what is the importance of cultural relativism essay

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Understanding Cultural Relativism and Its Importance

Kendra Cherry, MS, is a psychosocial rehabilitation specialist, psychology educator, and author of the "Everything Psychology Book."

Akeem Marsh, MD, is a board-certified child, adolescent, and adult psychiatrist who has dedicated his career to working with medically underserved communities.

Bartosz Hadyniak/E+/Getty

Beliefs of Cultural Relativism

• Limitations
• In Mental Health

Cultural Relativism vs. Ethnocentrism

• How to Promote

Cultural relativism suggests that ethics, morals, values, norms, beliefs, and behaviors must be understood within the context of the culture from which they arise. It means that all cultures have their own beliefs and that there is no universal or absolute standard to judge those cultural norms. 

"Cultural relativism leads us to accept that cultures are foundationally different, with differing social and ethical norms. This includes understanding that a person’s place of birth, including where or how a patient was raised during their formative years, is the basis of a person’s approach to the world and emotional self," says Anu Raj, PsyD , a clinical psychologist at New York Institute of Technology.

Advocates of cultural relativism suggest that one culture's values, beliefs, and norms should not be judged through the lens of another culture.

It is the opposite of ethnocentrism, which involves judging or understanding cultural beliefs from the perspective of your own. Instead, cultural relativism suggests that observers and researchers should focus on describing those practices without attempting to impose their own biases and judgments upon them.

History of Cultural Relativism

The concept of cultural relativism was introduced by anthropologist Franz Boas in 1887. While he did not coin the term, it later became widely used by his students to describe his anthropological perspective and theories.

Cultural relativism suggests that:

• Different societies have their own moral codes and practices.
• Norms, beliefs, and values must be judged and understood from the context of the culture where they originate.
• No culture is objectively better than others; cultures and their customs and beliefs are not objectively superior or inferior to any other culture.
• Practices and behaviors considered acceptable or unacceptable vary from one culture to the next.
• Cultural relativism aims to help promote acceptance, tolerance, and an appreciation for diverse cultural beliefs and practices.
• No universal ethical or moral truths apply to all people in all situations.
• What is considered right and wrong is determined by society’s moral codes.
• Researchers and observers should strive to observe behavior rather than pass judgments on it based on their own cultural perspective.

Different Types of Cultural Relativism

There are two distinct types of cultural relativism: absolute cultural relativism and critical cultural relativism.

Absolute Cultural Relativism

According to this perspective, outsiders should not question or judge cultural events. Essentially, this point of view proposes that outsiders should not criticize or question the cultural practices of other societies, no matter what they might involve.

Critical Cultural Relativism

Critical cultural relativism suggests that practices should be evaluated in terms of how and why they are adopted. This perspective suggests that cultural practices can be evaluated and understood by looking at factors such as the historical context and social influences.

It also recognizes that all societies experience inequalities and power dynamics that influence how and why certain beliefs are adopted and who adopts them.

Strengths of Cultural Relativism

Cultural relativism has a number of benefits that can help people gain greater insight into different cultures. This perspective can help:

• Promote cultural understanding : Because cultural relativism encourages seeing cultures with an open mind, it can foster greater empathy , understanding, and respect for cultures different from ours. 
• Protect cultural respect and autonomy : Cultural relativism recognizes that no culture is superior to any other. Rather than attempting to change other cultures, this perspective encourages people to respect the autonomy and self-determinism of other cultures, which can play an important role in preserving the heritage and traditions of other cultures.
• Foster learning : By embracing cultural relativism, people from different backgrounds are able to communicate effectively and create an open dialogue to foster greater learning for other cultures of the world.

Cultural relativism can also be important in helping mental health professionals deliver culturally competent care to clients of different backgrounds.

"What’s considered “typical and normal versus pathological” depends on cultural norms. It varies between providers and patients; it impacts diagnosis, treatment, and prognosis," Raj explains.

When mental health professionals account for the differences in values, and attitudes towards and of marginalized people (including communities of color and LGBTQ+ communities), providers develop respect for individual patients. Consequently, patients are less likely to be misdiagnosed and more likely to continue treatment.

Limitations of Cultural Relativism

While cultural relativism has strengths, that does not mean it is without limitations.

Failure to Address Human Rights

This perspective has been criticized for failing to address universal rights. Some suggest that this approach may appear to condone cultural practices that constitute human rights violations. It can be challenging to practice non-judgment of other cultures while still protecting people’s right to live free from discrimination and oppression.

Cultural relativism may sometimes hamper progress by inhibiting the examination of practices, norms, and traditions that limit a society’s growth and progress.

Reducing Cultures to Stereotypes

Cultural relativism sometimes falls victim to the tendency to stereotype and simplify cultures. Rather than fully appreciating the full complexity and diversity that may exist within a culture, people may reduce it to a homogenous stereotype. This often prevents outsiders from seeing the many variations that may exist within a society and fully appreciating the way cultures evolve over time.

Individual Rights vs. Cultural Values

This perspective may sometimes lead observers to place a higher priority on a culture’s collective values while dismissing individual variations. This might involve, for example, avoiding criticism of cultures that punish political dissidents who voice opposition to cultural norms, and practices.

Examples of Cultural Relativism

In reality, people make cultural judgments all the time. If you've ever eaten food from another culture and described it as 'gross' or learned about a specific cultural practice and called it 'weird,' you've made a judgment about that culture based on the norms of your own. Because you don't eat those foods or engage in those practices in your culture, you are making culture-biased value judgments.

Cultural differences can affect a wide range of behaviors, including healthcare decisions. For example, research has found that while people from Western cultures prefer to be fully informed in order to make autonomous healthcare conditions, individuals from other cultures prefer varying degrees of truth-telling from medical providers.

An example of using cultural relativism in these cases would be describing the food practices of a different culture and learning more about why certain foods and dishes are important in those societies. Another example would be learning more about different cultural practices and exploring how they originated and the purpose they serve rather than evaluating them from your own cultural background. 

In medical settings, healthcare practitioners must balance the interests and autonomy of their patients with respect and tolerance for multicultural values.

Cultural Relativism in Mental Health

Cultural relativism can also play an important role in the practice and application of mental health. "An individual’s perception of mental health, including stigma, is often influenced by their cultural identity and social values," explains Raj.

People who experience cultural discrimination are also more likely to experience higher stress levels, which can seriously affect mental health. Research has shown that perceived discrimination increases psychological distress and predicts symptoms of anxiety and depression. It also contributes to worse physical health, including a higher risk for heart disease, diabetes, cancer, and stroke.

Therapists must strive to understand people from different backgrounds to provide culturally competent care. "Through the lens of cultural competency, providers can educate themselves and elevate the plethora of coping mechanisms that a patient already might possess," says Raj. 

Cultural relativism and ethnocentrism are two contrasting perspectives that can be used to evaluate and understand other cultures.

Ethnocentrism involves judging other cultures based on the standards and values of one's own culture, often leading to a biased or prejudiced perspective .

Where cultural relativism suggests that all cultures are equally valid, ethnocentrism involves seeing your own culture as superior or more correct than others.

