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CULTURAL RELATIVISM - Coggle Diagram
CULTURAL RELATIVISM
Limitations & Criticisms
Differences between cultures are often exaggerated
Shared universal values
Some practices objectively harm people
Social/human well-being can be used as a neutral standard
Cultural practices are confused with deep moral values
Risk of impeding social change
Definition & Key Claims
Moral codes vary between cultures
There is no universal moral truth
Each culture's code determines what is right
Our culture does not have special status
We must be tolerant of differences
Consequences of Accepting Cultural Relativism
We cannot criticize harmful practices (slavery, genocide)
We cannot judge the moral errors of our own society
There is no such thing as moral progress
Reformers become wrong for questioning tradition
Everything becomes morally equal
Cultural Difference Argument
Premise
Cultures disagree on moral issues
Conclusion reached by relativists
There is no objective truth
Criticism
Absence of truth
Disagreement
Logical fallacy
Truth cannot be deduced from disagreement
Beliefs
Facts about reality
What We Learn From Cultural Relativism
It helps to avoid ethnocentrism
Many norms are conventions
It helps to keep an open mind
It prevents arrogance when judging other cultures
It helps to distinguish between customs and genuine moral principles