Ethics refers to the moral principles that govern behavior. The question of whether ethics is culturally relative or universal has long been debated by philosophers and social scientists. Those who believe ethics is culturally relative argue that moral truths differ across cultures, while universalists argue that some ethical values transcend cultural boundaries.
Cultural relativism
Cultural relativism is the view that moral truths vary across different cultures and societies. What is considered ethical in one culture may be unethical in another. Relativists argue that morality is not fixed but is shaped by cultural norms, traditions, and beliefs. Some practices that are considered unethical in Western cultures, like polygamy or eating dogs, are accepted and normalized in other cultures.
Relativists say ethics is subjective – there are no absolute or universal ethical standards that apply to all peoples at all times. Right and wrong depend on the moral code of a person’s culture. Each society has a distinct worldview that shapes its values. Therefore, what one society considers normal or ethical, another may condemn as morally wrong.
Anthropologists like Franz Boas and Ruth Benedict popularized cultural relativism in the early 20th century. They showed through their research that societies often have vastly different moral codes. For instance, the Dobu tribe of New Guinea values deceit and treachery while the Inuit people of the Arctic cooperative sharing. Relativists argue these dramatically different values systems show that ethics is not grounded in universal moral truths but cultural biases.
Evidence supporting cultural relativism
There are several lines of evidence used to support cultural relativism:
- Moral diversity – There is wide variation in laws, norms, values, and behaviors between societies throughout history. What one society praises, others condemn.
- Rapid change – Moral codes frequently change over time within societies, undermining the idea they are grounded in universal truths.
- Dependency – An individual’s morality is shaped by their cultural upbringing and socialization.
- Disagreement – There are few ethical statements or values that all human societies agree on. Disagreement implies subjectivity.
Overall, cultural relativists see the plurality of cultural ethics systems and lack of moral consensus across societies as evidence that ethics is contingent on culture rather than human nature or absolute principles.
Criticisms of cultural relativism
While cultural relativism recognizes moral diversity, critics argue it goes too far in claiming there are no universal ethical standards. Some problems raised with relativism include:
- Inconsistency – Relativism itself assumes an absolute moral rule – that beliefs and practices should be evaluated relative to their culture. But his contradicts pure relativism.
- Unsatisfactory implications – Relativism makes it difficult to morally condemn reprehensible practices like genocide, slavery, or sexism in societies where they are accepted.
- Intercultural critique – Representatives from different cultures can and do critique each other’s ethical systems, suggesting some shared moral reasoning.
- Intracultural disputes – There are usually ethical disputes within cultures, undermining the idea they reflect coherent shared values.
These issues suggest cultural relativism may overstate the case that ethics is strictly contingent on culture. Most ethicists today argue cultures shape but do not wholly determine ethics.
Moral universalism
In contrast to relativism, moral universalism claims that some ethical principles or values apply universally across humanity. Universalism argues that despite surface level cultural differences, there exist shared ethical values, norms, and reasoning humanity is predisposed towards.
Unlike relativism, universalism holds that morality is not entirely dependent on culture or subjective preferences. Fundamental moral truths exist and can be rationally understood through philosophical reflection. These universal ethics apply categorically across all peoples and cultures.
European Enlightenment thinkers like Immanuel Kant argued for moral universalism. More recently, cognitive psychologists have argued for universal ethics originating from shared aspects of human nature and psychology that evolved to enable cooperation in groups.
Evidence supporting moral universalism
Several facts are marshaled as evidence of universal ethics:
- Similar values – Surveys of different cultures reveal shared moral values like fairness, care, liberty, loyalty, and sanctity.
- Moral reasoning – People in diverse cultures use similar logic and justifications to reason about right and wrong.
- Universal concerns – All societies grapple with core issues like harm, hierarchy, and reciprocity in making ethical judgments.
- Conscience and empathy – These psychological capacities for moral judgment emerge in people across cultures.
In total, universalists argue that converging evidence from anthropology, moral philosophy, and psychology demonstrates certain ethical principles apply deeply across humanity.
Problems with moral universalism
Critics of universalism contend it also has deficiencies:
- Superficial convergence – Universal values like fairness mean different things to different cultures in practice.
- Western bias – Universalism presumes Western liberal values reflect universal ethics versus other cultural worldviews.
- Disregard for pluralism – Searching for universal rules overlooks the diversity of moral systems people construct locally.
- Theoretical issues – Moral truths that apply universally are difficult to establish philosophically.
These concerns suggest universalism falls short of decisively proving certain ethical values apply objectively everywhere.
Conclusion
In summary, complex societies require ethics to function cooperatively. But the bases of ethics remain disputed. Cultural relativism emphasizes ethical diversity between societies, positing morality is culturally constructed rather than universal. Moral universalism contends some ethical values transcend cultural boundaries, reflecting shared aspects of human nature.
Contemporary anthropologists generally reject strong forms of both relativism and universalism. Rather, they argue ethics involves a dynamic interplay between cultural influences and universal intuitions. Cultures profoundly shape moral values and practices. But universal psychological drives and social dynamics also constrain the diversity of ethical systems people create. Ultimately, ethics likely stems from both cultural and universal wellsprings.