6 Serious Advantages and Disadvantages of Cultural Relativism

The idea of cultural relativism is that the terms right and wrong are completely dictated by the culture that they are being used in. A person’s actions should be looked at with all things taken into account, especially the religion and culture t hat they grew up in. Supporters strongly believe that your moral codes and beliefs of right and wrong are influenced completely by the culture in which you are raised. A better way to look at this would be that a what is considered morally correct in one culture, may be deemed wrong in another. This is a widely accepted theory in modern philosophy, but what harm could come from this way of thinking? Is there truly a universal right and wrong? In order to better understand the idea of cultural relativism, let’s look at both the benefits and drawbacks that this theory brings to society.

Advantages of Cultural Relativism

1. A Respect For Other Cultures
The biggest benefit that can be brought from the idea of cultural relativism is the universal respect for different cultures and countries around the world. The belief that one person knows what is right, and that is the only way it is, isolates and discriminates against people who believe differently.

2. Excusable Actions
With cultural relativism, nearly any action that is made can be passed off as a cultural difference. While this may seem like a con, there are certainly pros to it. There is an overwhelming amount of ideals in this world, and with social and other types of media, even the smallest action is made into a worldwide spectacle and debate. Understanding cultural relativism will help to alleviate much of this unnecessary debate.

3. Preserves Cultures
Many times, culturally traditional things begin to shift and change in order to appease the world view of said culture. With cultural relativism, these traditions can stay in place. Tradition, of course, is the root of many cultures.

Disadvantages of Cultural Relativism

1. Some Actions Are Not Excusable
Many cultures use the theory as an excuse of appalling actions. Things such as extreme violence, crimes against children, domestic abuse, and many other things are overlooked and passed off as “culturally acceptable”, when in reality, they are not.

2. No Judgment Is Still A Judgment
By saying that no moral judgment can be passed on any culture is truly a bias in itself. People begin to feel hostile because even if they deeply disagree with a cultural practice, there is seemingly nothing that they can do about it.

3. Good and Bad Is A Strange Concept
Determining what is deemed good and what is bad is an impossible thing. Each individual person, and not culture, has a different opinion on that. There is no one person who can deem morals to be correct or wrong. This is easily the biggest and most argued flaw with the idea of cultural relativism.

Important Facts About Cultural Relativism

The idea that a person’s culture shapes their morals and beliefs has been studied for over a century.

Bernard Williams is one of the most renowned researches into the topic of cultural relativity.

One of the biggest examples of cultural relativism is the treatment of women in Middle Eastern countries, compared to the treatment of women in Western Countries.

Another great example of this theory is that children in America are raised to believe that dogs are pets, while in other countries, such as China, dogs are considered a source of food.

This theory is most debated through the religious world because religious sects believe that their set of morals is the only correct ones.