Cultural relativism emphasizes the importance of diversity and recognizes that values, beliefs, and behaviors can vary across societies. This can be contrasted with ethnocentrism, which promotes the idea that your own culture is the norm or benchmark against which others should be evaluated. This can limit understanding and decrease tolerance for people of different backgrounds. 

How Do You Promote Cultural Relativism?

There are a number of strategies that can help promote cultural relativism. This can be particularly important for mental health professionals and other healthcare practitioners. 

"Therapists must be able to view the world through the eyes of their patients. Most importantly, culturally competent therapists understand their patient’s behavior through the cultural framework in which they live," Raj says.

Promoting cultural relativism involves adopting an open-minded and respectful approach toward other cultures. Some things you can do to foster greater cultural relativism:

• Embrace cultural diversity : Strive to appreciate other cultures, including their unique values, traditions, and perspectives. Remember that diversity enriches our lives, experiences, and world knowledge.
• Learn more about other cultures : Take the time to explore cultures other than your own, including histories, traditions, and beliefs. Resources that can help include books, documentaries, and online resources.
• Practice empathy : Seek to understand others by imagining things from their perspective. Try to understand their experiences, challenges, and aspirations. Cultivate empathy and respect for the differences between people and cultures.
• Seek diversity : Make an active effort to spend more time with people from different walks of life. Talk to people from diverse backgrounds and approach these discussions with an open mind and a desire to learn. Be willing to share your own perspectives and experiences without trying to change others or impose your beliefs on them.
• Challenge biases : Try to become more aware of how your unconscious biases might shape your perceptions and interactions with others. Practicing cultural relativism is an ongoing process. It takes time, open-mindedness , and a willingness to reflect on your biases.

Promoting Cultural Relativism Among Mental Health Professionals

How can therapists apply cultural relativism to ensure they understand other cultural perspectives and avoid unintentional biases in therapy?   

A 2019 study found that the ideal training for therapists included graduate coursework in diversity, supervised clinical experiences working with diverse populations, experiential activities, didactic training, and cultural immersion when possible.

Avoiding Bias in Therapy

Raj suggests that there are important questions that professionals should ask themselves, including:

• How do I identify?
• How does my patient identify? 
• What prejudices or biases am I holding? 
•  Are there biases or stereotypes I hold based on my own upbringing and culture? 

She also suggests that therapists should always be willing to ask about client involvement in treatment planning. She recommends asking questions such as: 

• What approaches have been successful or failed in the past? 
• How does the patient perceive their ailment? 
• What were the results of the patient’s previous coping mechanisms? 
• How does the patient’s culture drive their behavior, coping skills, and outcomes?

By making clients an active part of their treatment and taking steps to understand their background better, therapists can utilize cultural relativism to deliver more sensitive, informed care.

The New Republic. Pioneers of cultural relativism )

Kanarek J. Critiquing cultural relativism . The Intellectual Standard. 2013;2(2):1.

Rosenberg AR, Starks H, Unguru Y, Feudtner C, Diekema D. Truth telling in the setting of cultural differences and incurable pediatric illness: A review . JAMA Pediatr . 2017;171(11):1113-1119. doi:10.1001/jamapediatrics.2017.2568

Williams DR, Lawrence JA, Davis BA, Vu C. Understanding how discrimination can affect health . Health Serv Res . 2019;54 Suppl 2(Suppl 2):1374-1388. doi:10.1111/1475-6773.13222

Benuto LT, Singer J, Newlands RT, Casas JB. Training culturally competent psychologists: Where are we and where do we need to go ? Training and Education in Professional Psychology . 2019;13(1):56-63. doi:10.1037/tep0000214

By Kendra Cherry, MSEd Kendra Cherry, MS, is a psychosocial rehabilitation specialist, psychology educator, and author of the "Everything Psychology Book."

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Cultural relativism article.

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Cultural Relativism: Definition & Examples

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On This Page:

Key Takeaways

• Cultural Relativism is the claim that ethical practices differ among cultures, and what is considered right in one culture may be considered wrong in another. The implication of cultural relativism is that no one society is superior to another; they are merely different.
• This claim comes with several corollaries; namely, that different societies have different moral codes, there is no objective standard to judge how good or bad these moral codes are, and that the job of those who study cultures is not to compare these customs to their own, but to describe them.
• Moral relativism claims that what is customary in a culture is absolutely right in that culture. Cultural relativism is not as strong, sometimes asserting that there is no real way to measure right or wrong.
• Cultural relativism is contrary to ethnocentrism, which encourages people to look at the world from the perspective of their own culture.
• While cultural relativism has been the subject of controversy — especially from philosophers — anthropological and sociological studies have led to a widespread consensus among social scientists that cultural relativism is true.

Cultural relativism is the principle of regarding the beliefs, values, and practices of a culture from the viewpoint of that culture itself.

It states that there are no universal beliefs, and each culture must be understood in its own terms because cultures cannot be translated into terms that are accessible everywhere.

The principle is sometimes practiced to avoid cultural bias in research and to avoid judging another culture by the standards of one’s own culture. For this reason, cultural relativism has been considered an attempt to avoid ethnocentrism.

Cultural Relativism refers to the ability to understand a culture on its own terms and consequently not make judgments based on the standards of one’s own culture.

Implications

From the cultural relativist perspective, no culture is superior to another when comparing their systems of morality, law, politics, etc.

This is because cultural norms and values, according to cultural relativism, derive their meaning within a specific social context.

Cultural relativism is also based on the idea that there is no absolute standard of good or evil. Thus, every decision and judgment of what is right or wrong is individually decided in each society.

As a result, any opinion on ethics is subject to the perspective of each person within their particular culture.

In practice, cultural relativists try to promote the understanding of cultural practices that are unfamiliar to other cultures, such as eating insects and sacrificial killing.

There are two different categories of cultural relativism: absolute and critical. Absolute cultural relativists believe that outsiders must and should not question everything that happens within a culture.

Meanwhile, critical cultural relativism questions cultural practices regarding who is accepting them and why, as well as recognizing power relationships.

Cultural relativism challenges beliefs about the objectivity and universality of moral truth.

In effect, cultural relativism says that there is no such thing as universal truth and ethics; there are only various cultural codes. Moreover, the code of one culture has no special status but is merely one among many.

Assumptions

Cultural relativism has several different elements, and there is some disagreement as to what claims are true and pertinent to cultural relativism and which are not. Some claims include that:

Different societies have different moral codes;

There is no objective standard that can be used to judge one societal code as better than another;

The moral code of one’s own society has no special status but is merely one among many;

There is no “universal truth” in ethics, meaning that there are no moral truths that hold for all people at all times;

The moral code of a society determines what is right and wrong within that society; that is, if the moral code of a society says that a certain action is right, then that action is right, at least within that society and;

It is arrogant for people to attempt to judge the conduct of other people. Instead, researchers should adopt an attitude of tolerance toward the practices of other cultures.

Illustrative Examples

Food choices.

Cultural relativism does not merely relate to morality and ethics. Cultural relativism, for example, explains why certain cultures eat different foods at different meals.

