UNDERSTANDING THE DIVERSITY OF MORAL

BELIEFS:CULTURAL RELATIVISM

Exercise-- Culture Clash

What are some examples Rachels gives of

culture clash? Explain what makes them

unique, odd or different.

With your group, brainstorm at least two

other examples of differing moral codes,

customs, or behaviors. Explain what

makes them unique, odd or different.

Cultural Relativism

“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.

Proponents would argue that customs can not be judged as correct or incorrect.

Our own code of ethics has no special status; it is merely one among many

Tightening the Definition– The focus here is on whether or not one culture can judge another; the focus is not on whether or not one individual can judge another.

Cultural RelativismChallenges our ordinary belief in the

objectivity and universality of moral truths--

It says in effect that there is no such thing

as a universal truth or ethical standard

that can be applied.

Refutes ethnocentrism-- Your own code

of ethics offers nothing special and is no

better than that of another culture.

Sounds appealing…

Response…Discuss this video with your group and record

some of the points that come up.

Consider:

1) Should this practice be illegal? Can it be

deemed morally wrong?

2) Can you compare this practice with

cosmetic surgery?

3) What points made by members of the panel

stood out to you the most and why? What is

your reaction?

REVIEW

What is cultural relativism?

How does it challenge traditional

beliefs?

Some Conflicting Approaches Moral Realism (aka Moral Objectivism): There are

objective moral facts. Therefore, ethics is

somewhat like science: Its task is to discover (not

decide) what these moral facts are.

Ethical Absolutists: There is a single standardethical standard; that standard is usually their own.

Ethical (cultural or moral) Relativists: Each culture as an island unto itself, right in its own world, and they deny any overarching standard with which conflicting cultures (not individuals) can be judged.

Ethical Pluralists: Cultures can legitimately pass judgments on one another, but encourages us to listen to what other cultures say about us as well as what we say about them.

What happens when something that is

legally and morally permissible in one

culture is illegal and immoral in another?

Female circumcision or genital

mutilation

Marriage of underage girls

Infanticide

Polygamy

Slavery

Conflicting Approaches

Moral Realist– Try to examine the situation and context to discover the moral “facts.”

Ethical relativist—Each culture is right unto itself, so such practices would be morally permissible in some countries and morally wrong in the US.

Ethical absolutists—There is a single moral truth in terms of which all cultures and individuals are to be judged.

Pluralists—Try to find some middle ground (in some situations this practice may make sense, less judgmental)

Different moral codes

Reminder-- Different cultures have

different moral codes. What is right within

one group maybe abhorrent to another.

Treatment of the dead

Polygamy

Sharing of wives among Eskimos

Infanticide

What is our reaction to

“strange or different”

customs? Label them as backward, uneducated, or

primitive.

Label them heathens…

Discriminate or harass them.

Convert them to “our” custom or thought.

correlates with imperialist approaches…

William Graham Sumner

First professorship in sociology at Yale College

Credited with coining the term “ethnocentrism”

Anti-Imperialist

“’The right way’ is the way which the ancestors used

and which has been handed down. The tradition is its

own warrant. It is not held subject to verification by

experience. The notion of right is in the folkways.”

This line of thought has probably persuaded more people

to be skeptical about ethics than any other single

statement.

“If we assume that our ethical ideas will

be shared by all people at all times,

we are merely naïve.”

Consider ethical ideas in our society

may have changed over the years…

Divorce, Living together, Sex outside of marriage

Interracial marriage, Same sex marriages, Sex

education

Gambling, casinos, internet poker

Internet dating

Women in the workforce, women in the army,

women working in “masculine” jobs

Spanking/punishment of children

Acceptance of cremation for the dead

Animal welfare, Recognizing that animals have

certain rights

Natural resource protection

Taming “mother nature” vs. “living with nature”

Claims of Cultural Relativists

1. Different societies have different moral codes.

2. The moral code of a society determines what is right within that society.

3. There is no objective standard that can be used to judge one societies code as better than another.

4. The moral code of our society offers nothing special.

5. There is no universal truth in ethics…

6. It is arrogant to judge the conduct of other societies; we should adopt an attitude of tolerance.

The Cultural Differences

Argument

A theory about the

nature of morality

At the heart of the

Cultural Relativism

is the form of their

argument.

The Cultural Differences

ArgumentPremises:

1. Different cultures have different moral codes.

2. Therefore, there are no objective truth in morality.

Right and wrong are only matters of opinion, and

opinions vary from culture to culture.

This is cultural differences argument--They argue

from facts about differences between cultural outlooks to

making conclusions about the status of morality

How is this a logical fallacy? In other words, how is it

logically unsound?

The Unsoundness of the Cultural

Differences Argument

The trouble is that the conclusion does not

follow from the premise—that is even if the

premise is true, the conclusion might be false.

– logical fallacy is called non sequitur

WHY? The premise concerns what people

believe; some believe one way and others

believe another, but the conclusion concerns

what really is the case.

• Just because two cultures believe differently

does inherently mean that one belief cannot

be better or right.

Example

The Greeks believed it was wrong to eat the

dead.

The Callatians believed it was right.

Does it follow, from the mere fact that

they disagreed, that there is no

objective truth in the matter?

No, it does not follow—it could be objectively

right or wrong that one or the other was

simply mistaken.

The Fatal Flaw of the Cultural

Difference ArgumentIt attempts to derive a substantive

conclusion about a subject from the mere

fact that people disagree about it.

Caution: This is a simple point of logic. This

does not necessarily mean that the

conclusion is false, the logic is that the

conclusion does not follow from the premise.

The Consequences of

Accepting Cultural Relativism 1) We could no longer say that custom of other

societies are morally inferior to others. (This is one of the main points of Cultural Relativism.)

