Cultural relativism Denise Lewis ANT 101: Introduction to Cultural Anthropology (GSF1517D) Instructor: Fae Goodman Date Submitted The comprehension of a different culture practices tends to be difficult when only used in comparison to one’s own culture and practices. It may seem not normal for one’s own standards yet to those of the opposite cultures our own practices may not be considered as normal or logical to them as well. In order to be able to understand any culture, one must really know the meaning of cultural relativism. “Cultural relativism is the idea that the significance of an act is best understood by the standards of the actor’s own culture” (Crapo, 2013). Using this definition will lay the foundation of this paper.
Cultural Relativism is a theory stating the idea that cultural norms and ideas differ from culture to culture. In addition, Cultural Relativism says that there are no universal standards and truth in ethics. It is relative to the culture to determine whether a moral standard is right or wrong. There is no objective standards judging other cultures code as inferior or superior to another. Thus, since cultural relativism states that we can’t judge other cultures moral codes, then we must be tolerant of them.
According to Yadin Dudai the culture has three main sides. The first one is culture as an action and vehicle for the transfer of information by its natural way of acting. A common action of culture is collective memory. “Culture also contains material artefacts as well as contemporary institutions, regulations, and beliefs that do not necessarily make it into the collective memory of the group.”1 Culture influences experiences by offering perceptions that affect it, as Frigga Haug states, by opposing conventional theory on femininity to lived memory. Neil Gregor has argued experience affects culture, since individual experience becomes communicable and therefore collective.
It is our reality. Stepping out of one’s own culture and into someone else’s in an effort to gain a better understanding is known as cultural relativism (Crapo, 2013). This process is invaluable because it helps us to combat our own innate or built in ethnocentric bias. When looking at any belief, culture, ritual or ceremony it is important to remember what noted anthropologist Horace Miner said “Most cultures exhibit a particular configuration or style” (Miner, 1956). If we learn to look at another’s culture as their own particular style, it is easier to be objective, and less judgmental.
I will also critically discuss the importance of social class in contemporary Britain. Identity is the way we look at ourselves and the way other people in the society look at us. This differentiates between each individual as identity takes in count gender, race, religion skin colour and family background. There is a lot of evidence that suggest ethnic identity is also very important as part of an individual’s identity, for example, African-Caribbean people find skin colour a very important source of identity (Modood 1997), there was also a study done which involved third generation British Asians the findings were that British Asians ‘adopt a ‘dual identity’, in that they inherit an Asian identity and adopt a British one’ (Johal 1998). Social class is a system of stratification, which refers to people being placed in different levels in society.
Words like “distinct” help us understand what Mill is trying to get at. He is opposed to customs because he believes that if a person practices customs, they will not develop their own unique personality. He also uses words like “educate or develop” to show that he values the individuals education, development, and their distinct qualities. I agree with Mill’s position on the need for individual development and education, because it is important for us to make our own decisions to develop according to our own needs and not be dependent or reliant on other people. Mill wants us to make our own choices.
Analyse how one’s context and surrounding environment determines the cultural frontiers they face. Analyse how one’s context and surrounding environment determines the cultural frontiers they face. The hybrid nature of culture and identity is unavoidable in the face of global interaction of individuals and surrounding environments. In order to achieve acceptance and change one is forced to distort their own self-perception to mimicry the surrounding environment and culture. Depicted in The Reluctant Fundamentalist is the affect of both a colonialist ideology and neo colonist environment on an individuals self perception and identity.
In this significant topic, John Tomlinson deals with several issues that range from the ideological impacts of imported cultural stuff, to the cultural homogenization process, and also to the cultural autonomy nature. Tomlinson studied quite a number of related cultural discourses. They include media imperialism, the discourse of national identity; the critique of capitalism and the critique of cultural modernity. His findings, as well as analysis, expose key issues, which illustrates the way the establishment of the idea of cultural is different from political and economy imperialism (Tomlinson, 2004). John Tomlinson argues that the concept of cultural imperialism is a result of cultural loss.
Ethnocentrism is judging another culture solely by the values and standards of one's own culture. [1][page needed] Ethnocentric individuals judge other groups relative to their own ethnic group or culture, especially with concern for language, behavior, customs, and religion. These ethnic distinctions and subdivisions serve to define each ethnicity's unique cultural identity. [2] Ethnocentrism may be overt or subtle, and while it is considered a natural proclivity of human psychology, it has developed a generally negative connotation. [3] Origins of the concept and its studyEdit The term ethnocentrism was created by William G. Sumner, upon observing the tendency for people to differentiate between the in-group and others.
With flexible laws, women could make their own choice to have their babies. Flexible laws in abortion is still debatable due to various reasons such as religion, and tradition, but I adamantly believe that this is a beneficial case with flexible laws. Moreover, flexible laws help some emergent situations. In many countries, peope who drive their cars over speed-limit got punished. However, in some situation cases, for example, it is not punished if it brings a person who is very sick to hospital.