PHLB09H3 Lecture Notes - Lecture 2: Cultural Relativism, William Graham Sumner
Document Summary
Its arrogant to judge conducts of other people; we should have the attitude of tolerance towards their practices: there may be some claims that are correct, and others are false/mistaken. Right and wrong are only matters of opinion, and opinions vary from culture to culture (cultural differences argument - cda: the premise concerns what people believe, but in societies, ppl believe different things from the other society. So the conclusion concerns what is really the case but this conclusion from the cda does(cid:374)"t follo(cid:449) logi(cid:272)all(cid:455) 2. 4 the consequences of taking cultural relativism seriously: willia(cid:373) graha(cid:373) u(cid:373)(cid:374)er: (cid:862)there is (cid:374)o (cid:373)easure of right a(cid:374)d (cid:449)ro(cid:374)g other tha(cid:374) the sta(cid:374)dards of o(cid:374)e"s so(cid:272)iet(cid:455)(cid:863) If we thought that whatever the folkways said, was right just because they think is right, these are the following consequences: ca(cid:374)"t sa(cid:455) that (cid:272)usto(cid:373)s of other so(cid:272)ieties are (cid:373)orall(cid:455) i(cid:374)ferior to our o(cid:449)(cid:374) We would have to stop condemning/disapproving other societies because they are (cid:862)differe(cid:374)t(cid:863)
