Ethnocentrism And Cultural Relativity Essay

A society that embraces the notion that there is no ultimate “right” or “wrong” loses the ability to make any judgments at all.The way in which relativism, including cultural relativism, has permeated modern society is demonstrated in the bizarre ways in which we try to deal with this contradiction.

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There is no longer any perspective, and it becomes literally impossible to argue that anything a culture does is right or wrong.

Holding to strict cultural relativism, it is not possible to say that human sacrifice is “wrong,” or that respect for the elderly is “right.” After all, those are products of the culture.

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Taking one step too far, as cultural relativism does, is simply a disaster.

Obviously, perspective is important to our understanding of history, psychology, and politics.How do you know which cloud is higher unless you know which way “up” is?To firmly state that anything at all is always wrong is to reject relativism itself.Cultural perspective can help us understand why certain actions are considered right or wrong by a particular culture.For example, an ancient society might have considered dyeing one’s hair green to be a punishable offense.The statement “there are no absolute truths” is accurate, according to relativism -- but it is an absolute truth itself.These contradict the very concept of relativism, meaning that absolute relativism is self-contradictory and impossible..pass_color_to_child_links a.u-inline.u-margin-left--xs.u-margin-right--sm.u-padding-left--xs.u-padding-right--xs.u-absolute.u-absolute--center.u-width--100.u-flex-align-self--center.u-flex-justify--between.u-serif-font-main--regular.js-wf-loaded .u-serif-font-main--regular.amp-page .u-serif-font-main--regular.u-border-radius--ellipse.u-hover-bg--black-transparent.web_page .u-hover-bg--black-transparent:hover. Content Header .feed_item_answer_user.js-wf-loaded . Relativism in general breaks down when examined from a purely logical perspective.The basic premise is that “truth is relative.” If every truth statement is valid, then the statement “some truths are absolute” must be valid.