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nothing wrong, and many people view them as heroic figures. Doesn't it make more
sense to believe that their actions were the right thing to do all along?
5.
Cultural relativism provides no framework for reconciliation between cultures in con-
flict.
Think about the culture of the Palestinians who have been crowded into refugee
camps in the Gaza Strip for more than 60 years. Some of these people are com-
pletely committed to an armed struggle against Israel. Meanwhile, some people in
Israel believe the Jewish state ought to be larger and are completely committed to
the expansion of settlements into the Gaza Strip. The values of each society lead to
actions that harm the other, yet cultural relativism says each society's moral guide-
lines are right. Cultural relativism provides no way out—no way for the two sides
to find common ground.
6.
The existence of many acceptable cultural practices does not imply that any cultural
practice would be acceptable.
Judging many options to be acceptable and then reaching the conclusion that any
option is acceptable is called the
many/any fallacy
. To illustrate this fallacy, consider
documentation styles for computer programs. There are many good ways to add
comments to a program; that does not mean that any commenting style is good.
It is false that all possible cultural practices have equal legitimacy. Certain
practices must be forbidden and others must be mandated if a society is to survive
[1]. This observation leads us directly to our next point.
7.
Societies do, in fact, share certain core values.
While a superficial observation of the cultural practices of different societies may
lead you to believe they are quite different, a closer examination often reveals similar
values underlying these practices. James Rachels argues that all societies, in order to
maintain their existence, must have a set of core values [5]. For example, newborn
babies are helpless. A society must care for its infants if it wishes to continue. Hence
a core value of every society is that babies must be cared for. Communities rely
upon people being able to believe each other. Hence telling the truth is another
core value. Finally, in order to live together, people must not constantly be on guard
against attack from their community members. For this reason a prohibition against
murder is a core value of any society.
The existence of common values among all societies is a powerful response
to the contention that different social contexts demand different moral guidelines,
which is at the heart of the argument in favor of cultural relativism. Because societies
do share certain core values, there is reason to believe we could use these values as
a starting point in the creation of a universal ethical theory that would not have the
deficiencies of cultural relativism.
8.
Cultural relativism is only indirectly based on reason.
As Sumner observed, many moral guidelines are a result of tradition. Traditions
develop because they meet a need, but once a tradition has been established, people
behave in a certain way because it's what they're supposed to do, not because they
understand the rationality deeply embedded within the tradition.
