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Today’s 1st Topic: The Challenge of Cultural Relativism Factual vs. Normative Statements Factual Statements: statements describing some state of affairs. 1. “It rained on this day last year.” 2. “Same sex couples have the right to marry in Spain.” 3. “Silver has the highest electrical conductivity of all metals.” 4. “There is a giraffe in the room.” • Inquiry into the relevant facts would confirm or disconfirm these statements. Factual vs. Normative Statements Normative Statement: expresses a value judgment of some kind. It is defended by appeal to a norm or standard. There are many different kinds of normative statements. 1. “Antonio Gaudi is a great architect and artist.” 2. “Do not chew with your mouth open.” 3. “You should try to give something to charity.” 4. “Don’t Mess With Texas.” 5. “Do not use a semicolon when listing items.” Question: What type of standard does each question appeal to? Characteristics of Ethical Statements 1. Prescription of conduct: differentiates ethical from aesthetic statements. 2. Impartiality: moral norms are not supposed to advance the interests of one person or group exclusively. 3. Independence from Arbitrary Authority: moral norms cannot be determined simply by appeal to consensus or tradition, unlike etiquette. 4. Overriding Importance: moral norms are more important than the rules of law and aesthetic judgments. This is taken by many to be the central feature of moral norms. How Different Cultures Have Different Moral Codes Morality differs in every society, and is a convenient term for socially approved habits. Ruth Benedict, Patterns of Culture (1934) • Consider the example from Herodotus (c. 484-425 BC) in his History. There he describes how the ancient Greeks burned but the Callatians ate the bodies of their dead fathers. Cultural Relativism The “right” way is the way which the ancestors used and which has been handed down. The tradition is its own warrant. It is not held subject to verification by experience. The notion of right is in the folkways. It is not outside of them, of independent origin, and brought to test them. In the folkways, whatever is, is right….When we come to the folkways we are at the end of our analysis. William Graham Sumner, Folkways (1906) Five Features of Cultural Relativism 1. Different societies have different moral codes. 2. (a) The "good" is determined by society; (b) an act is "right" if it is allowed by the guiding ideals of the society in which it is performed, and "wrong" if it is forbidden by those ideals. 3. There is no objective standard that can be used to judge one society’s code as better than an other’s. 4. The moral code of our society has no special status. 5. We should adopt an attitude of tolerance. The Cultural Differences Argument 1. The Greeks believed it was wrong to eat the dead. 2. The Callatians believed it was right to eat the dead. 3. Therefore, eating the dead is neither objectively right nor objectively wrong: it is merely a matter of opinion from culture to culture. Question: Is this a sound argument? Generalized Cultural Differences Argument 1. Different cultures have different moral codes. 2. If different cultures have different moral codes, then whether it is right for an individual to act in a certain way depends on the society to which he or she belongs. 3. Therefore, there is no objective truth in morality. Right and wrong are merely matters of opinion, and opinions vary from culture to culture. (Rachels p.18) Consider : A Related Argument 1. Some people think that earth is flat. 2. Some people think the earth is round. 3. If there is disagreement concerning some matter of fact, there is no objective truth. 4. Hence, there is no objective truth whether the earth is round or flat. Objection: The Cultural Differences Argument tries to derive a substantive conclusion about a subject from the mere fact that people disagree about it. But this is impossible. (Rachels p. 18) What If….. Cultural Relativism Were True? 1. We could no longer say that the customs of other societies are morally inferior/superior to our own. What If….. Cultural Relativism Were True? 2. We could decide whether our actions are right or wrong just by consulting the standards of our society. What If….. Cultural Relativism Were True? 3. The idea of moral progress is called into doubt. How Much Do Cultures Disagree? • Reconsider the case of eating the dead. Perhaps this is done protect the spirit of the deceased. • Indeed compare the practice to the Catholic Eucharist or Holy Communion. • Has there ever been a society that allows for murder? Recall: Reason and Impartiality Recall Rachel’s point about two fundamental elements of ethics at the end of chapter 1 : 1. Our feelings are important, but they must be guided by reason. 2. Ethics includes the idea of impartiality. Implications For Cultural Relativism 1. Those who defend cultural practices typically give reasons. (Consider the case of female genital mutilation.) 2. Cultural relativism violates the fundamental norm of impartiality by giving preferences to individual cultural groups.