Stop to Think #6

The videos and primary texts are accompanied with a short description and often a question to guide your focus. Thinking of each of them is essential for understanding certain class material. In this assignment, you will respond to one of them by writing a concise, thorough paragraph (around 150 words).

In his article The Challenge of Cultural Relativism, Rachels talks about the three main consequences of taking seriously this view (The Consequences of taking Cultural Relativism seriously). Explain each of them separately, and use your own original examples to illustrate them.

Stop to Think #6 Answer

The three consequences which Rachel used to determine why cultural relativism might be true are the following: we could no longer say that the customs of other societies are morally inferior to our own; we could decide whether actions are right or wrong just by consulting the standards of our society; and the idea of moral progress sis called into doubt. These consequences provide an explicit means to properly identify how cultural relativism can be valid and true in understanding the different societies and their respective moralities.