Cultural Relativsim vs. Ethnocentrism - 1190 Words

Wade Davis, a famous anthropologist, writer, explorer, and other professions, stated â€Å"The world in which you were born is just one model of reality. Other cultures are not failed attempts at being you; they are unique manifestations of the human spirit.† The quote means that because a person is not like you or your culture does not make them inferior. It makes them unique in their own way. On the other side of the spectrum is David Eller who stated â€Å"Insularity is the foundation of ethnocentrism and intolerance; when you only know of those like yourself, it is easy to imagine that you are alone in the world or alone in being good and right in the world. Exposure to diversity, on the contrary, is the basis for relativism and tolerance; when†¦show more content†¦That there is no one culture that is more superior to another culture. After, he felt the Germany was started to think themselves as a more superior race he relocated to the U.S. to escape. While in U. S. he opposed racism and prejudice saying in the end everyone is human. He had hoped that people learned to be more tolerant of others who are not similar to them because diversity makes us the human race (Franz Boas). The first positive aspect of cultural relativism is the belief that there is no universal culture even though culture is universal (Chiariello, 2013). That each cultures has their own separate beliefs, tradition, values, and morals. That there is no one true or false way of living. That the rights and wrongs of one culture might not be the same for another culture. For example, in most third world countries children are forced into hard labor to provide for their families. Children in the United States might think that to be wrong and unethical but to those children in those countries this is what is needed of them and doesn’t see it to be wrong or unethical in any way. That difference doesn’t mean that one’s culture is superior or inferior to another’s culture. It means that as human we have to adapt to the surrounding in order to survive. The second positive aspect is that some people learn to accept,