+ We would have to stop condemning othersocieties merely because they are

different.

- Tolerance towards slavery, anti Semitism, hatred towards ethnic groups, or minorities, child porn, sex slave trade

• If we took the cultural relativism seriously, we would have to regard these behaviors as immune from criticism as long as they are considered morally acceptable within the practicing culture.

If we accept Cultural

Relativism2) We could decide whether actions are right or

wrong just by consulting the standards of our

society.

In Colonial America slavery was OK, women

were not allowed to vote or own property,

primogeniture was practiced, etc.; therefore,

these things were right.

(+) deciding what is right or wrong in a situation

is easier

(-) This position requires that we accept that

If we accept Cultural

Relativism3) The idea of moral progress is called into doubt.

Progress implies doing things better, but cultural

relativism rejects making judgments about past

eras.

Reform movements such as rights for women

and minorities that implies modern society is

better is a judgment that is impossible to make.

Problems with Cultural

Relativism1. No blame of other cultures for “wrong” or “evil”

deeds. Are cultures morally infallible?

2. No criticism of our own culture

3. No idea of moral progress

4. In a relativist society the view of the majority rules. Is this fair?

5. Is tolerance a universal value, in which case relativism is paradoxical?

7. Don’t we all instinctively believe that some things are universally right and wrong?

The Result?

Many reject the cultural relativism arguments--

1. It makes sense to condemn some practices wherever they occur.

2. It makes sense to acknowledge that our society while imperfect has made moral progress.

3. Because Cultural Relativism implies these judgments make no sense, the argument goes, it cannot be right.

There is Less Disagreement Than it

Seems (Across Cultures)

There are differences across societies, but

the differences are often over-stated. In fact,

there are some values that can be seen as

relatively universal because they are

necessary for societies to function.

Need to explore not particular practices or

values, but the belief systems or

circumstances that lie behind the

practices.

The differences are often in the belief

system.

Source of Customs

Beliefs—religious beliefs

Physical circumstances of the society

Even if customs differ, there may be less disagreement on basic values

Example: Eskimos infanticide

“drastic measures are sometimes needed to ensure the family’s survival…The Eskimos values are not all that different than our own. It is only that life forces upon them choices that we do not have to make.”

Universal(ish) Values in

Societies1. Value of protecting the young

2. Truth telling

3. Prohibition of murder

What would the consequence be of not having these values?

“There are some moral rules that all societies must have in common, because those rules are necessary for society to exist.”

Other universal values or moral

rules

Prohibition against incest

Personal responsibility

The proper role of government is to take

care of its citizens

Everyone should serve their country

Everyone should obey the law

To judge or not to judge…

In 1996 a 17 year old girl from Togo a West African country arrived in the US and asked for asylum to avoid “ excision”, a practice referred to as “female circumcision” or “female genital mutilation”. According to the WHO, the practice is widespread in 26 African countries and 2 million girls are excised each year.

Reaction in the New York Times, encouraged the idea that excision was a barbaric practice and should be condemned.

Cultural Point: Young girls often look forward to

this because it a acceptance into adulthood; it

is an accepted practice in many villages.

Consequences of excision: painful, results in

permanent loss of sexual pleasure,

hemorrhage, tetanus, septicemia, death,

chronic infections, hinder walking, chronic

pain

Note: There are no apparent no social benefits,

nor is there a religious factor.

Rationale for the Practice

1) Women are incapable of sexual pleasure and less likely to be promiscuous.

2) Fewer unwanted pregnancies in unmarried women

3) Women will be more faithful to their husbands and focused on their children.

4) Un-excised women are viewed as unclean and immature.

5)Arguments for this practice is that it benefits men, women, families and children.

What problem do you see here with the rationale?

Is excision harmful or helpful?

Cultural Relativists would conclude that

excision has been practiced for centuries and

we should not intervene and change ancient

ways.

We may ask whether a practice promotes

or hinders the welfare of the people who

lives are affected by it. And as a corollary,

is there an alternative set of social

arrangements that would do a better job of

promoting their welfare. If so, we may

conclude that the existing practice is

Reluctance to Criticize

1) Many thoughtful people have been reluctant to

criticize what many view as a barbaric practice

because:

Interfering with the social customs of other

people. (Europeans and Americans have been

criticized for destroying other cultures, Native

Americans)

2) Acceptance of strange practices (tolerance)

toward others.

3) Reluctance to criticize other societies-- do not

want to express contempt

Lessons From Cultural

Relativism

While it rests on invalid argument, it is

still an appealing theory…

Two important lessons

Lesson 1

It warns us about the dangers of assuming

that our preferences are based upon some

absolute rational standard. They are not.

Many of our practices are merely particular to

our society and it is easy to forget this.

There are many matters that we tend to think

of in terms of objective right or wrong, that are

really nothing more than social conventions.

Examples of social conventions we tend think of as

“right” or “wrong” that are really nothing more than

social conventions:

Women covering their breasts

Separate restrooms for men and women

Men opening the door for women

No shoes, no shirt, no service

Fathers giving their daughters away in wedding ceremony

Wearing a wedding band on the fourth finger of the left hand

Swearing, drinking, gambling, etc.

Lesson 2

Keep an open mind—

Maybe our feelings about practices, values

and beliefs are merely social conventions.

Example: gender bias

Maybe our feelings are not necessarily

perceptions of the truth…they may be

nothing more than cultural conditioning.

Claims of Cultural Relativists1. Different societies have different moral codes.

2. The moral code of a society determines what is right within that society.

3. There is no objective standard that can be used to judge one societies code as better than another.

4. The moral code of our society offers nothing special.

5. There is no universal truth in ethics…

6. It is arrogant to judge the conduct of other societies; we should adopt an attitude of tolerance.

Do any of these stand out to you as particularly