For example, traditionally, breakfast in the United States is markedly different from breakfast in Japan or Colombia. While one may consist of scrambled eggs and pancakes and the other rice and soup or white cheese on a corn arepa, cultural relativists seek to understand these differences, not in terms of any perceived superiority or inferiority but in description (Bian & Markman, 2020).

Mental Illness

One of the biggest controversies concerning classification and diagnosis is that the ICD (the manuals of mental disorders) are culturally biased because they are drawn up and used by white, middle-class men. This means they tend to use definitions of abnormality that are irrelevant to all cultures.

For example, Davison & Neale (1994) explain that in Asian cultures, a person experiencing some emotional turmoil is praised & rewarded if they show no expression of their emotions.

In certain Arabic cultures, however, the outpouring of public emotion is understood and often encouraged. Without this knowledge, an individual displaying overt emotional behavior may be regarded as abnormal when in fact, it is not.

Cross-cultural misunderstandings are common and may contribute to unfair and discriminatory treatment of minorities by the majority, e.g., the high diagnosis rate of schizophrenia amongst non-white British people.

Cochrane (1977) reported that the incidence of schizophrenia in the West Indies and the UK is 1 %, but that people of Afro-Caribbean origin are seven times more likely to be diagnosed as schizophrenic when living in the UK.

Hygienic Rituals

Another phenomenon explained by cultural relativism is hygienic rituals. Different cultures may use different modes or methods of disposing of waste and cleaning up afterward.

Ritualized ablution, or washing, also differs across cultures. Catholics may dip their fingers into blessed water and anoint themselves at church, and Jewish people may pour water over their hands in a specific way during Shabbat.

Although toilet and washing practices vary drastically across cultures, cultural relativists seek to describe these differences, noting that what is customary to culture is not necessarily “right” or “wrong.”

Cultural vs. Moral Relativism

Cultural relativism is a claim that anthropologists can make when describing how ethical practices differ across cultures; as a result, the truth or falsity of cultural relativism can be determined by how anthropologists and anthropologists study the world.

Many sociologists and anthropologists have conducted such studies, leading to widespread consensus among social scientists that cultural relativism is an actual phenomenon (Bowie, 2015).

Moral relativism, meanwhile, is a claim that what is really right or wrong is what that culture says is right or wrong. While moral relativists believe that cultural relativism is true, they extend their claims much further.

Moral relativists believe that if a culture sincerely and reflectively adopts some basic moral principle, then it is morally obligatory for members of that culture to act according to that principle (Bowie, 2015).

The implication of moral relativism is that it is absolutely necessary for someone to act according to the norms of the culture in which they are located.

For example, when asking whether or not it is ethical to bribe government bureaucrats, a moral relativist would look for the answer in the norms of how people within their country deal with bureaucracy.

If people bribe government officials, then the moral relativist would consider bribery not to be wrong in that country.

However, if people do not normally bribe bureaucrats, offering them a bribe would be considered morally wrong.

A cultural relativist would posit that while bribery is an ethical norm in the cultures where it is practiced, it is not necessarily morally right or wrong in that culture (Bowie, 2015).

Cultural Relativism vs. Ethnocentrism

Ethnocentrism is the tendency to look at the world largely from the perspective of one’s own culture.

This may be motivated, for example, by the belief that one’s own race, ethnic, or cultural group is the most important or that some or all aspects of its culture are superior to those of other groups.

Ethnocentrism can often lead to incorrect assumptions about others’ behavior based on one’s own norms, values, and beliefs (Worthy, Lavigne, & Romero, 2021a).

Cultural relativism, meanwhile, is principled in regarding and valuing the practices of a culture from the point of view of that culture and avoiding making judgments stemming from one’s own assumptions.

Cultural relativism attempts to counter ethnocentrism by promoting the understanding of cultural practices unfamiliar to other cultures. For example, it is a common practice for friends of the same sex in India to hold hands while walking in public.

In the United Kingdom, holding hands is largely limited to romantically involved couples and often suggests a sexual relationship.

Someone holding an extreme ethnocentrist view may see their own understanding of hand-holding as superior and consider the foreign practice to be immoral (Worthy, Lavigne, & Romero; 2021a).

Controversy

Cultural Relativism has been criticized for numerous reasons, both theoretical and practical.

According to Karanack (2013), cultural relativism attempts to integrate knowledge between one’s own culture-bound reality. The premise that cultural relativism is based on that all cultures are valid in their customs is vague in Karanack’s view.

Karanack also criticizes cultural relativism from a theoretical perspective for having contradictory logic, asserting that cultural relativism often asserts that social facts are true and untrue, depending on the culture in which one is situated.

Nonetheless, cultural relativism also has several advantages. Firstly, it is a system that promotes cooperation. Each individual has a different perspective that is based on their upbringing, experiences, and personal thoughts, and by embracing the many differences that people have, cooperation creates the potential for a stronger society.

Each individual definition of success allows people to pursue stronger bonds with one another and potentially achieve more because there are no limitations on a group level about what can or cannot be accomplished (Karanack, 2013).

Secondly, cultural relativism envisions a society where equality across cultures is possible. Cultural relativism does so by allowing individuals to define their moral code without defining that of others. As each person can set their own standards of success and behavior, cultural relativism creates equality (Karanack, 2013).

Additionally, Cultural relativism can preserve cultures and allow people to create personal moral codes based on societal standards without precisely consulting what is “right” or “wrong.”

However, it can do so while also excluding moral relativism. This means that the moral code of a culture can be defined and an expectation implemented that people follow it, even as people devise goals and values that are particularly relevant to them.

Lastly, cultural relativism has been praised for stopping cultural conditions — the adoption of people to adapt their attitudes, thoughts, and beliefs to the people they are with on a regular basis (Karanack, 2013).

Despite these advantages, cultural relativism has been criticized for creating a system fuelled by personal bias. As people tend to prefer to be with others who have similar thoughts, feelings, and ideas, they tend to separate themselves into neighborhoods, communities, and social groups that share specific perspectives.

When people are given the power to define their own moral code, they do so based on personal bias, causing some people to follow their own code at the expense of others (Karanack, 2013).

Nonetheless, cultural relativism promotes understanding cultures outside of one’s own, enabling people to build relationships with other cultures that acknowledge and respect each other’s diverse lives.

With cultural relativism comes the ability to understand a culture on its own terms without making judgments based on one’s own cultural standards. In this way, sociologists and anthropologists can draw more accurate conclusions about outside cultures (Worthy, Lavigne, & Romero, 2020).

Bian, L., & Markman, E. M. (2020). Why do we eat cereal but not lamb chops at breakfast? Investigating Americans’ beliefs about breakfast foods. Appetite, 144, 104458.

Bowie, N.E. (2015). Relativism, Cultural and Moral. In Wiley Encyclopedia of Management (eds C.L. Cooper and ). Culture and Psychology. (2021). Glendale Community College.

Brown, M. F. (2008). Cultural Relativism 2.0 .  Current Anthropology, 49 (3), 363-383.

