What is CULTURAL RELATIVISM? | UCLA Anthropology Student Explains & Defines Cultural Relativism
Summary
TLDRIn this educational video, Olivia Brown, a fourth-year anthropology student at UCLA, explores the concept of cultural relativism. She defines it as understanding a person's beliefs and practices within the context of their own culture. Olivia contrasts cultural relativism with ethnocentrism, which involves judging other cultures by one's own standards. She uses the example of Peruvians eating guinea pigs to illustrate how cultural practices should be understood relative to their own cultural norms rather than being dismissed based on unfamiliarity. The video encourages viewers to embrace and respect cultural diversity.
Takeaways
- đ Olivia Brown is a fourth-year undergraduate student at UCLA, studying anthropology.
- đ The video discusses cultural relativism, which is the idea that beliefs and practices should be understood based on one's own culture.
- đ Culture encompasses the traditions, arts, norms, and religious beliefs of a particular group of people.
- đ Relativism involves understanding an idea as it relates to different groups or contexts, like how 'cold' weather is relative to one's location.
- đ« Ethnocentrism is the problematic practice of evaluating another culture based on the standards of one's own culture.
- đ ââïž An example of ethnocentrism is judging Peruvians for eating guinea pigs, which is a cultural norm in Peru but not in America.
- đ Cultural relativism counters ethnocentrism by advocating for understanding other cultures on their own terms.
- đ€ It encourages asking why certain cultural practices exist, such as the Peruvian guinea pig consumption, rather than immediately judging them.
- đ The video emphasizes that there's no one 'right' way to do things, and different practices should be normalized and respected.
- â The video ends with a call for discussion on the limits of cultural relativism and invites viewers to share their thoughts and examples in the comments.
Q & A
What is the main topic discussed in Olivia Brown's video?
-The main topic discussed in Olivia Brown's video is cultural relativism, which is an approach to understanding a culture based on its own norms and values rather than evaluating it based on one's own cultural standards.
How does Olivia define cultural relativism?
-Olivia defines cultural relativism as the idea that a person's beliefs and practices should be understood based on that person's own culture, emphasizing the importance of understanding cultural practices within their own context.
What is the role of culture in the concept of cultural relativism?
-In cultural relativism, culture refers to the traditions, arts, norms, and religious beliefs of a particular group of people, which are the basis for understanding the practices and ideologies of that group.
Can you provide an example of relativism from the script?
-An example of relativism given in the script is the perception of cold weather. What is considered cold in California (50 degrees) might be considered warm in Antarctica, demonstrating that the concept of 'cold' is relative to one's location and experiences.
What is ethnocentrism, and how does it contrast with cultural relativism?
-Ethnocentrism is the practice of evaluating another culture based on the standards of one's own culture, which can be problematic. It contrasts with cultural relativism by promoting judgment of other cultures rather than understanding them within their own cultural context.
Why is it important to distinguish between cultural relativism and ethnocentrism?
-Distinguishing between cultural relativism and ethnocentrism is important because it helps to avoid judgment and promote understanding and respect for different cultures, which is essential for fostering global harmony and reducing cultural misunderstandings.
How does Olivia suggest we should approach understanding cultural practices like the Peruvians eating guinea pigs?
-Olivia suggests that instead of immediately judging practices like the Peruvians eating guinea pigs as disgusting, we should ask questions to understand the cultural, religious, or geographic reasons behind such practices.
What does Olivia believe is the best way to understand different cultures?
-Olivia believes that the best way to understand different cultures is to adopt a cultural relativist perspective, which involves recognizing that everything is relative and there's no one 'right' way to do things across cultures.
What question does Olivia pose to her viewers regarding the limits of cultural relativism?
-Olivia poses the question of how far the idea of cultural relativism extends, acknowledging that while it's important to understand and respect cultural differences, there may be practices that are universally considered not good.
How does Olivia engage with her audience at the end of the video?
-At the end of the video, Olivia encourages her viewers to share their thoughts on cultural relativism in the comments section, asks for suggestions for future video topics, and wishes her viewers happy holidays, demonstrating her engagement and appreciation for her audience.
Outlines
đ Understanding Cultural Relativism
In this segment, Olivia Brown introduces the concept of cultural relativism, emphasizing its importance in anthropology. She defines it as the approach to understanding a culture based on its own values and practices. Olivia explains that culture encompasses traditions, arts, norms, and religious beliefs of a group, while relativism is about viewing ideas in the context of different groups. She uses the example of weather to illustrate relativism, where what is considered cold varies by location. Cultural relativism, therefore, involves understanding an individual's culture in relation to its own norms. Olivia contrasts this with ethnocentrism, which is judging another culture by one's own standards. She uses the example of Peruvians eating guinea pigs, which might be seen as strange by Americans but is a cultural norm in Peru. Cultural relativism encourages us to ask why certain practices exist rather than immediately judging them. Olivia concludes by advocating for the normalization of diverse cultural practices as a way to understand and respect people worldwide.
đ Wrapping Up and Holiday Wishes
In the final paragraph, Olivia Brown wraps up the discussion on cultural relativism and invites viewers to share their thoughts and examples in the comments section. She poses a question about the limits of cultural relativism, acknowledging that there are practices that might be universally considered harmful. Olivia then asks for suggestions for future video topics and extends holiday wishes to her viewers, promising to continue providing educational content. The segment ends with a light-hearted tone, encouraging viewer engagement and signaling the end of the video with a cheerful sign-off.
Mindmap
Keywords
đĄCultural Relativism
đĄAnthropology
đĄEthnocentrism
đĄTraditions
đĄNorms
đĄRelativism
đĄGuinea Pigs
đĄRespect
đĄUnderstanding
đĄPractices
đĄDiversity
Highlights
Introduction to the concept of cultural relativism by Olivia Brown, a fourth-year anthropology student at UCLA.
