Question

What is cultural absolutism? give answer with explanation.

Answer 1

here is your answer:

Cultural anthropology is the study of human cultures. Historically, it has been focused on universal characteristics all cultures share, but more recently, following a general shift within social sciences, it takes on a more relativist and particularistic approach.

explanation:

Cultural absolutism is one of the perspectives which was common in anthropology, but it can be applied to non-scientific thought as well. It supposes that there is a set of universal values which are objectively valid in all situations. In philosophy, this corresponds somewhat to moral absolutism, which claims that there are universal moral truths, but the difference is that cultural absolutism explicitly claims that certain cultural norms or practices are objectively better and should be universally applied. Throughout history, this has been the standard position, but at the turn of the last century anthropologists started noticing their biases.

Today, pure cultural absolutism is seen as a harmful incarnation of ethnocentrism: the belief that one's own culture is superior and the practice of holding other's cultures to the standard of our own. However, purely relativist anthropologists have also been critiqued for going too far, denying any common humanity and being too lenient towards morally questionable practices. Contemporary approaches try to find a balance between universal values, such as human dignity, and a more inclusive and relativistic view of culture.