Cochrane, R. A. Y. M. O. N. D. (1977). Mental illness in immigrants to England and Wales: an analysis of mental hospital admissions, 1971.  Social psychiatry, 12 (1), 25-35.

Davison, G. C., & Neale, J. M. (1994). Abnormal Psychology . New York: John Willey and Sons.

Kanarek, Jaret (2013) “ Critiquing Cultural Relativism ,” The Intellectual Standard: Vol. 2: Iss. 2, Article 1.

Spiro, M. E. (1992). Cultural relativism and the future of anthropology .  Rereading cultural anthropology , 124, 51.

Tilley, J. J. (2000). Cultural relativism .  Hum. Rts. Q. , 22, 501.

Worthy, L. D., Lavigne, T., & Romero, F. (2020). Self and Culture. Culture and Psychology .

Zechenter, E. M. (1997). In the name of culture: Cultural relativism and the abuse of the individual .  Journal of Anthropological Research, 53 (3), 319-347.

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25 What is Cultural Relativism?

WIKIBOOKS History of Anthropological Theory, Cultural Anthropology/Introduction https://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/Cultural_Anthropology/Introduction

Cultural relativism is the ability to understand a culture on its own terms and not to make judgments using the standards of one’s own culture. The goal of this is promote understanding of cultural practices that are not typically part of one’s own culture. Using the perspective of cultural relativism leads to the view that no one culture is superior than another culture when compared to systems of morality, law, politics, etc 1 .

It is a concept that cultural norms and values derive their meaning within a specific social context. This is also based on the idea that there is no absolute standard of good or evil; therefore, every decision and judgment of what is right and wrong is individually decided in each society. The concept of cultural relativism also means that any opinion on ethics is subject to the perspective of each person within their particular culture. Overall, there is no right or wrong ethical system. In a holistic understanding of the term cultural relativism, it tries to counter ethnocentrism by promoting the understanding of cultural practices that are unfamiliar to other cultures such as eating insects, genocides or genital cutting.

There are two different categories of  cultural relativism :

• Absolute : Complete acceptance and tolerance for any type of cultural practice.
• Critical : Critiquing cultural practices in terms of human rights.

Absolute cultural relativism is displayed in many cultures, especially Africa, that practice female genital cutting. This procedure refers to the partial or total removal of the external female genitalia or any other trauma to the female reproductive/genital organs. By allowing this procedure to happen, females are considered women and then are able to be married. FGC is practiced mainly because of culture, religion and tradition. Outside cultures such as the United States look down upon FGC as inhumane, but are unable to stop this practice from happening because it is protected by its culture.

A Chinese woman with her feet unbound

Cultural relativism can also be seen with the Chinese culture and their process of  feet binding . Foot binding was to stop the growth of the foot and make them smaller. The process often began between four and seven years old. A ten foot bandage would be wrapped around the foot forcing the toes to go under the foot. It caused the big toe to be closer to the heel causing the foot to bow 2 . In China, small feet were seen as beautiful and a symbol of status. The women wanted their feet to be “three-inch golden lotuses”三寸金蓮 3 . It was also the only way to get married. Because men only wanted women with small feet, even after this practice was banned in 1912, women still continued to do it. To Western cultures the idea of feet binding might seem like torture, but for the Chinese culture it is symbol of beauty that has been ingrained in the culture for hundreds of years. The idea of beauty differs from culture to culture.

• Miller, Barabra. Cultural Anthropology. 4th ed. Boston: Pearson Education Inc., 2007.
• James A. Crites Chinese Foot Binding,  http://www.angelfire.com/ca/beekeeper/foot.html
• Louisa Lim, Painful Memories for China’s Footbinding Survivors  http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=8966942

What is Cultural Relativism? Copyright © 2020 by WIKIBOOKS History of Anthropological Theory, Cultural Anthropology/Introduction https://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/Cultural_Anthropology/Introduction is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License , except where otherwise noted.

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1.6 Cross-Cultural Comparison and Cultural Relativism

Learning outcomes.

By the end of this section, you will be able to:

• Define the concept of relativism and explain why this term is so important to the study of anthropology.
• Distinguish relativism from the “anything goes” approach to culture.
• Describe how relativism can enlighten our approach to social problems.

Recall our earlier discussion of cultural styles of clothing. American clothing style is related to American values. Ghanaian clothing style is related to Ghanaian values. We have seen how different realms of culture are interrelated, fitting together to form distinctive wholes. Anthropologists use the term cultural relativism to describe how every element of culture must be understood within the broader whole of that culture. Relativism highlights how each belief or practice is related to all of the other beliefs and practices in a culture. The anthropological commitment to relativism means that anthropologists do not judge the merits of particular beliefs and practices but rather seek to understand the wider contexts that produce and reinforce those elements of culture. Even when studying controversial topics such as piracy and guerilla warfare, anthropologists set aside their personal convictions in order to explore the complex web of cultural forces that determine why we do the things we do.

Relativism Is Not “Anything Goes”

Critics of the notion of relativism, believing so strongly in their own cultural norms that they cannot set them aside, even temporarily. They argue that relativism is amoral, a refusal to condemn aspects of culture considered to be wrong and harmful. For them, relativism means “anything goes.”

For anthropologists, cultural relativism is a rigorous mode of holistic analysis requiring the temporary suspension of judgment for the purposes of exploration and analysis. Anthropologists do not think that violent or exploitative cultural practices are just fine, but they do think that the reasons for those practices are a lot more complex than we might imagine. And frequently, we find that the judgmental interventions of ethnocentric outsiders can do more harm than good.

Morality, Activism, and Cultural Relativism

A striking example of the application of cultural relativism in anthropology is the controversy surrounding female genital cutting (FGC) , sometimes called female genital mutilation. FGC is a cultural practice in which an elder cuts a younger woman’s genitalia, removing all or part of the clitoris and labia. The practice is common in parts of Africa and the Middle East. FGC is not only extremely painful; it can also lead to infection, urination problems, infertility, and complications in childbirth.

The World Health Organization and the United Nations condemn the practice as a form of violence against children, a danger to women’s health, and a violation of basic human rights. These organizations view FGC as a form of discrimination against women, enforcing extreme inequality among the sexes. Efforts to ban FGC have focused on educating parents and children about the medical harms associated with the practice. Local governments are encouraged to enact laws banning FGC and impose criminal penalties against the elders who perform it.

Despite decades of campaigning against FGC, however, the practice remains widespread. If condemning FGC has not been effective in reducing it, then what can be done? Anthropologist Bettina Shell-Duncan has taken a more relativist approach, attempting to understand the larger cultural norms and values that make FGC such an enduring practice. Setting aside her personal opinions, Shell-Duncan spent long periods in African communities where FGC is practiced, talking to people about why FGC is important to them. She learned that FGC has different functions in different sociocultural contexts. Among the Rendille people of northern Kenya, many people believe that men’s and women’s bodies are naturally androgynous, a mix of masculine and feminine parts. In order for a girl to become a woman, it is necessary to remove the parts of female genitalia that resemble a man’s penis. Likewise, in order for a boy to become a man, the foreskin must be removed because it resembles the folds of female genitalia.