Definition of cultural relativism as understanding beliefs and practices within the context of one's own culture.
Explanation of culture as the traditions, arts, norms, and religious beliefs of a particular group.
Discussion on relativism, using weather as an example to illustrate the concept of relative perspectives.
Cultural relativism as a method to understand an individual's culture relative to its own norms, contrasting with ethnocentrism.
Ethnocentrism defined as evaluating another culture based on one's own cultural standards.
Example of ethnocentrism: Judging Peruvian culture for eating guinea pigs based on American cultural norms.
Cultural relativism as a counteraction to ethnocentrism, promoting understanding over judgment of other cultures.
The importance of asking why about cultural practices, such as why Peruvians eat guinea pigs, to understand them better.
Cultural relativism encourages normalization of diverse practices and respect for cultural differences.
The idea that there's no one 'right' way to do things, and cultural practices should be understood in their own context.
Invitation for viewers to discuss the limits of cultural relativism and share their thoughts in the comments.
Call for examples of cultural relativism from the community of anthropology students and enthusiasts.
Olivia Brown's commitment to replying to comments and engaging with her audience.
Closing remarks and holiday wishes from the host.
Transcripts
hello everyone welcome back to my
channel or if you're new here hello my
name is olivia brown and i am currently
a fourth year undergraduate student at
ucla studying anthropology and as you
saw in the title of today's video we are
going to be talking about cultural
relativism now i know i have a lot of
cultural anthropologists who are
interested in these videos and it just
seemed like the perfect time to dive
into this topic so without further ado
let's just get into it
all right so we're going to start off
with the online definition and the
online definition of cultural relativism
i have my laptop right here as usual is
the idea that a person's beliefs and
practices should be understood based on
that person's own culture all right so
essentially what's happening in this
definition
is that cultural relativism is an
approach to understanding a certain
culture and certain ideologies around
the world but now let's break this
definition down a little bit and we're
gonna start with culture so culture is i
mean you guys probably know what culture
is it's the traditions the arts the
norms the religious beliefs of a
particular group of people then of
course relativism is understanding an
idea as it relates to different groups
of people or different contexts one
example of this is the weather if you
live in sunny california a cold day
could be 50 degrees right you're like oh
my gosh it's so cold outside it's 50
degrees but then if you found yourself
in antarctica 50 degrees is probably a
pretty warm day now that is an example
of relativism the cold this idea of
being cold is actually relative to who
you are and where you're located and
what you actually believe called to be
if that makes sense now these two ideas
put together culture and relativism
cultural relativism is that we are
looking to understand an individual's
culture relative to the norms of that
culture now i know that this still may
not be 100 crystal clear for you guys so
i'm going to back up a little bit to
another term that is widely known as
ethnocentrism now if you aren't familiar
with ethnocentrism in depth already i'm
going to link a video right here that i
filmed a bit ago now um just about
ethnocentrism on a deep level and if you
want all the examples and stuff go check
it out but for our purposes today
ethnocentrism is essentially evaluating
another culture based on the standards
of your own culture and this is actually
really problematic one example of this
is that people in peru often eat guinea
pigs now this is a part of the culture
there but where i'm from in america it
is not popular culture to eat guinea
pigs it's just not really what we do
here and so people from america might
actually approach this idea of eating
guinea pigs as saying oh that's gross or
that's disgusting or how could you ever
do that and this idea of judging the
peruvian culture for eating guinea pigs
actually only exists because you're
evaluating their standards their culture
their norms based on the norms of my own
country of america oh we don't do that
here and the fact that they do that
there that's gross that's disgusting
that whole thing altogether that is an
example of ethnocentrism judging someone
else's culture or a practice that a
culture has
based on the standards that your own
culture has i hope that's making sense
to you guys now that you guys understand
ethnocentrism maybe a little bit better
than you did before cultural relativism
essentially counteracts ethnocentrism in
the sense that it's a perspective that
we should be using when it comes to
understanding other people's cultures
now continuing with this idea of the
peruvians eating guinea pigs you
shouldn't immediately be jumping to
conclusions that are like oh that's
disgusting or oh that's gross instead we
should be asking why do the peruvians
eat guinea pigs are there religious
reasons there are there geographic
reasons there how did this cultural
practice start now all of these ideas
together this really gives us the best
understanding of why cultures will do
certain things whether that's food
practices or marriage practices or
whatever it is whatever you can think of
now all of this together basically what
i want you guys to take away from
cultural relativism and how we should be
looking to understand cultures is that
everything is relative and there's no
one way to do things alright just
because you do things your way in mexico
does not mean that it's wrong to do
those things here in america or vice
versa or in china or in japan or
wherever it is you guys i mean every
country does things differently and that
is a-okay we want to normalize all these
different practices because that's the
best way to i think understand people
and just honestly respect people around
the world now what do you think about
this what do you guys think about
cultural relativism of course this is
true much of the time but there are
definitely practices where things i
think universally in humanity aren't a
good thing right like how far does this
idea of cultural relativism extend i
think that's a really great question to
be having in the comments section down
below then of course if you guys have
any other great examples of cultural
relativism please leave those in the
comment section down below this is such
a great community of anthropology
students and i love that we can share
all this knowledge and information so
please go leave all that stuff in the
comment section down below i will
probably reply to you because i'm pretty
much reply to every single comment so
hey
um
and yes i think that's actually all i
have to say this week let me know what
you guys want to see in the weeks to
come and yes have a happy holidays all
right you guys bye
[Music]
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