Giving the lie to the general bull___t of cultural relativism

[oxcoug]

In the which couples commit a crime (by having sex) and are punished (by being stoned to death).

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/08/22/we...w/22worth.html

[RobinFinderson]

The article makes some great points. For one, Iran would like to be accepted by the international community, and is thus susceptible to pressure. The same can not be said of the Taliban. If the war in Afghanistan ends in the failure that seems increasingly inevitable, how will the civilized world help the mothers and daughters of that country? I'd like to see a modern Underground Railroad to silently ship every Afghan female out of the country where they could realize the full measure of their humanity. Let the effing Taliban rot without progeny and dream about their post-mortal virgins.

[SeattleUte]

In the which couples commit a crime (by having sex) and are punished (by being stoned to death).

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/08/22/we...w/22worth.html

Of course cultural relativism is bullshit.

[Non Sequitur]

In the which couples commit a crime (by having sex) and are punished (by being stoned to death).

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/08/22/we...w/22worth.html

What, exactly, is your argument? Cultural relativism doesn't seek to justify behavior, it simply explains it. I think your real beef is with moral relativism, which isn't really bullshit either. But that's an entirely different discussion.

[Solon]

What, exactly, is your argument? Cultural relativism doesn't seek to justify behavior, it simply explains it. I think your real beef is with moral relativism, which isn't really bullshit either. But that's an entirely different discussion.

I posted this back in December: http://www.cougaruteforum.com/showthread.php?t=15304

A brutal and barbaric way to die.

[oxcoug]

What, exactly, is your argument? Cultural relativism doesn't seek to justify behavior, it simply explains it. I think your real beef is with moral relativism, which isn't really bullshit either. But that's an entirely different discussion.

Well cultural and moral relativism are entangled in a variety of ways, but I see your point. If you were a British magistrate in Mumbai in 1820 and a case of Sati (the coerced or voluntary immolation of a Hindu widow) came your way it would be an issue of both cultural and moral relativism.

The fundamentalist relativist would have to accept the cultural and moral dictates of the local practice. To step outside of it and say "this is wrong" (as the British did, the practice was outlawed in 1829) is both a judgment that suggests both cultural and moral superiority, isn't it?

But I don't dismiss cultural relativism outright - of course some things are fairly described as culturally relative. Profanity is one example - "hell" and "damn" aren't much of a thing in the British vocabulary but some things that wouldn't get the slightest reaction from Sheri Dew might be extremely offensive to the wrong Brit.

[oxcoug]

Of course cultural relativism is bullshit.

I'm glad you know that SU - you'd be surprised how many people I talk to on a regular basis who don't. And more than a few of them are employed across the way from me at the UN.

[RobinFinderson]

Oxcoug, while I totally agree with the point that some traditions need to be universally condemned, I worry that this obvious point is too often used as a pretense for bloody conflict, as if war is going to stop ritual stoning. No amount of predator missiles will change the minds of Taliban leaders on this subject. Maybe this is what those folks that work across the street from you at the UN realize... that to bring about the change that is needed requires a kind of restraint and patience that can be easily mistaken for 'cultural relativism,' though I'm sure this isn't always the case... 'free trade' among nations with terrible human rights records (we are looking at you China) can inspire a lot of folks to overlook some atrocious behavior.