Other societies value FGC for different reasons. Some Muslim societies consider FGC a form of hygiene, making a girl clean so that she can pray to Allah. Some communities see FGC as a way of limiting premarital sex and discouraging extramarital affairs. In the colonial period, when FGC was banned by the colonial government, some Kenyan girls practiced FGC on themselves as a form of resistance to colonial authority. As FGC is promoted and carried out by senior women in most contexts, the practice becomes a way for senior women to solidify power and exert influence in the community.

People in communities practicing FGC are often aware of the efforts of outside groups to ban the practice. They know about medical complications such as the risk of infection. But the denunciations of outsiders often seem unconvincing to them, as those denunciations tend to ignore the cultural reasons for the endurance of FGC. People who practice FGC do not do it because they despise women or want to harm children. Shell-Duncan argues that parents weigh the risks and benefits of FGC, often deciding that the procedure is in the best interest of their child’s future.

Personally, Shell-Duncan remains critical of FGC and works on a project with the Population Council designed to dramatically reduce the practice. Cultural relativism does not mean permanently abandoning our own value systems. Instead, it asks us to set aside the norms and values of our own culture for a while in order to fully understand controversial practices in other cultures. By suspending judgment, Shell-Duncan was able to learn two important things. First, while campaigns to eradicate FGC frequently target mothers, providing them with educational material about the medical risks involved, Shell-Duncan learned that the decision to go ahead with the procedure is not made by parents alone. A large network of relatives and friends may pressure a girl’s parents to arrange for the cutting in order to ensure the girl’s chastity, marriageability, and fertility. Secondly, Shell-Duncan learned that people who practice FGC do it because they want the best for their girls. They want their girls to be respected and admired, considered clean and beautiful, fit for marriage and childbearing.

Shell-Duncan argues that outside organizations should reconsider their efforts, focusing more on communities than on individual parents. Awareness campaigns will be more effective if they resonate with local norms and values rather than dismissively condemning them as part of the whole culture of FGC. Some researchers urge anti-FGC activists to connect with local feminists and women’s groups in an effort to empower local women and localize the movement against FCG. Some alternative approaches press for more incremental forms of change, such as moving the practice to more sanitary conditions in clinics and hospitals and reducing the severity of the procedure to smaller cuts or more symbolic nicks.

As this example illustrates, cultural relativism is not an amoral “anything goes” approach but rather a strategy for forming cross-cultural relationships and gaining deeper understanding. Once this foundation has been established, anthropologists are often able to revise their activist goals and more effectively work together with people from another culture in pursuit of common interests.

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In This Article Expand or collapse the "in this article" section Cultural Relativism

Introduction, general overviews.

• Early Writing on Human Diversity
• Foundational Texts
• Nonrelativist Foundational Texts
• Anthropological Critiques
• Anthropological Defenses
• Philosophical Engagements
• Classics in Relativist Ethnography
• Anthropology and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights
• Human Rights Revisited
• Renteln and Responses in Anthropology
• Debate on Ethical Relativism in Ethos
• Claude Lévi-Strauss and UNESCO
• The Captain Cook Controversy
• Multiculturalism and Cultural Rights
• Gender and Multiculturalism
• Power and Anthropological Authority
• Undermining Anthropological Authority
• Concepts and Categories
• Feminist Ethnography and the Critique of Universal Womanhood
• New Iterations of the Nature–Culture Debate

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Cultural Relativism by Mayanthi Fernando LAST REVIEWED: 25 June 2013 LAST MODIFIED: 25 June 2013 DOI: 10.1093/obo/9780199766567-0003

In a 1580 essay called “On the Cannibals,” early Enlightenment thinker Michel de Montaigne posited that men are by nature ethnocentric and that they judge the customs and morals of other communities on the basis of their own particular customs and morals, which they take to be universally applicable. Montaigne’s essay foreshadowed the emergence in early 20th-century American anthropology of the principle of cultural relativism in a more robust and programmatic form, as a descriptive, methodological, epistemological, and prescriptive approach to human diversity. Franz Boas and his students, especially Melville J. Herskovits, were at the forefront of this new development, one that became foundational to modern anthropology. Against the biological and racial determinism of the time, they held that cultures develop according to the particular circumstances of history rather than in a linear progression from “primitive” to “savage” to “civilized,” that culture (rather than race or biology) most affects social life and human behavior, and that culture shapes the way members of a particular cultural group think, act, perceive, and evaluate. This new theorization of the culture concept led to a multifaceted approach to studying human diversity called cultural relativism. Cultural relativism is an umbrella term that covers different attitudes, though it relies on a basic notion of emic coherence: Each culture works in its own way, and beliefs and practices that appear strange from the outside make sense when contextualized within their particular cultural framework. More specifically, descriptive relativism holds that cultures differ substantially from place to place. Methodological relativism holds that the ethnographer must set aside his or her own cultural norms in order to understand another culture and explain its worldview. Epistemological relativism holds that because our own culture so mediates our perceptions, it is often impossible to fully grasp another culture in an unmediated way. Prescriptive or moral relativism holds that because we are all formed in culture, there is no Archimedean point from which to evaluate objectively, and so we must not judge other cultures using our own cultural norms. Recently, cultural relativism has become a straw man term, defined pejoratively as the strongest form of moral relativism; namely, that we cannot make any kind of moral judgments at all regarding foreign cultural practices. At the turn of the 20th century, cultural relativism was a progressive anthropological theory and methodological practice that sought to valorize marginalized communities in an inegalitarian world. Now cultural relativism is criticized as doing precisely the opposite: allowing repressive and inegalitarian societies to hide behind the cloak of cultural difference.

Stocking 1982 analyzes the emergence of American cultural anthropology, the rise of Franz Boas and his students, and their lasting influence. Kuper 1999 offers the most comprehensive overview of American cultural anthropology, though from a critical, social anthropological perspective dominant in Britain. The best overview of major French thinkers on the question of cultural diversity from Montaigne to Lévi-Strauss remains Todorov 1993 , which provides a good companion piece to overviews of cultural relativism that largely focus on the United States. Shweder 1984 traces American cultural anthropology’s roots in German Romanticism. Hatch 1983 and Fernandez 1990 examine anthropology’s and especially Boasian anthropologists’ relationship to cultural relativism. Renteln 1988 provides a short but comprehensive overview of more general approaches to cultural relativism within and beyond anthropology.

Fernandez, James W. 1990. Tolerance in a repugnant world and other dilemmas in the cultural relativism of Melville J. Herskovits. Ethos 18.2: 140–164.

DOI: 10.1525/eth.1990.18.2.02a00020

A close reading of Herskovits’ work on cultural relativism by one of his last students. Argues that cultural relativism was not an abstract philosophical issue but a practical and political one and that Herskovits considered cultural relativism as both a scientific method and a tool to fight injustice. Also examines some of the specific impasses that arose for Herskovits between his commitment to objective science and to political and social justice. Available online for purchase or by subscription.

Hatch, Elvin. 1983. Culture and morality: The relativity of values in anthropology . New York: Columbia Univ. Press.

