The Figure 8 of Cultural Relativism

From the beginning of man, there has been war. According to the World English Dictionary, "war" is defined as "open armed conflict between two or more parties." The one word that jumps out at me in that definition is "conflict." By deductively reasoning that if man has war then man must have conflict, I present the question, "Why is there conflict between man?" Now, that may be quite a broad question to have a single answer and I understand that. Yet, I will attempt to answer it in one way that, in essence, may be found wrong in the eyes of another - and so the "figure 8" begins.

In response to the question presented, I will answer by saying, "Man engages in conflict due to the narrow view and stubbornness of those who cannot and will not understand the cultural differences between their culture and another." Many people in the world exhibit such characteristics as intolerance and stubbornness. These are the people who would obviously rebuke the theory of Cultural Relativism due to its call for liberal awareness and tolerance toward the practices of other cultures. Cultural Relativism states that there is no objective standard that can be used to judge one societal code better than another because there is no "universal truth" in ethics. However, in reading "The Challenge of Cultural Relativism" by James Rachels I have come to believe that while Cultural Relativism creates a an argument, it creates an argument for one point of view. By truly following Cultural Relativism, one would realize that Cultural Relativism may not be the only answer, if it is an answer at all. Essentially, Cultural Relativism creates a perpetually contradictory stream of thought, or what I call the "figure 8 effect."

I find Cultural Relativism appealing because of its contradictory nature. Instead of creating a concrete theory, Cultural Relativism allows me to form my own opinion, while following its fundamental purpose - looking at the world through respectful and tolerant eyes.

Cultural conflict finds its way into many different literary pieces. In Chinua Achebe's Things Fall Apart, there is an obvious conflict between the native culture of Okonkwo's people (in Africa) and the culture of the white Christian missionaries who integrate themselves into Okonkwo's society. Okonkwo's unwillingness to adapt or even understand the Christians and the Christians' unwillingness to accept and respect the native culture and religion lead to a deadly conflict that ultimately causes the death of Okonkwo. Had these two factions followed Cultural Relativism, even slightly, conflict could possibly be avoided. Yet, the many narrow-minded people in this culturally diverse world will continue to exist, meaning cultural conflict is inevitable; that is why there is conflict between man. If you don't agree with my response, I would like to let you know that I respect your opinion and believe that there is no one answer.

MEDIA CONNECTIONS: Both the idea of the "figure 8" and the idea of cultural conflict are prevalent in music today. Outasight's song "Figure 8" serves as a self-explanatory example for the former. The Black Eyed Peas' song "Where Is the Love?" illustrates cultural conflicts and a plea for their ending. Yet, these ideas, especially cultural conflict, are common concepts used not only in the music of today, but also music throughout history.