Cultural relativism

As the reading for this first assignment was my first dive into philosophical reasoning, I found it somewhat difficult to relate the subject matter presented in Chapter 2 to the real world of business. The different approaches to business ethics (Kantian, Aristotelean, Utilitarianism, and Pragmatic), although apparently well-founded and logical, were a bit esoteric for my taste; perhaps I just need to become acquainted with the material. It did provide grounding for what is surely to come in later chapters.

On the other hand, I found the reading in Chapter 11 much more enjoyable and relevant. In particular, the section entitled “The Challenge of Cultural Relativism” (p. 438) was very interesting and thought-provoking. As I began reading this section, I realized that I am (or was) somewhat of a cultural relativist in my thinking, although I never realized there was an actual term that defined how I thought. In general, without going into any depth of analysis, I tended to agree that customs of different societies could not be said to be “correct” or “incorrect” – they simply are what they are. Also, however difficult to fully accept, I felt that our own particular moral code really has no special status; it is simply one of many that exist in the world. As I continued with the reading, I found my very broad point of view challenged. The discussion about the various consequences of taking cultural relativism seriously was most interesting. This section allowed me to question and develop my opinions more fully, something I had never done before. When presented with detailed arguments against the entirety of cultural relativism, I can definitely see some logical reasons why one might not necessarily be able to accept this view of the world. I was pleased to see that the author of this section, James Rachels, did present the positive aspects of the idea of cultural relativism, rather than simply arguing for its implausibility.