Gives a critical overview of Boasian cultural relativism, including some of its epistemological, methodological, and ethical impasses. In addition to a historical overview, also argues for a new iteration of cultural relativism that overcomes what Hatch considers its earlier problems.

Kuper, Adam. 1999. Culture: The anthropologists’ account . Cambridge, MA: Harvard Univ. Press.

Though often critical of cultural anthropology, and especially of cultural relativism, provides a comprehensive account of the development of the culture concept from its evolutionary civilizational sense to its contemporary, plural meaning. Examines the work of the Boasians, David Schneider, Clifford Geertz, Marshall Sahlins, and recent poststructural anthropology.

Renteln, Alison Dundes. 1988. Relativism and the search for human rights. American Anthropologist 90.1: 56–72.

DOI: 10.1525/aa.1988.90.1.02a00040

First half of the article is useful for outlining the various versions of cultural relativism in philosophy and anthropology. Provides a brief but comprehensive historical overview of the different approaches and ensuing debates. Latter half of the article takes up the question of contemporary human rights, arguing that cultural relativism is compatible with cross-cultural universals. Available online for purchase or by subscription.

Shweder, Richard A. 1984. Anthropology’s romantic rebellion against the enlightenment, or there’s more to thinking than reason and evidence. In Culture theory: Essays on mind, self, and emotion . Edited by Richard A. Schweder and Robert A. LeVine, 27–66. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge Univ. Press.

Locates anthropology’s celebration of local context, its commitment to local rationalities, and its notion that primitive and modern are coequal within a longer genealogy that stretches back to the German Romantic movement.

Stocking, George W., Jr. 1982. Race, culture, and evolution: Essays in the history of anthropology . Chicago: Univ. of Chicago Press.

A classic text by the leading historian of the discipline charting the emergence of American cultural anthropology. Gives a good sense of the theoretical and political stakes in the development of Boasian anthropology and its culture concept against the racial theories popular at the time.

Todorov, Tzvetan. 1993. On human diversity: Nationalism, racism, and exoticism in French thought . Translated by Catherine Porter. Cambridge, MA: Harvard Univ. Press.

Excellent overview of French thought from the Enlightenment onwards on the unity and diversity of the human species and its values. Particularly useful for defining key terms, including ethnocentrism , humanism , scientism , cultural relativism , universalism , and exoticism . Shows how ethnocentrism underpins certain forms of both universalism and cultural relativism. The author also offers his own theory of a universalism without ethnocentrism.

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1.2: Intercultural Communication and Cultural Relativism

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• Lori Halverson-Wente & Mark Halverson-Wente
• Rochester Community and Technical College via Minnesota Libraries Publishing Project

Concerns about Cultural Relativism

The tuckerian turn:.

A simple, fruitful approach towards learning intercultural communication skills, as a parsimonious way of giving valuable perspective to the various skills and concepts demonstrating the relationship between communication, culture, perception, verbal and nonverbal language, listening, and intercultural communication/interviewing, is to apply the three questions Dr. Charles Tucker would pose to his students in every Communication class he taught at Northern Illinois University. Professor Tucker stated that: “Communication courses ask you to consider three fundamental questions: “Who am I?” “Who are you?” and, “What are we doing here together?” In a profound sense, these three questions enlighten and guide the approach to the class in this PressBook.

Professor Tucker asks his students, “Who am I?” In doing so, Tucker’s first question points to an examination of one’s self and works towards the student “self” arriving at an understanding of both who the student is as a person and, necessarily, having knowledge of one’s own culture–after all, the elements or components of their own culture help define who the student is–who the student regards herself to be, and how, through what kind of lens, the student perceives the world. If we hope to move on towards intercultural communication competence, necessary for navigating our globalized world, individuals must honestly confront and answer, but then move beyond the first question and be open to taking the risk of asking those of other cultures the second question, “Who are you?”

The first question, “Who am I?” is a key to opening the door that allows relationship and knowledge between the “self” and the “other.” Now, as explained above, this open relationship and knowledge are gained by asking the second question, “Who are you?” Through this question, posed to someone (the other) of another very different culture, real intercultural communication begins to emerge. Remember that, before asking questions of someone of another culture, one’s own culture is vital in shaping your individual identity, values, worldview, beliefs, biases, language, religion, and means and methods of interpersonal communication. Having gained some knowledge of oneself and one’s culture along with the interrelationship between the two, the basis for meaningful intercultural communication with the other is more solid and success more likely. This stands to reason, as possessing knowledge of the other’s culture, i.e., a knowledge of the same cultural concepts, some mentioned above, that are used to understand one’s own culture can now be focused on the culture of the other. Such knowledge allows for better, more informed, questioning and dialogue by allowing the student to ask relevant and useful questions directed to genuine learning about the other and their culture.

Cultural Relativism: The Elephant in the Discourse

A note of caution must be made, however. As just mentioned, the student, to be an effective cultural communicator/interviewer, needs to be keenly aware of their own predispositions and assumptions and that, put broadly, that their own cultural forms who or what they are. Given this, as Stephen Fuchs (2001) points out, “cultural observers are also cultured observers, they come with a ‘habitus,’ which means that observers are [conditioned by their own culture and] are trained and accustomed to using distinctions of their own culture…[which] provides observers with the material and symbolic means of observation….” (p.155).

Fuchs (2001) argues for the pervasiveness of culture in shaping vital aspects of its members’ identity. Still, the profound and pervasive influence of one’s own culture in shaping perception and worldview and imparting to its members its own peculiar categories, distinctions, and means of approaching and learning from the world and from other cultures does not, in and of itself, prevent the possibility of acquiring a genuine, meaningful, and, in a real sense, objective, understanding of other cultures through careful, informed, and respectful intercultural communication/interviewing. Intercultural communication competence of great meaning and depth may be arrived at precisely because, though such communication indeed occurs between individuals shaped by their own unique and profoundly distinct cultures, the even more profound similarity of a common humanity or human nature visible and accessible via intercultural communication trumps the barriers of cultural differences. In fact, the existence of a common human nature is the key that allows the interviewer and interviewee to open closed doors and begin to acquire a deeper understanding of own each of their cultures. This reservation against cultural relativism, specifically linguistic relativism stems from the “Sapir-Whorf hypothesis.” Hussein (2012) explains that the Sapir-Whorf hypothesis asserts the influence of language on thought and perception, which strongly implies that speakers of different languages from different cultures perceive reality differently–language, in effect, determines worldview (p.642).

At this juncture, it is important to deeply stress once more that human beings are not necessarily bound and blinded by culture with its unique categories, concepts, and constructs when honestly, respectfully, and openly observing, learning about and understanding other cultures. That this mutual understanding may occur is, unfortunately, contested or clouded by the pervasive underlying concept of “cultural relativism.” Many scholars and students hold, consciously or unconsciously, some form of cultural relativism which regards cultural, religious, social, legal, familial, economic, etc. beliefs, practices, and traditions as relative to a given culture (Chin-Dahler, 2010). It is premised on the idea that all aspects of human cultures are relative to one another; that is, all cultures are equally valid and any standard of evaluation, assessment and judgment must be culturally internal only–any cultural criticism must come from persons of that culture. Persons of other cultures and traditions characterized by differing perceptions, values, and worldviews cannot hope to reach the point where any moral judgment or evaluation regarding the other culture can be reasonably made apart from cultural biases–such evaluations are labeled “ ethnocentric ” (a strong tendency to reflexively view one’s own cultural worldview, beliefs, and practices as superior to those of other cultures); and is considered a legitimate obstacle to intercultural understanding, respect and dignity. Cultural relativism holds that a culture’s values emerge in the context of particular social, cultural, economic, political, geographical and environmental conditions. Hence, each culture is relative to one another and can only be assessed according to its own lens, boundaries, and worldview.

