In this article the issue of the reliability and truth of the Cultural Relativism theory is brought into question. This theory states that there are moral differences in every society and that there are no common morals connecting these cultures. It goes on to say that because of this difference there can be no "right" or "wrong" relating two societies.
I think that the author of this article is right in his analysis Cultural Relativism. Although the theory has merit and applies to many situations, it does not apply to all. I found myself getting really angry at the author when I first started the article but as it went on I began to see his point. The are morals that pertain to all societies and although I do not agree with some of the specific examples given by the author, I feel that these common morals are expresses in some of their most plain forms. Empathy is such a moral that I believe applies to all societies, barring individuals who do not possess it. Being able to feel pain when seeing another's pain or understanding a feeling of something going wrong is applicable to all humans.
Cultural Relativism has presented itself in our Socratic Seminar on Things Fall Apart. We see Okonkwo's multiple marriages as wrong or odd, but it is important to bring it into the context of the novel. In the time period and location it was acceptable, and no matter how we see it, it isn't necessarily wrong. The extent to which Okonkwo abuses his wives, however is something that is universally wrong in both our culture, and the culture of the book when Okonkwo breaks the week of peace.
I can personally relate to this issue because I have noticed the generation clash on homosexuality. Some adults (though certainly not all) want to support homosexuality, but find it uncomfortable because it goes against how they were raised. In the current generation, more people are comfortable with this because they have grown up with it as an issue. In this way I think Cultural Relativism applies if we take each generation as a different culture. The separate views are not inherently wrong, they are just the product of an era. Which is in no way saying that those views cannot be changed.
Good Wes. Good societal connection- you could apply what you said here to just about every generation who had to "go against" their upbringing to try to bring more social justice to our society. The fight against slavery, for suffrage, even for the acceptability of interracial marriage, had to be fought by those who most likely did not have the support of their parents/grandparents.
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