Cultural Relativism & Ethnocentrism PDF

This module contains two (2) lessons, namely: **LESSON 5: CULTURAL RELATIVISM** **LESSON 6: SIGNIFICANCE OF CULTURAL, SOCIAL, POLITICAL AND ECONOMIC SYMBOLS AND PRACTICES** At the end of this module, the student is expected to: - define cultural relativism and ethnocentrism; - identify the...

This module contains two (2) lessons, namely: **LESSON 5: CULTURAL RELATIVISM** **LESSON 6: SIGNIFICANCE OF CULTURAL, SOCIAL, POLITICAL AND ECONOMIC SYMBOLS AND PRACTICES** At the end of this module, the student is expected to: - define cultural relativism and ethnocentrism; - identify the development of cultural evolution; - explain the importance of cultural relativism in attaining cultural understanding; and - explain the role of culture to the development of man's evolution. **General Instructions:** Answer all the activities on this module. Use separate sheets of paper for your answers. **Activity I.** Analyze the pictures below. Give descriptions pertaining to their: - CULTURE or way of living - PHYSICAL capacity in doing the task 1. What are the differences between shown on figure 1 from figure 2? Explain.  2. In three (3) sentences, explain how our cultural ways has changed over the years?  **CULTURAL RELATIVISM** The concept of cultural relativism underscores the idea that the culture in every society should be understood and regarded on its own terms. Societies are qualitatively different from one another, such that each one has its own "unique inner logic" (Eriksen 2001: 14). It promotes the idea that a society has to be viewed from the inside so that inner logic can be better explained. Cultural relativism is the ability to understand a culture on its own terms and not to make judgments using the standards of one\'s own culture. The goal of this is to promote understanding of cultural practices that are not typically part of one\'s own culture. According to James Rachels (2003), the following claims have all been made by cultural relativists: 1\. Each society has a diverse set of moral conducts. 2\. The rightfulness of an action within a society is primarily determined by the moral standards of that society. 3\. There is no objective standard that can be used as a basis of comparison among societies. 4\. The moral code of our own society is just part of a larger body of morality and ethical standards. 5\. High tolerance among all culture must be exercised always. However, in his critical analysis, he also posited some observations and consequences of accepting cultural relativism. These are: 1\. It is difficult to determine if the custom of other societies is morally inferior to others. 2\. The decision whether actions are right or wrong can be done just by consulting the standards of our society. 3\. The idea of moral progress is always questionable. 4\. The objective criticism of one's own culture is shallow. 5\. There will be no idea of moral progress because of acceptance of other's culture. The aspect of mutual respect and understanding must be observed. This is the first step towards a deeper appreciation of one's culture. Tolerance and acceptance of cultural diversities within the bounds of our own moral and ethical standard can be a way to understand individual differences. **Ethnocentrism** When people find cultural practices and values not their own as disturbing and threatening, that can be regarded as ethnocentrism. A literal meaning of ethnocentrism is the regard that one's own culture and society is the center of everything and therefore far more superior than others. The word "ethnocentrism" was coined by American social scientist William Sumner in 1906 to provide a technical term for viewing one's ethnicity (ethno-) in the center of all cultures (-centrism). William Graham Sumner (1906) coined the term ethnocentrism in his work Folkways that served as the foundation in social analysis of every culture. According to his definition, ethnocentrism is a technical name to see things in which one's own cultural identity is the center of everything over which all must be scaled, rated, and referred to. This perspective led to conceited behavior and the belief of the superiority of one's own group with great prejudice to outsiders. While ethnocentrism takes universal stage, which propels cohesion and continuity at all levels of social structure, it provides a rational explanation for attack made on other culture or subculture in its extreme forms. Sumner mentioned some characteristics of an individual with an ethnocentric view. Ethnocentric persons: have a dominant cultural element which they see as superior to other cultures; view rigidly their own socio-economic, political, and cultural elements; see their cultural elements as normal and acceptable to all; discard out-group ethnicities and cultures; believe that other cultures are inferior; and look at other culture's elements as inferior and unacceptable. It can be seen in Philippine society that ethnocentrism is still emerging. The sense of identity seems to be a contributing reason for this. It goes deeper in our history that the mixture of different cultures has created several identity marks resulting in our diverse cultural heritage, both tangible and intangible. Also, our indigenous culture can be categorized as old, non-advanced technology with no sense of modernity. After the primitive age, we begin to be the melting pot of Western and Oriental cultures resulting in a shaky and complex identity attributed to us today. With this characteristic, it is very difficult to blend this type of indigenous culture to the fast-changing society. Chin of (2016) made some observations on how to address this growing concern on Filipino ethnocentrism. 1\. Identify indigenous culture that truly reflects Filipino identity. 2\. Eliminate foreign influences and stick to "home-grown\" practices. 