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Accepting that the notion of "superior" has to be culturally defined (it is a value judgement), it follows that cultures will always observe other cultures as i
by notarobot123 2y ago
Accepting that the notion of "superior" has to be culturally defined (it is a value judgement), it follows that cultures will always observe other cultures as inferior or superior based on their own definitions.
Cultures are fundamentally incommensurable and cannot be viewed from some abstract or neutral viewpoint. That doesn't mean to say comparison and discussion isn't informative - just not conclusive.
- AnimalMuppet 2y ago> Accepting that the notion of "superior" has to be culturally defined (it is a value judgement), it follows that cultures will always observe other cultures as inferior or superior based on their own definitions. I think that's true. So when I say that Denmark is a better culture than Afghanistan, yes, I am making that judgment through the lens of western values. But as someone with four daughters, I simply cannot bend my mind far enough to consider Afghanistan's culture (or, perhaps, the Taliban's culture) as superior. (Though I admit that I might be able to if I were in the Taliban.) But what I was aiming at was mostly the idea that it is morally superior to consider all cultures as having equal value. That position contradicts itself, even if the "morally superior" part is left unstated. I will give you that all cultures have elements that are worthwhile.
- notarobot123 2y agoVery well said. We can appreciate that there are a plurality of perspectives while asserting our own predispositions, preferences and value judgments (and I would share yours in this case), all without giving in to the contradictions of moral relativism.