
the basis of the rightness or wrongness of our
actions is that we simply have to conform to the
norms of our own society to know what action
ought to be done.
c. Moral progress will also be compromised if we
follow the thesis of ethical relativism.
“if the rightness and wrongness of actions is
judged solely on the basis of culture’s norms,
how then can members of that society criticize
these norms on moral grounds? How can they
argue that the existing norms should be
changed?
d. Despite the fact that moral beliefs and
practices vary among cultures, customs,
traditions, religions, and ideologies, they still
have something in common emanating from
their shared humanity.
“Respect for life, pursuit for truth and justice,
desire for peace”
In conclusion, we cannot just impose our own
belief to others as they may be product of our
own cultural conditioning and so are biased to
certain perspectives or outlooks. Instead of
judging others’ belief, we must explore the
reasons underlying them while examining as
well the reasons for our own beliefs and
practices.