3\. If we want to settle our identity, we must accept the good part of the foreign influences that come to us. Although colonization by the Spaniards, Americans, and Japanese has caused a shift in several of our cultural, social, political, and economic policies, it made the Philippines a single nation. Thus, the Philippines today stands strongly behind our acceptance of our Filipino identity marked by our appreciation of foreign influences. Truly, it is difficult to do away with these influences, because if we will totally disregard them, we will run the risk of being left with nothing but purely our own native culture and tradition that may alienate us from the globalized world. We need to acknowledge their part in the richness of the tapestry that is the Filipino culture. **SIGNIFICANCE OF CULTURAL, SOCIAL, POLITICAL AND ECONOMIC SYMBOLS AND PRACTICES** Earth's beginnings can be traced back 4.5 billion years, but human evolution only counts for a tiny speck of its history. The Prehistoric Period---or when there was human life before records documented human activity---roughly dates from 2.5 million years ago to 1,200 B.C. And as the environment changes, we continuously grow and find ways to make maximize our effort as we live. It is very evident in the different stages of human cultural evolution: ***Palaeolithic Period***, ***Neolithic Period***, and ***Age of Metal***. **Palaeolithic Period** The term ***"Palaeolithic"*** was coined by archaeologist John Lubbock in 1865. It is derived the from Greek word, *palaios*, which means *\"old\";* and, lithos*, \"stone\",* In short, the Palaeolithic Period, which happened 2.5 million years ago, is also known as \"Old Stone Age\". In the Palaeolithic period, the Earth was extremely cold and ocean levels were much lower than they are now. Due to the cold climate, *Stone Age* is also called the *Ice Age.* During these years, people were nomads and able to use simple tools and weapons made of unpolished stone. The caves served as their shelter. Similarly, this was the time when people discovered to use the fire, through the use of stone, for their protection against cold temperature and to cook their own food.  **Neolithic Revolution** The **Neolithic Revolution** is also called as the First Agricultural Revolution. The term was coined with Greek word neo, which means *"New"* and lithic *"Stone"* In its strictest sense, it is the cultural era where people employed polished stone tools as replacement for rough stones. During this period, there was a wide-scale transition of many human cultures from a lifestyle of hunting and gathering to of agriculture and settlement kind of society which eventually led to population increase. People depend on domesticated plants and animals. They learned to create such crafts as pottery and weaving. They likewise developed boat as means of transportation and for fishing as well. From being nomads during the early stage, human began to develop a sedentary type of society of which they built-up villages and towns. **Age of Metals** The last stage is Age of Metals (4000 B.C -- 1500 B.C). The use of metal such as bronze, copper, and iron produced a new historical development from the cradle civilization of Egypt, Mesopotamia, Persia including the India, and China which later spread throughout Asia. There were three stages distinguished within this Age due to the different types of metals that were used: ***[The Copper Age]***, the ***[Bronze Age]*** and the ***[Iron Age]***; copper was the first known metal, it is of a low hardness and it was used to make ornaments; bronze is an alloy of copper and tin and it is harder and stronger than copper' Several eastern Mediterranean peoples discovered this metallurgy and progressed rapidly. During this age, agricultural tools were developed with bronze, such as plows and sickles, military weapons like swords, spears and shields, as well as household utensils like jars, bowls and cups. Likewise, a more developed social, cultural, political, and economic system were improved. Tribes, empires, and state were recognized at this point. **EARLY CIVILIZATION and RISE of the STATE**  One of the earliest states and civilizations was found in the Fertile Crescent which is known as the ***Mesopotamian civilization***. The word Mesopotamia is a Greek word for *"Land between two rivers"* which is often referred to as the ***cradle of civilization***. It is the region of the Western Asia located between the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers. It is known as the ***Fertile Crescent*** where the first evidence of agriculture was also found. Here the first human civilizations were taking the earliest steps from hunter-gatherer society into settled community. Moreover, it is in Mesopotamia that the history writing appeared as early as over 5,000 years ago. This invention was so important that it marks the end of the Prehistory, and the beginning of history. One of the first writing systems, the Cuneiform, is one of the most important development in the civilization of history of Mesopotamian culture. Every city in Mesopotamia had its own government, rulers, warriors, patron god, and functioned like an independent country. Mesopotamian cities were Ur, Uruk, Kish, Lagesh. There is a temple at the center of each city called a ziggurat (a massive, tiered, pyramid-shaped structure). There was also what we called Mesopotamian warrior-gods (2.400-2.500 B.C.) who govern and protect the people under its government. Military commanders eventually became monarch creating a new structure of government called a Dynasty. It is a series of rulers descending from a single-family line. The Akkadian Empire lasted about 200 years. In the year 2350--2150 B.C, Babylonian Empire overtook Sumerians around 2000 B.C., and they built capital, the Babylon, on Euphrates River. **Democratization** In 508 BCE Athens, Greece a new government different from those in the previous periods came about---the democracy. In this system, the people, the democrats held the power in governing their land. The citizen democrats of Athens were males only, aged 18 and above, sons of Athenian parents. Each democrat had a voice in the *ecclesia* or assembly, the highest forum of the nation which happened four times a month. People were allowed to govern, however, they still elected 10 leaders, one from each tribe, who exercise full responsibility for the states accounts. The Athenian democratical form of government was believed to be better than others, for it sought the opinion of people in governance. However, it had its downsides too. Aside from the patriarchal type of democrat election, slaves were still confined in the lower strata of the society. This practice was necessary so that most people could engage in politics without having to sacrifice their economy. Because of the birth of Athenian democracy, people in the society learned that they too---even if they were not blessed with supernatural powers of the priest-kings or, with military power and influence of the generals---could rule and govern their land. This practice evolved to more complicated ideals which led to the type of societies which people, such as the Filipinos, have at present. **Activity II** **A. ESSAY.