When considering the human race, finding something to unite us all could be a welcome gift. If the goal is unity, French anthropologist Louis Dumont says this:
The oneness of the human species, however, does not demand the arbitrary reduction of diversity to unity- it only demands that it should be possible to pass from one particularity to another, and that no effort should be spared in order to elaborate a common language in which each particularity can be adequately described. The first step to that end consists in recognizing differences.
In essence, Dumont is urging us to recognize the differences across humans and groups, being intentional and thorough in our understanding of these differences to be able to accept them as they are; …show more content…
We all come from our own particular cultural group, so it is important that the culture we come from does not bias the language we choose to discuss these differences. Shweder uses liberal pluralism as a type of language to note the differences in cultural practices. First of all, a definition for liberalism itself must be made so we can discuss why Shweder is a liberal pluralist rather than a liberal monist: “A liberal… is a person who values individual autonomy and the freedom of those who are endowed with reason and free will to fashion their own way of life and to do so free of coercion or external interference” (Shweder 250). Therefore, Shweder describes a liberal monist as one who “assume[s] that liberal ways of life are objectively more valuable than illiberal ways of life and should replace them (for the sake of making the world a better place)” (248), while, “liberal pluralism is liberal but not consistently so; and it makes room for practices such as male circumcision whose moral foundations must be understood on more than, or other than, liberal terms” (253). The male circumcision he speaks of is, in particular, neonatal circumcision, performed without the child’s informed proper consent. A liberal monist’s justification of neonatal circumcision would be unconvincing, but Shweder believes the practice has value, and, “When it comes to the question of value, you …show more content…
However, even among consenting girls in the world, the true informed nature of the consent is hazy at best. Social pressures to be circumcised, especially since your prospects for marriage within the cultural group decrease when you are uncircumcised, influence the decision to be cut. This is coercion, which is against liberal values. The true, independent, individual right of a girl to choose takes precedence over the cultural custom of circumcision for Okin, since without these liberal values infused into each culture, the differences within the culture can cause harm to women as coercion and as the perpetuation of the domestic married role of women, keeping them out of the public roles taken over by men which allow for the decisions to be made about cultural
The oneness of the human species, however, does not demand the arbitrary reduction of diversity to unity- it only demands that it should be possible to pass from one particularity to another, and that no effort should be spared in order to elaborate a common language in which each particularity can be adequately described. The first step to that end consists in recognizing differences.
In essence, Dumont is urging us to recognize the differences across humans and groups, being intentional and thorough in our understanding of these differences to be able to accept them as they are; …show more content…
We all come from our own particular cultural group, so it is important that the culture we come from does not bias the language we choose to discuss these differences. Shweder uses liberal pluralism as a type of language to note the differences in cultural practices. First of all, a definition for liberalism itself must be made so we can discuss why Shweder is a liberal pluralist rather than a liberal monist: “A liberal… is a person who values individual autonomy and the freedom of those who are endowed with reason and free will to fashion their own way of life and to do so free of coercion or external interference” (Shweder 250). Therefore, Shweder describes a liberal monist as one who “assume[s] that liberal ways of life are objectively more valuable than illiberal ways of life and should replace them (for the sake of making the world a better place)” (248), while, “liberal pluralism is liberal but not consistently so; and it makes room for practices such as male circumcision whose moral foundations must be understood on more than, or other than, liberal terms” (253). The male circumcision he speaks of is, in particular, neonatal circumcision, performed without the child’s informed proper consent. A liberal monist’s justification of neonatal circumcision would be unconvincing, but Shweder believes the practice has value, and, “When it comes to the question of value, you …show more content…
However, even among consenting girls in the world, the true informed nature of the consent is hazy at best. Social pressures to be circumcised, especially since your prospects for marriage within the cultural group decrease when you are uncircumcised, influence the decision to be cut. This is coercion, which is against liberal values. The true, independent, individual right of a girl to choose takes precedence over the cultural custom of circumcision for Okin, since without these liberal values infused into each culture, the differences within the culture can cause harm to women as coercion and as the perpetuation of the domestic married role of women, keeping them out of the public roles taken over by men which allow for the decisions to be made about cultural