Paper Topic:

Moral Conventionalism

First Name Last Name

Professor

Subject

Date

Cultural Relativism

Ruth Benedict and James Rachels have both tackled the issue of Cultural Relativism in both their works , Anthropology and the Abnormal ' and The Challenge of Cultural Relativism ' respectively . Despite the similarity in s , the two authors are not entirely on the same page when it comes to their views on the

Ruth Benedict claims that morality differs in every society , and is a convenient term for socially approved habits (73 . This statement suggests that there is no universal measuring

stick for morality . The morality of a person all depends on his or her cultural background . If a person is raised in an environment where certain rituals are considered taboo or even immoral to other societies , nobody is in the proper position to judge the morality of their actions except those who belong to the same society . Using the example of the Kwakuilt , Benedict emphasizes her point the Kwakuitl are known to kill anyone randomly after a relative has died . For American citizens (who do not belong to the Kwakuitl society , the practice is horrifying . Yet , while it is horrifying , Benedict implies in her article that one cannot criticize the act because it is just the way the Kwakuitl culture is

On the other hand , James Rachels claims that Cultural Relativism has its flaws . Rachels says that the conclusion of Cultural Relativism does not follow the premise . He argues that even if the premise is true , the conclusion might be false...

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