Journal of Anthropology Reports

Reflections from Cultural Relativism on Anthropology

Athi Blisso^* Department of Biological Anthropology, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa
^*Correspondence: Athi Blisso, Department of Biological Anthropology, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa, Email:

Received: 20-Jun-2023, Manuscript No. JFA-23-21913; Editor assigned: 22-Jun-2023, Pre QC No. JFA-23-21913 (PQ); Reviewed: 06-Jul-2023, QC No. JFA-23-21913 (QC); Revised: 13-Jul-2023, Manuscript No. JFA-23-21913 (R); Published: 21-Jul-2023, DOI: 10.35248/2684-1304.23.6.162

Description

Culture is the convictions, ways of behaving, objects, and different attributes shared by gatherings. A shared ethnicity, gender, customs, values, or even objects can form the basis of culture. Culture can also show how a group thinks, how they behave, what they think about the world, and so on. For instance, it is acceptable to stare at others in public or to stand very close to others in public spaces in some nations, like China which is not acceptable in other countries. The idea of not comparing a culture to our own ideals of what is right or wrong, strange or normal, is known as cultural relativism. Instead, they ought to make an effort to comprehend the cultural practices of other groups within the context of their own.

Some people are concerned that the idea of culture can also be misused and interpreted incorrectly. Assuming one culture acts one way, does that mean all societies can act that way also? For instance, numerous nations and global associations go against the demonstration of whaling (the fishing of whales) for natural reasons. According to these environmental groups, there aren't many whales left, so this kind of fishing should stop. However, whaling is argued to be a cultural practice that dates back thousands of years in other nations. Since it very well might be important for a country's maritime culture, this nation might say that such a social practice ought not be gone against in terms of social contrasts, People need to decide what constitutes moral behavior in a culture or is it wrong to whaling. As they saw in the preceding illustration, responses from two distinct cultures may be very different. Another more outrageous case would be female genital cutting in certain regions of the planet. It is argued that the practice has cultural roots locally, but numerous international human rights organizations have expressed concern about it. According to anthropologists, when considering various societies and cultures, we ought to approach their customs in a manner that enables us to comprehend how their cultural practices fit into their overall cultural context. For instance Polygamy makes cultural sense in few nomad communities.

Cultural relativism can be broken down into two distinct groups: essential and absolute. Absolute cultural relativists hold the belief that outsiders should not question any aspect of a culture. In contrast, critical cultural relativism recognizes power relationships and raises questions about cultural practices, including who accepts them and why.

Cultural relativism basically asserts that there is no such thing as universal ethics and truth; there are only a few different cultural norms. Also, the code of one culture has no unique status except for is just one among many.

However, cultural relativism encourages awareness of various cultures, allowing individuals to interact with other cultures in ways that appreciate and accept their differences. The capacity to comprehend a culture on its own terms without passing judgement based on one's own cultural norms is a benefit of cultural relativism. Sociologists and anthropologists can make more accurate inferences about other civilizations in this way.