Cultural Relativism - Explained
What is Cultural Relativism?
Written by J. Mance Gordon
Updated at April 22nd, 2024
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What is Cultural Relativism?
Cultural relativism concerns understanding and respecting foreign cultures. More specifically, is calls for a deeper understanding of people on the basis of their own cultural beliefs. Further, people should not be compared against or judged on the based upon the culture of others.
How does Cultural Relativism Work?
The concept of cultural relativism was first described by Frank Boaz in 1887 as "civilization is not something absolute, but ... is relative, and ... our ideas and conceptions are true only so far as our civilization goes".
The term was first put into use within the Oxford English Dictionary by social theorist and philosopher Alain Locke in 1924 to define Robert Lowie's "extreme cultural relativism" as found in his 1917 book titled Culture and Ethnology.
Cultural relativism entails both specific methodological and epistemological claims. However, whether these claims encourage a particular ethical dimension is subject to further debate.