In the
article about cultural relativity it claims that there is no moral truth that
holds for all people at all times. It later goes on to say that there are only
a few rules that all societies have in common including rules against lying and
murder. Without those two rules, societies would not be able to function or
continue. The rest of the article discusses the idea of cultural relativity.
Cultural relativity says that right and wrong differs between societies and
that people cannot determine what is actually right or wrong because they will
side with the morals of their society. So it is hard to decide if different
practices are in fact wrong practices. In Things
Fall Apart there are obvious cultural differences between Okonkwo’s tribe
and the white men. The white men see it as a crime and wrong to kill infants
but Okonkwo’s tribe believes twins are evil and so they have to be killed. This
is an example of cultural relativity because the morality of killing babies
changes between societies. Another example is how Okonkwo’s tribe believes in
many gods but the white men only believe in God. The white men tell Okonkwo’s
tribe that they are wrong for having multiple gods but the tribe believes that
they are right. This shows how it is not possible to determine wrong or right
between societies. The issues between right or wrong between societies is shown
today through the argument about abortion. Some groups of people argue that
abortion is not morally wrong because the baby is not born yet and is not
actually a person and that it’s the mother’s body and therefore her choice.
Other groups of people argue that it is wrong because regardless of it still
being inside the mother, the baby is still a person and is still alive. This
argument between groups of people and different cultures shows the idea of cultural
relativity and how when the issue is viewed through the beliefs of both sides,
it is difficult to pick which is right without choosing the side of a person’s
own society or culture. I side with the pro-life group and believe that the
baby is a person and that abortion is murder. There will always be different
situations to consider which also affects the ability to determine to morality
of abortion. For myself, I believe it is terribly wrong and not something I will
ever consider.
