1.write a 100 words reply to this discussion.
We learn a lot based on our culture that our family has taught us and within that learning, we are taught what is acceptable and what isn’t. My family taught me that it wasn’t acceptable to talk back to men as a woman and that a woman’s place isn’t held in high regards. I don’t necessarily think of it as completely wrong probably because it is common in my culture. It isn’t so engraved in stone now but in Vietnam, it still does happen and based on my own personal experiences, I can’t really say that I am against cultural relativism. Most of the time, we talk about how society doesn’t control us and that we make our own choices but in reality, society plays a huge role in our decisions, sometimes we just don’t realize it. According to the moral theories, people are banded together based on culture, religion, and desires. We as a world couldn’t exist if we didn’t have our societal norms based on our own cultures. My dad, when he was living in Vietnam, stated he saw people eating dogs and didn’t think it was gross or anything. When you live in a third world country where food is rare, sometimes things like that happen. In Korea, there is a type of dog that is specifically bred for food, just like how cows are. It isn’t unnatural for many cultures on certain things but it is “taboo” or “weird” to other cultures. At the same time, it doesn’t mean that we should isolate those who are against a culture difference, it should be recognized instead and somehow merged together. We are living in a diverse world where all aspects are taken into consideration and cultural relativism isn’t just based on one, it’s a collection of all.
2.write a 200 words reply to this discussion.
I do not think Cultural Relativism is totally wrong, however, it still has too many weaknesses to become an widely-applied theory of morality. As an international student in the States, I have had cultural shocks which, if not for the theory’s idea of tolerating the cultural differences, I would have had a very hard time adjusting and getting used to the American style. For example, back in my country, I had never seen any instructors wearing shorts to schools, couples kissing in public, or it is very rare for old people not to live together and taken care of by their children.
However, despite some differences, some values are universal and in those cases, the wrongdoings can no longer continue in the name of cultural differences. Professor Ludes mentions dog eating as an example in the question. Annually, there are about 5 millions dogs being “consumed” in Vietnam, placing my country as one of the places eating dog meat the most. There still exists dog meat festivals in some provinces. However, the dog lovers and the Vietnamese millennial generation no longer view eating dog meat in the end of lunar month as an activity to drive away bad luck. For the past five years, there are more and more protests, campaigns, advertisements to encourage people to stop killing and eating the human’s best friends. There are pet rescue organizations voluntarily working to save the dogs from being killed at the restaurants. In the cities, the dog meat restaurants are also strongly decreasing. When a tradition or a culturally approved custom are disagreed by not only international citizens, but also the country’s people who are a part of the culture, that tradition needs to be discussed again. To me, eating dogs is a brutal act which needs to be legally banned, and it is not false for international friends to speak up and help us put an end to this cruel tradition.
3.write a 200 words for this discussion.
Read over the text feature “Analyzing Images” on p. 274 of THinK and respond here to discussion question #1.
(i don’t have the book so you can write anything about philosophy )
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