ANTH Cultural Relativism and Ethnocentrism Essay PDF

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Anthropology 101.60

Culture can be defined as the behaviors, traditions, beliefs, and symbols collectively encompassed by a group of people erudite through social learning. When studying cultures, it is paramount to take an objective look at different cultures as one’s own bias can cloud the true nature of a society in view, this is done by practicing cultural relativity. However, it can be difficult to view a culture impartially, as one’s own culture is ingrained in one’s worldview. Opposite of cultural relativity is ethnocentrism, the belief that one’s own culture is superior than others. Though cultural relativity and ethnocentrism are contradictory, they are related when studying and viewing another culture. Cultural relativism is understanding a culture on its own terms, without using one’s own cultural standard as a basis for judging a culture’s worldview, traditions, and beliefs. It is the view that every culture is valued, and no culture’s aspects are “wrong” or “right”. For cultural relativism to be practiced accurately, and objective view needs to be implemented to ensure the proper interpretation of a culture’s aspects. Though it is impossible for people and researchers to come from a neutral position, one should recognize these suppositions and try to understand another person’s culture through that individual’s own culture. An example of cultural relativism is arranged marriages. Arranged marriages are uncommon in the United States and often looked down upon however, the practice is apparent in other cultures. Countries like India and Pakistan practice these customs regularly, as they arrange unions based on status, profession, religion etc. Viewing the concept of an arrange marriage from an American cultural perspective, one would see the custom as an infringement on individual freedoms. However, in places that partake in the custom, it is viewed as an important tradition in their culture. Personally, I am very good friends with a Pakistani couple that participates in an arranged marriage. Their parents arranged the

union based on their religion, profession, family background, and status. As an American, who views the tradition as taboo, the couple remains happy, in love, and have a beautiful child together. Though it may seem that their individual freedom was violated, they view it as customary in their culture and a welcomed and joyous part of their lives. Ethnocentrism is the view that one’s own culture is natural, superior, and morally justified in relation to another’s culture. This viewpoint causes a distorted view of another culture as one’s own bias creates assumptions of a culture based on their own norms, values, and beliefs. In American society, we see ethnocentrism being practiced in the view of Muslims, especially those who are from the Middle East. Hate crimes against those who practice the religion in America have been on the rise since the terror attacks on the United States in 2001. In Victoria, Texas for example, an Islamic mosque was vandalized by a man who set fire to the mosque, claiming that those in connection to the mosque were part of ISIS and that he was protecting his community from the “rag heads”. We also see ethnocentric attitudes with the white supremacist groups vehemently against those of Jewish and African American decent; believing their skin color and heritage make them subsidiary. Throughout history, and of recent news, white supremacist groups have been publicly denouncing the people groups and have been known to construct violence on those them deem “inferior” to the white race. Cultural relativity and ethnocentrism are opposing concepts, yet are seen throughout the world by different societies and cultures. Cultural relativism should be practiced more than ever in our society, as ethnocentrism is so apparent in western cultures. To better understand others, it is important to grasp the aspects of one’s culture; to comprehend how certain people groups come to practice certain beliefs and traditions. To properly practice cultural relativism, one needs

to put aside their ethnocentric attitudes, and try to view a culture objectively while acknowledging one’s own assumptions....