Ethnocentrism is an important topic for modern anthropology for many reasons. Firstly‚ we must understand that ethnocentrism is the incorrect belief that ones own group is in some way superior to others‚ and the standard by which others are judged. This belief has unfortunately been an important factor in the history of the human race. It has been in existence forever‚ and therefore is very pertinent to the field of cultural anthropology. Secondly‚ ethnocentrism has been the cause of many wars
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ultimately subjective‚ as our perceptions of cultural differences are shaped largely by our immersion in our own culture. An ethnocentric approach stems from judging an alternate culture in relation to one’s own pre-conceived cultural values‚ held to be superior; the parallax phenomenon‚ the inability to escape our own biases‚ prevents objective analysis of different cultures. A cultural relativist maintains the post-modernist view that there is no moral or cultural high-ground with which to judge one culture
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Ethical relativism is an idea that our ethical values aren’t set in stone. They are determined by who we are‚ where we live‚ what century we were born in‚ or what part of the world we are located. Certainly‚ those people who live now in the year 2009 would not agree with the practices of slavery that were widely used in the 1800’s. Even more than in the past‚ we can we see this across the map. In Africa‚ slaves are still used for hard labor and paid small if any wages at all. Although‚ the United
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“The strengths of cultural and ethical relativism outweigh their weaknesses” - discuss. Cultural relativism is the concept that what is right or wrong varies according to the beliefs of each culture. Within different cultures we may observe that what we believe is morally wrong‚ they see as a normal thing‚ such as how many muslims believe that chopping off the hand is the correct punishment for stealing‚ where as in my culture this would be seen as simply barbaric. Because there are so many different
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July 2‚ 2010 Ethics Reaction Paper 1 Relativism and Universalism The battle between relativism and universalism ideologies has been going on for several years now. There have been many highly respected people agreeing and disagreeing on which belief is right and wrong. The two well known are American Anthropologist Ruth Benedict and Dr. Louis Pojman. Upon reading their work‚ I found both of them to have very excellent points. I found myself hard to just pick one ideology. After
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Moral Relativism: An Evaluation The world is becoming an increasingly smaller place‚ culturally speaking. The modern world has more bridges to other cultures and ways of thinking than ever before. This phenomenon is due largely to the advent of the internet‚ global industry‚ and increased travel for business and pleasure to opposite corners of the world. This “global village” we live in introduces the average person to more cultural‚ and seemingly moral‚ differences than previous generations
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Ethnocentrism & Cultural Relativism Ethnocentrism and cultural relativism are two contrasting terms that are displayed by different people all over the world. Simply put‚ ethnocentrism is defined as "judging other groups from the perspective of one’s own cultural point of view." Cultural relativism‚ on the other hand‚ is defined as "the view that all beliefs are equally valid and that truth itself is relative‚ depending on the situation‚ environment‚ and individual." Each of these ideas has found
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Moral Relativism: A Contradictory Idea Julian Watson Intro to Philosophy Moral relativism is the belief that there are no moral absolutes‚ and that morality (as a concept) is something that exists only in the mind of the individual. In theory‚ it’s an appealing philosophy‚ but when applied to serious issues on a global scale then you begin to create problems that generally lead to chaos and complete anarchy. In this paper‚ I will break down why Moral Relativism is potentially
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Relativism Relativism is the philosophical position that all points of view are equally valid and that all truth is relative to the individual. Under the umbrella of relativism‚ there are many different groups‚ like cognitive‚ moral‚ and situational relativism. In moral/ethical relativism it amounts to saying that all moralities are equally good. In cognitive relativism it implies that all beliefs‚ or belief systems‚ are equally true. This essay will refute relativism‚ and its basic premise.
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Majority of people have rejected the theory of ethical relativism due to many reasons. A few claims that while the moral practices of societies may differ‚ the elemental of moral principles underlying these practices do not differ. For instance‚ in some societies they practice that if the parents reached a certain age‚ they were killed to reach afterlife and would live a better life if they reached it when they were physically active and vigorous. In our society‚ we would never practice that in our
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