In this view, to be culturally sensitive and amenable to communicating with, and learning about, other cultures, one must adopt an attitude of openness, neutrality and closely monitor or even censor one’s judgments that, as indicated, stem from one’s own unique cultural worldview and biases. Because, for cultural relativism, every person’s values and worldview are culturally determined, no reasonable normative judgments can be made–all cultures and aspects of cultures are equal before the bar of values and morality which are, in and of themselves, culturally determined and hence relative. Thus, we must be tolerant and open-minded in the relativistic sense by wholly suspending judgment when learning about or interacting with those of other cultures. So, for example, a westerner has no basis upon which to legitimately criticize the cultural practice of female genital mutilation. In France, immigrants and refugees who practice female genital mutilation, polygamy, arranged marriages of underage girls or coerced marriages of women, often openly defend their cultural practices as legitimate simply because they are cultural practices they wish to preserve of which a westerner, or western values, according to cultural relativism, hold no truck. In Guatemala, a stunted child of 4 years old wanders aimlessly in the dark, utterly ignored by global sophisticates of other cultures who, as cultural relativists and global citizens, ignore the child because of the Guatemalan practice of poor women and their children coming down from the mountains to beg from tourists for a living–who dares judge, act rightly?

For cultural relativism, all outsiders must, in the worst sense of the word, be tolerant and non-judgmental in the face of cultural practices and beliefs other than one’s own. Such a stance is unfortunate. In the history of the United States, many critics foreign and domestic, appealing to standards of universal human justice as articulated in the Declaration of Independence (for Lincoln, our founding document), openly and rightly criticized our institution of slavery as abhorrent not only to universal human rights and equality, but stood as a glaring example of hypocrisy in the face of our own culture’s guiding principles of human equality and unalienable rights, true everywhere and always.

Cultural practices from which most Westerners instinctively shrink, such as cannibalism, human sacrifice, and female genital mutilation, and human trafficking have had to be accorded their own integrity, lest the culture that produced them be demeaned or viewed critically and in an ethnocentric light. Other issues begin to “blur.” The world weighed in on whether or not children should be separated from their parents at the US Border as the parents sought asylum. The continued conversation about children’s rights concerning work, education, and access to clean water and sanitation show these rights are not universally held throughout the world. Yet, if one believes in human rights, does not one believe in a sense of some truth?

Professor Patrick Deenan (2012), referring to American culture, was struck by Allan Bloom’s critique of relativism.

Bloom made an altogether different argument: American youth were increasingly raised to believe that nothing was True, that every belief was merely the expression of an opinion or preference. Americans were raised to be ‘cultural relativists,’ with a default attitude of non-judgmentalism. Not only all other traditions but even one’s own (whatever that might be) were simply views that happened to be held by some people and could not be judged as inferior or superior to any other. [No opinion held by one person can be determined to be superior to the opinion of another; nor can any one culture be assessed by the values of another or universal values, for that matter]. He bemoaned particularly the decline of household and community religious upbringing in which the worldviews of children were shaped by a comprehensive vision of the good and the true. In one arresting passage, he waxed nostalgic for the days when people cared: ‘It was not necessarily the best of times in America when Catholic and Protestants were suspicious of and hated one another, but at least they were taking their beliefs seriously’… (Deneen, 2012).

Of course, if values, beliefs, attitudes, language, worldviews, etc. were, in fact, fundamentally culture-bound as cultural relativism contends, then it follows that researchers/business people/individuals from one culture could never hope to understand and communicate deeply and meaningfully with those of another culture. Ironically, the simple fact that the very concepts of culture, intercultural communication, and intercultural communication competence are all “constructs” or insights of various Western thinkers of Western cultures does not, by dint of origin, necessarily diminish their explanatory effectiveness or usefulness for the mutual cultural communication competency and understanding between individuals of different cultures (Nisbett, 2003).

The Tuckerian Turn: Beware the “Echo Chamber:”

Interviewees who attempt to forthrightly respond to the “Who are you?” question(s) impart valuable insights into their particular perspective of their own culture. These insights emerge from Professor Tucker’s third question, “What are we doing here together?” As we shall see, it is this question that eventually leads to intercultural communication competence and/or confidence.

Regarding Professor Tucker’s third question, “What are we doing here together?” along with its intercultural perspective, it must be mentioned, unfortunately, that in these divisive times there often exists a barrier or wall, largely self-imposed, which impedes or prohibits moving from the notion of “Who am I?” (i.e., understanding our own culture) to an honest consideration of the next question, “Who are you?”–a question asked of someone from a different culture that is fundamental to begin the process of learning about other cultures and thus ultimately engaging competently in intercultural communication through Tucker’s third question. A wall is built between cultures; it prevents moving forward from Professor Tucker’s first question by limiting, in our social media age, our communication to those people who are “just like me” in many aspects of culture: nation, appearance, political opinions, economic circumstances, religious beliefs, social practices and overall values, norms, and worldview. A straightjacket is applied and tied to our opinions and conversations, limiting our conversation to unchallenging “like-minded friends” and comfortable “contacts”–often termed the echo chamber–in which the conversation consists of “Who am I?” and perhaps “Who are we?” and, finally, “Why are they out to get us–we who are guardians of the true and good?”

In his professional blog, seminal Communication scholar John Stewart (2017) remarks,

It’s called the ‘ echo chamber syndrome….’ We only listen or speak inside closed chambers that echo [and amplify] our current beliefs and opinions.”

The result, Stewart continues, is polarized (or polarizing) communication of one-sided arguments, spoken to the choir, that necessarily “reduce[s] the quality of our critical thinking” (2017). Moreover, says Stewart, such communication divides us from friends, family and colleagues–truly a danger to a democracy the health of which requires open, honest civil discourse. In sum, we become trapped in a “Thunderdome” of our own making, where any deviation from the loudest “Echo” is promptly ostracized. Read more: http://www.johnstewart.org/blog/2017/12/8/echo-chamber-or-community.html. To gain more information about critical thinking, in general, and to gain a better vocabulary on terms related to critical inquiry see: http://www.criticalthinking.org/pages/open-minded-inquiry/579 .

Note that cultural relativism is entirely consistent with this development. If no means exists to assess and evaluate opinions, they are all equal after all. Certainly, then, the loudest opinions shouting down rival opinions as “fake news” will prevail.

Essay on Cultural Relativism

Students are often asked to write an essay on Cultural Relativism in their schools and colleges. And if you’re also looking for the same, we have created 100-word, 250-word, and 500-word essays on the topic.

