"Different cultures have different moral codes," can be seen as a universal truth. Morality can be based on cultural values which differ from culture to culture which leads me and others to believe that we cannot be inferior to anyone else. We all are different and we all believe different things.
Maybe in the culture of Vladimir and Estragon, waiting for Godot, in Waiting for Godot, is what they would approve. It may be from an existentialist's point of view, however that could be their society. We find it so hard to grasp these values because it is different and absurd from our own. It is okay to be different, that our society needs to understand.
Our society believes we are superior to other cultures, we have advanced. However this article explains that it is merely doubt. We cannot say something is progress if it is from the societal standards of that time. Cultural relativism would say that it is based on their society of what kind of advancements that the society is in at that time. We can not compare our advancements to the time in Things Fall Apart because it is a different time period. It would also say that the white people could not look at the villages and think they were above them, because it was a different culture, a different society. However they did. There would be more understanding if they used cultural relativism in their thinking.
In my sophomore year of high school I had my eyes opened to a different understanding. My chemistry teacher told me, while I was venting to him about some drama, that you can not justify someone else's actions with your morals and values. To me, this is relative to cultural relativism; different culture different morals. Everyone comes from a different past, a different background, a different lifestyle. Because of this lesson my chemistry teacher taught me I understand others better, and do not feel the need to push my values on to others. I do not ask the question of why or how so much anymore. Every culture is different and within every culture there are different people.
Good Kaleigh. For future blogs, develop a specific societal/world connection.
ReplyDelete