Relativism

-Relativism has brought mixed blessings to ethics and morality. -In one sense it represents a serious threat to the very idea of morality. In another sense it alerts us to some common faults in our own thinking about moral issues. -There is a belief that a failure to recongize the diversity of moral values that exists with and between cultures can lead us to potentially more dangerous ways of thinking and potentially harmful laws, policies, and practices emerging from those ways of thinking. - Some would argue that relativism is only a short step away from an anything goes attitude in which morality can no longer serve as a foundationor point of reference for happiness, social health, and relations in general. -Relativism allows us to see that different laws, rules, customs, practices, and beliefs may be entirely at odds with one another, but yet work equally well for different groups of people. - It allows us to see that not everyone lives like we do, they don’t have the economic standards, educational advancements, and the same social settings that we take for granted. So in light relativism allows us to look at them with an open mind and the intentions of not judging them because of there differeneces in culture and society as a whole. - A huge component of relativism is ethnocentrism. -Ethnocentrism refers to a way of perceiving the world and all aspects of the world from the perspective of ones own culture or social group. It is the view that one particular ethnic group is somehow superior to all others. The word ethnocentrism derives from the Greek word ethnos, meaning “nation” or “people,” and the English word center. A common idiom for ethnocentrism is “tunnel vision.” In this context, ethnocentrism is the view that a particular ethnic group’s system of beliefs and values is morally superior to all others. - Some examples of Ethnocentrism in our everday lives are as follows- military groups. They use ethnocentrism to train new recruits. They teach every member that the "Army is the best," or the "Marines are the strongest", and so on. When they teach this to the members, they are heightening their group of fighters and lowering the others. The result of this has been brotherhood in each military group. It has also established extreme loyalty and respect that would carry several of these soldiers to sacrificing their lives. Although there seems to be a competition between each military group to be the best, no major offenses and crimes have been committed against one another. - Other smaller examples would include 2- The believe that our religion is better than somebody else's. 3- Criticizing systems of living because they do not match ours. 4- Democrats and Republicans working in our government 5- Women right's in some cultures. 6- Social classes What makes ethnocentrism so problematice is that it often leads to dogmatism and intolerance - Dogma refers to a belief or belief system that is held unquestioningly and with absolute certainty. - Dogmatism refers to the refusal to entertain criticisms of or challenges to those beliefs. - Dogmatism prevents one from assuming an objective perspective on ones own beliefs and values, as well as those of other peole. If we are certain that our own beliefs are true, even without evidence to support them, we can easily become intolerant of the beliefs and practices of others who do not share a common belief or moral system that we do. Because tremendous diversity exists both within and between cultures with regard to moral values, beliefs, and practices, conflict becomes inevitable. Dogmatism prevents agreeable resolution to such conficts because both parties believe themselves to be absolutely right and the other absolutely wrong. - When dealing with relativism, a positive way of action is to show tolerance. Tolerance is the willingness to understand the perspectives of others and to not make judgements until we have done so. Tolerance suggests that we should make some effort to keep and open mind and reserve judgment until we are able to do so in light of all relevant information. - Recognizing the variablilty of moral values and normas and maintaining open mindedness not only seems necessary for living in a complex and diverse society as ours, but especially in the field of criminal justice. Agents of criminal justice are exposed to differences of diversity and cultural values routinely, whether through policing, corrections, or even the courtroom and it is necessary to not show