Let’s take a look…

100 Words Essay on Cultural Relativism

What is cultural relativism.

Cultural Relativism is the idea that all beliefs, customs, and ethics are relative to the individual within his own social context. In other words, ‘right’ and ‘wrong’ are culture-specific; what is considered moral in one society may be seen as immoral in another.

Origins of Cultural Relativism

Cultural Relativism started with the idea of “cultural pluralism” in the early 20th century. Anthropologists like Franz Boas noticed that human behavior differs greatly across cultures. They argued that we should understand these differences in the context of each culture, not judge them.

Importance of Cultural Relativism

Cultural Relativism helps us keep an open mind. It encourages us to understand and respect other cultures, instead of judging them based on our own. It reminds us that our way of life is not the only correct one, and others are not wrong just because they are different.

Limitations of Cultural Relativism

While Cultural Relativism promotes understanding, it can also lead to moral confusion. If all cultures are equally valid, how do we decide what is truly right or wrong? This is a big question that Cultural Relativism leaves us with.

Cultural Relativism is a useful tool for understanding the diversity of human cultures. It reminds us to respect differences and not to judge others. But it also leaves us with questions about morality and ethics.

Also check:

• Advantages and Disadvantages of Cultural Relativism

250 Words Essay on Cultural Relativism

Understanding cultural relativism.

Cultural Relativism is a concept that says all cultural beliefs are equal and valid. It means that no culture is better or worse than another. This idea is important because it encourages us to respect and understand different cultures.

Key Features of Cultural Relativism

Cultural Relativism teaches that what is considered right or wrong, good or bad, can vary greatly from one culture to another. For example, some cultures might value individual freedom while others might value community harmony. Both views are correct within their own cultural context.

Benefits of Cultural Relativism

One big benefit of Cultural Relativism is that it promotes tolerance and acceptance. It helps us to understand that just because someone’s beliefs or practices are different from ours, it doesn’t mean they are wrong. This can lead to more peaceful interactions between cultures.

Challenges of Cultural Relativism

But Cultural Relativism also faces some challenges. If all cultures are equal, it might be hard to criticize harmful practices within a culture. So, it’s important to balance respect for cultural differences with the need to promote human rights.

In conclusion, Cultural Relativism is a powerful tool for understanding and respecting different cultures. But it should not stop us from standing up against harmful practices. It’s all about finding a balance between respect for cultural diversity and the promotion of human rights.

500 Words Essay on Cultural Relativism

Cultural Relativism is a cool idea that says we should look at other cultures without judging them using our own culture’s rules. Think of it like this: if you’re playing a game, you should follow the rules of that game, not rules from a different game. It’s the same with cultures. We should try to understand them using their own rules, not ours.

Why is Cultural Relativism Important?

Cultural Relativism is important because it helps us respect and understand people from different cultures. It’s like learning a new language. When you learn a new language, you can understand and talk to more people. The same goes for understanding different cultures. If we only saw things from our own culture’s point of view, we would miss out on learning about the rich and diverse cultures around the world.

Understanding Cultural Relativism can be a little tricky, but it’s not impossible. Remember when you were little and you thought your parents’ rules were the only rules? But then you went to a friend’s house and saw they had different rules? That’s a bit like Cultural Relativism. It’s understanding that just because something is different, doesn’t mean it’s wrong or bad.

Even though Cultural Relativism is a good idea, it can be hard to practice. Sometimes, it’s hard to accept that other cultures have different rules, especially if those rules seem strange or wrong to us. But remember, it’s not about agreeing with everything, it’s about understanding and respecting differences.

Cultural Relativism can bring many benefits. It can help us become more open-minded and tolerant. It can also help us learn about and appreciate the diversity of the world. And who knows, we might even find some aspects of other cultures that we like and want to adopt into our own lives.

The Role of Cultural Relativism in Today’s World

In today’s world, where people from different cultures are more connected than ever, Cultural Relativism is very important. It helps us understand and respect each other, which can lead to a more peaceful and friendly world.

In conclusion, Cultural Relativism is a way of understanding and respecting other cultures. It’s not always easy, but it’s worth it. Because in the end, we’re all part of the same big world, and understanding each other can only make it better.

That’s it! I hope the essay helped you.

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Cultural Relativism (Essay Sample)

Cultural relativism.

We all come from different cultures and therefore, have our own sets of beliefs and norms that we ascribe to. To some of us, it is accurate that we are slaves of our cultural beliefs. Often, people look at things and even pass judgement while being guided or being influenced by their cultural background. Therefore, it is indeed possible to find or say something from another culture is right or wrong or ethical and unethical especially when our cultures guide us. The above is often referred to cultural bias, and cultural relativism is the opposite of such thinking. Cultural relativism seeks to have people judge or view values, beliefs, principles, and practices within the confines of a particular culture. This means that while the norms may vary from culture to culture, everyone is right or equal simply because there is no single system which is fit enough to be used as a yardstick. Cultural relativism was born from the idea that the world lacks an ultimate standard measure of right or wrong and good or evil. Consequently, whatever people regard as right or wrong and good or evil is indeed the product of the society. Therefore, every deed in society is subject to an individual’s cultural perspective or simply an individual’s cultural background.

Currently, it appears that cultural relativism is almost upheld all over the world of course except a few societies. Today, use of words such as tolerance, pluralism, as well as acceptance has become rampant, and people are culturally creating space for others. People seem to understand each other better and are willing to seek to comprehend the workings of other cultures. To a large extent, cultural relativism has helped us to co-exist and to accommodate each other despite our diverse cultural backgrounds. People do not question or out-rightly say something is evil or good unless the action in question is universally considered good or evil.

However, it is essential to consider all factors that relate to cultural relativism. Initially, we had cultural perspective, and it brought about a willingness to seek to understand politics, history as well as psychology. People used to want to understand another culture’s actions rather than opt for the easy way out and say “we need to understand and accept the morals of other cultures.” The universal truths, lies, good as well as evil were coined because we had cultural perspective. Gradually, however, the world has moved on from seeking to understand history and psychology to simply accepting everything as it is. The world has slowly eroded the aspect of reason, and currently, it is almost impossible to categorize something as morally right or wrong.

In conclusion, it is true to say that cultural relativism has helped to become accommodative. However, it is also true that it is gradually robbing us off the ability to make or pass any judgements whatsoever. We have become more tolerant as well as accommodative to more bizarre and incomprehensible activities in the name of cultural relativism. As is always the case, people have turned what cultural relativism originally meant to something contradictory. The incorporation and global adoption of the words tolerance, acceptance, and pluralism have also helped to dilute the matter at hand. It is fair to say that absolute relativism is nearly impossible and that its basic premise of truth being relative is flawed.

Home / Essay Samples / Sociology / Cultural Relativism / Importance of Cultural Relativism in Attaining Cultural Understanding

Importance of Cultural Relativism in Attaining Cultural Understanding

• Category: Sociology , Education
• Topic: Cultural Diversity , Cultural Relativism , Personal Statement

Pages: 1 (561 words)

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