** Read and analyze the questions below. Give five (5) sentences for you answers on each question. 1\. In our divided world of perspectives and points of view, how can we maintain respect despite cultural differences? 2\. In our present society where some leaders use their ethnocentric ego to establish rules and authority, as a youth, how can you uplift laws and democratic principles which should be applied equally to all, regardless of one's religion, political beliefs, gender, economic, and social status? 3\. What do you think are the root causes of ethnocentric view? What can you suggest to prevent people from having this characteristic? 4\. When we try to compare then and now, what are differences in terms of how people carry out things physically, culturally, and socio-politically? 5\. Why do you think people need a transformation or evolution to adapt to his/her environment? **B.** Supply the following details needed on each column. **HOW DID PEOPLE LIVE IN** ---------------------------- ------------------- --------------- **Palaeolitic Age** **Neolithic Age** **Metal Age**  **Activity III** **A.** Read and answer the question below. 1. In your own words, what is cultural relativism? Why do you think there is a need to understand cultural relativism in our society? Expound your answer. **B.** Read and answer the question below. As a millennial and a Filipino youth, how will you respond and adapt to this changing world where people and society have indeed developed and became more advanced than before? However, consider some circumstances that are hooked on it.  **Activity IV** **A. IDENTIFICATION.** Identify what is being asked on each question/statement. \_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_1. Each society has a diverse set of moral conducts. \_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_2. It looks at other culture's elements as inferior and unacceptable. \_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_3. It sees things in which one's own cultural identity is the center of everything. \_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_4. It requires an open mind and enthusiasm to adapt new cultures. \_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_5. High tolerance among all culture must be exercised always. \_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_6. He made some observations on how to address this growing concern on Filipino ethnocentrism. \_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_7. The goal of this is to promote understanding of cultural practices that are not typically part of one\'s own culture. \_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_8. He was an American social scientist who coined the word *"ethnocentrism"* in 1906. \_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_9-10. These are the colonizers that have caused a shift in several of our cultural, social, political, and economic policies. **B.** Analyze the scenarios below. Tell if it shows ***ethnocentrism*** or ***cultural relativism***. \_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_11. You have a classmate from the north who does not spend as much. Other students think it is stingy, because in the place where your classmate came from is known for its culture to be prudent with money. \_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_12. Your family used to live abroad and has a habit of welcoming relatives and visitors in your home. The family prepares food or even offer lodging. Your foreign friends understood this behavior because they know that it is part of your culture and should never be judge according to their standards. \_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_13. In your community there are only a few rich families, and due to the busy schedule, they rarely socialize and talk to neighbors. But for most in your community they assume that it reflects a proud attitude. \_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_14. Philippines is known for having variety of delicacies which use different cooking techniques and all native food are tasty and delicious. It also encourages tourist and other people from different countries to visit the Philippines to try and taste these delicacies that are rare in their places. \_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_15. In Baguio, it is common for them to eat dog meat and it is part of their culture, but elsewhere in the Philippines it is not acceptable and considered illegal because for others dogs are treated as house pet. **C. ANALOGY.** The analogies below are word problems that consist of two word pairs. Look at the first pair and decide how the two words relate to each other. Then, think one word so the second pair of words has the same relationship. 1\. Old stone : Palaeolithic \_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_: Neolithic 2\. Unpolished : Palaeolithic Neolithic : \_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_ 3\. Philippines : Baybayin \_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_: Mesepotamia 4\. Palaeolithic contribution: Fire Neolithic contribution : \_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_ 5\. Stonehenge : Neolithic period \_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_ : Mesopotamian Civilization **D. MATCHING TYPE.** Match column A with the correct answer on column B. Write only the letter. \_\_\_\_\_1. Land between two rivers a. Palaeolithic \_\_\_\_\_2. Palaios b. Old \_\_\_\_\_3. New c. Mesopotamia \_\_\_\_\_4. bronze, copper, and iron d. Metal age \_\_\_\_\_5. Democracy e. Neo f\. Athens **E. MODIFIED TRUE OR FALSE.** Write TRUE if the statement is correct. If FALSE, write the correct word(s) that will make the statement correct. 1\. The term "Neolithic" was coined by archaeologist John Lubbock in 1865. 2\. Neolithic Revolution is also called as the First Agricultural Revolution. 3\. During Palaeolithic age they are able to use simple tools and weapons made of polished stone. 4\. Pyramid temple is a massive, tiered, pyramid-shaped structure. 5\. The citizen democrats of Athens were both males and females.