Republic of the Philippines

University of Eastern Philippines

University Town, Northern Samar
College of Science
Senior High School Department

Individual Research
in
Understanding Culture,
Society and Politics

Gabriel O. Tobes, Jr.

Grade 11
TVL/ICT
 Ethnocentrism and Cultural Relativism
Cultural relativism is the principle of regarding the beliefs, values, and practices
of a culture from the viewpoint of that culture itself. Originating in the work of Franz Boas in the
early 20th century, cultural relativism has greatly influenced social sciences such as
anthropology. In sociology, the principle is sometimes practiced to avoid cultural bias in
research, as well as to avoid judging another culture by the standards of one's own culture. For
this reason, cultural relativism has been considered an attempt to avoid ethnocentrism. Cultural
relativism is related to but often distinguished from moral relativism, the view that morality is
relative to a standard, especially a cultural standard.

Ethnocentrism is judging another culture solely by the values and standards of

one's own culture. Ethnocentric individuals judge other groups relative to their own ethnic group
or culture, especially with concern for language, behavior, customs, and religion. These ethnic
distinctions and subdivisions serve to define each ethnicity's unique cultural identity.
Ethnocentrism may be overt or subtle, and while it is considered a natural proclivity of human
psychology in everyday life, it has developed a generally negative connotation. In anthropology,
cultural relativism is seen as an antithesis and an antonym to ethnocentrism.

Ethnocentrism, in contrast to cultural relativism, is the

tendency to look at the world primarily from the perspective
of one's own culture.
Learning Objective

 Examine the concepts of ethnocentrism and cultural relativism in relation to your own
and other cultures in society

Key Points

o Ethnocentrism often entails the belief that one's own race or ethnic group is the
most important or that some or all aspects of its culture are superior to those of
other groups.
o Within this ideology, individuals will judge other groups in relation to their own
particular ethnic group or culture, especially with concern to language, behavior,
customs, and religion.
o Cultural relativism is the belief that the concepts and values of a culture cannot be
fully translated into, or fully understood in, other languages; that a specific
cultural artifact (e.g., a ritual) has to be understood in terms of the larger symbolic
system of which it is a part.
 o Cultural relativism is the principle that an individual person's beliefs and activities
should be understood by others in terms of that individual's own culture.

Terms

 ethnocentrism

The tendency to look at the world primarily from the perspective of one's own culture.

 cultural relativism

Cultural relativism is a principle that was established as axiomatic in anthropological

research by Franz Boas in the first few decades of the twentieth century, and later
popularized by his students. Boas first articulated the idea in 1887: "...civilization is not
something absolute, but ... is relative, and ... our ideas and conceptions are true only so
far as our civilization goes. "

Example

o Cultural relativism can be difficult to maintain when we're confronted with

cultures whose practices or beliefs conflict with our own. For example, in France,
head scarfs worn by many Islamic women have been banned. To the French,
banning head scarfs is important because it helps maintain a secular society and
gender equality. But imposing these values on people with a different culture is
ethnocentric and, therefore, has become controversial.

Full Text

Ethnocentrism, a term coined by William Graham Sumner, is the tendency to look at the world
primarily from the perspective of your own ethnic culture and the belief that that is in fact the
"right" way to look at the world. This leads to making incorrect assumptions about others'
behavior based on your own norms, values, and beliefs. For instance, reluctance or aversion to
trying another culture's cuisine is ethnocentric. Social scientists strive to treat cultural differences
as neither inferior nor superior. That way, they can understand their research topics within the
appropriate cultural context and examine their own biases and assumptions at the same time.

This approach is known as "cultural relativism." Cultural relativism is the principle that an
individual person's beliefs and activities should be understood by others in terms of that
individual's own culture. A key component of cultural relativism is the concept that nobody, not
even researchers, comes from a neutral position. The way to deal with our own assumptions is
not to pretend that they don't exist but rather to acknowledge them, and then use the awareness
that we are not neutral to inform our conclusions.
An example of cultural relativism might include slang words from specific languages (and even
from particular dialects within a language). For instance, the word "tranquilo" in Spanish
translates directly to "calm" in English. However, it can be used in many more ways than just as
an adjective (e.g., the seas are calm). Tranquilo can be a command or suggestion encouraging
another to calm down. It can also be used to ease tensions in an argument (e.g., everyone relax)
or to indicate a degree of self-composure (e.g., I'm calm). There is not a clear English translation
of the word, and in order to fully comprehend its many possible uses, a cultural relativist would
argue that it would be necessary to fully immerse oneself in cultures where the word is used.

Cultural context
Depending on your cultural background, this may or may not look delicious.