Nacirema and Its Sociological Effects Rachael L. Smith SOCI 111 In Horace Miner’s “Body Ritual among the Nacirema‚” the reader is introduced to an interesting group called the Nacirema‚ whose culture is then described and dissected in very tribal and primitive terms. At first‚ it is unclear as to where or how this culture exists under the guidelines and practices and beliefs its society maintains; but‚ the reader soon discovers‚ with contextual clues and a bit of pondering‚ that
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Darius anecdote illustrates among the Greeks one is morally obliged to cremate the dead one is morally forbidden to eat them among the Callatians one is morally obliged to eat the dead one is morally forbidden to burn them 2.2 Cultural Relativism • Relativist Conclusion drawn from facts like these o There is no objective (absolute universal) morality -- no morality per se; rather just Ancient Greek morality Callatian morality traditional Eskimo morality modern American
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Body Ritual in Nacirema When I started reading Miner’s “Body Rituals among the Nacirema” I wasn’t really ‘reading’ it. By the end of the first page‚ it “hit me” and I had to start reading it over again. Realizing the essay was speaking of Americans gave me a whole different perspective. I found some of it quite amusing as well as enlightening. My feeling is that the author intended the reader to see our own ethnocentrism and question our own acts towards others with whom we are not familiar
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Is cultural relativism good for our society? Cultural relativism is a belief where there are no absolute moral views or beliefs can be apply to all cultures‚ which makes “right” and “wrong” different in every society; what is considered “right” in one society may be considered “wrong” in another. Since no universal standard of morality exists‚ no one has the right to judge another society’s customs. If this belief is held true‚ then every culture will have their own set of “rules” to live by
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standards. This is because of the use of cultural relativism‚ which is the belief that something is good or wrong if and only if it is approved or disapproved in a given culture. Right and wrong values vary from society to society; therefore‚ there is no standard base to judge what is universally right or wrong between the different cultures. Because of this‚ societies may disagree about the morality of what is right and wrong. Gensler believes that if cultural relativism is true‚ then there are no right
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Topic: Cultural Relativism In Business Submitted to: Mr. Mehmood Ul Hassan Khalil Submitted by: Waqas Shehzad Class: BBA 5D Cultural Relativism: Cultural relativism is the view that all beliefs are equally valid and that truth itself is relative‚ depending on the situation‚ environment‚ and individual. Those who hold to cultural relativism hold that all religious‚ ethical‚ aesthetic‚ and political beliefs are completely relative to the individual within a cultural identity. Cultural relativism
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The authors describe cultural relativism in this chapter. They explain cultural relativism with some examples such as Callatians‚ who lived in India and ate the bodies of their dead father‚ and Eskimos‚ who are native people of Alaska and had distinct moral codes‚ such as marriages‚ sexual practices‚ and infanticide. For instance‚ infanticide was common in Eskimos’ society of the early and mid-20th century. The customs seemed that they had little respect for human life. So‚ the two examples seem
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A10691383 Cultural relativism promotes understanding and acceptance of differences. Throughout history‚ various conflicts could have been lessened or avoided by encouraging cultural relativism. People throughout the world are greatly influenced by the cultural and environment in which they are raised. Moral and ethical standards and behavioral practices vary across cultures. Cultural relativism is an appealing theory; it should be the goal in terms of promoting tolerance and peace. Reaching that
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INTRODUCTION After reading Laura Bohannan’s Shakespeare in the Bush and Horace Miner’s Body Ritual Among the Nacirema‚ a common theme presents itself between the two articles. Ethnocentrism‚ particularly within the U.S.‚ is elucidated through the actions of Bohannan while in West Africa‚ and the reaction of any American reading Miner’s piece about the “magical” Nacirema culture. In Bohannan’s piece‚ she struggles to prove that Hamlet is a universal story that any culture can easily understand. She
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This premise of cultural relativism shows prefigure of moral relativism. Moral relativism can be generally grouped into three categories; (1) descriptive moral relativism‚ (2) normative moral relativism‚ and (3) meta-ethical moral relativism. Descriptive relativism‚ according to Frankena‚ is the idea ‘that the basic ethical beliefs of different people and societies are different and even conflicting’ [1973:109]. The second form of ethical relativism conceives the idea that ‘what is really right or
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