This is called ethnocentrism, which is the practice of judging another culture by the standards of one's own culture. (Spradley, James) Ethnocentrism also generates misunderstanding and sometimes conflict. I agree that I am ethnocentric but I think ethnocentrism is difficult to avoid because culture is learned though enculturation rather than inborn. You can never know the values and norms of a particular society unless you're living there and trying to learn the culture. On the other hand, the idea of cultural relativism is the practice of judging a culture by its own standard. This means what is right or wrong is only determined by one's own society. So there are no standards to judge other societies and there is no universal morality. This idea may be very persuasive and reasonable to many people. But I think there is always a universal truth in the world and that there is a true wrong and a right; we can sometimes try and judge other society in a logical way. For example, today in Indonesia, Chinese people are discriminated against. Many Chinese Indonesians are being killed, raped and attacked simply for being Chinese. (Angle, C Stephen) And let's not forget about the Tutsis of Rwanda who hid in churches, schools, and relief agencies in an attempt to hide from the Hutus who were coming to murder them. After it was all said and done over 250,000 Tutsis were slaughtered simply because they were deemed different by another group of people. (Gourevitch, Philip) No matter whose eyes you experience atrocities through, they are still atrocities and they are wrong. If cultural relativism is totally true, then there is no reason for us to think that our peaceful society is better than the violent societies that still practice genocide. Inside this country,
This is called ethnocentrism, which is the practice of judging another culture by the standards of one's own culture. (Spradley, James) Ethnocentrism also generates misunderstanding and sometimes conflict. I agree that I am ethnocentric but I think ethnocentrism is difficult to avoid because culture is learned though enculturation rather than inborn. You can never know the values and norms of a particular society unless you're living there and trying to learn the culture. On the other hand, the idea of cultural relativism is the practice of judging a culture by its own standard. This means what is right or wrong is only determined by one's own society. So there are no standards to judge other societies and there is no universal morality. This idea may be very persuasive and reasonable to many people. But I think there is always a universal truth in the world and that there is a true wrong and a right; we can sometimes try and judge other society in a logical way. For example, today in Indonesia, Chinese people are discriminated against. Many Chinese Indonesians are being killed, raped and attacked simply for being Chinese. (Angle, C Stephen) And let's not forget about the Tutsis of Rwanda who hid in churches, schools, and relief agencies in an attempt to hide from the Hutus who were coming to murder them. After it was all said and done over 250,000 Tutsis were slaughtered simply because they were deemed different by another group of people. (Gourevitch, Philip) No matter whose eyes you experience atrocities through, they are still atrocities and they are wrong. If cultural relativism is totally true, then there is no reason for us to think that our peaceful society is better than the violent societies that still practice genocide. Inside this country,