Cultural Revolution - Thomas Aquinas

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CULTURAL RELATIVISM,

AN ABUSE TO THE INDIVDUAL?

A Summary and Reflection Paper

Presented to

Loyola School of Theology

Ateneo de Manila University

In Partial Fulfillment

of the Requirements of the Bachelor of Sacred Theology for

Theo 273.1, Introduction to Thomas Aquinas

By

Aaron Alammalay (2015-02849)

2015



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TABLE OF CONTENTS

INTRODUCTION .................................................................................................................. 1 - 2

Cultural Relativism ..................................................................................................................... 2

Cultural Relativism: Absolutely Impossible ........................................................................ 2 – 4

Ethical Application and its Criticism to Cultural Relativism .................................................. 5

AN ABUSE TO THE INDIVIDUAL IN CULTURAL RELATIVISM? ................................ 6

For Anthropology ......................................................................................................................... 6

In Ethics ........................................................................................................................................ 6

In Relation to Christianity Christianity ..................................................................................... 7

AQUINAS ON ETHICS ........................................................................................................ 8 – 9

Aquinas as a Constructivist ........................................................................................................ 9

STRENGHTS IN MORAL LAW A CONCLUSION ..................................................... 10 – 11

Bibliography ............................................................................................................................... 11



INTRODUCTION

Cultural Relativism is the view that moral or ethical systems, which varies from culture

to culture, are equally valid and no one system is really better than any other. This is based on

the idea that there is no ultimate standard of good or evil, so every judgment about right and

wrong is a product of society. Therefore, any opinion on morality or ethics is subject to the

cultural perspective of each person. Ultimately, this means that no moral or ethical system can be

considered the best, or worst, and no particular moral or ethical position can actually be

considered right or wrong.

The author of this paper tends to prove that cultural relativism is an abuse on the

individual person in itself. Why because relativism should not be influenced by culture.

Relativism, roughly put, is the view that truth and falsity, right and wrong, standards of

reasoning, and procedures of justification are products of differing conventions andframeworks of assessment and that their authority is confined to the context giving rise to

them.1

Relativism as mentioned in the above quote, does cover many aspects including culture.

However it does not have to be so as each culture varies from one to another, but all cultures do

cultivate and observe the same source of law and that is the Natural Law. If we say that the Fifth

Commandment of ‘You shall not Kill’2 applies only to the Christian faith, then we are wrong as

the 10 Commandments are derived from Natural Law. Most culture do not approve of

unnecessary killing.

1 Maria Baghramian and Adam Carter, Relativism, The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, Winter 2015

Edition, ed. Edward N. Zalta, http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/relativism/ (Accessed on 2 November 2015)

2 c.f. Exodus 20:13, NRSV.



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The author in his defense uses two sources from St. Thomas’ Summa Theologica. One

point of reference is based on the ‘The power of human law’3. The second point of reference is

based on ‘Natural Law’4.

Cultural Relativism

Cultural relativism is a widely held position in the modern world. Words like pluralism,

tolerance, acceptance, have taken on new meanings, as the boundaries of culture have expanded.

It is also a loose way in which modern society defines these ideas has made it possible for almost

anything to be justified on the grounds of relativism. This in relativism includes a fairly wide

range of ideas, all of which introduces instability and uncertainty into areas that were previously

considered settled. For example stepping up to the edge of a cliff gives you a good perspective of

the terrain below. Taking one step too far, as cultural relativism does, would lead to a disaster.

Perspective is important to a person’s understanding of history, psychology, and politics.

Cultural perspective can help one understand why certain actions are considered right or wrong

in a particular culture.

Cultural Relativism: Absolutely Impossible

The contradiction of cultural relativism becomes immediately apparent. A society that

embraces the notion that there is no ultimate right or wrong loses the ability to make any

judgments at all5. The way in which relativism, including cultural relativism, has permeated

modern society is demonstrated in the bizarre ways in which we try to deal with this

3 c.f. STh I-II Q. 96, a. 2.

4 c.f. STh I-II Q. 94, a. 2.

5 c.f. STh II-II Q. 60, a. 3.



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contradiction. Tolerance has mutated to imply unconditional support and agreement for all

opinions or lifestyles. However, those who choose to be intolerant are not to be supported or

agreed with. Tolerance, therefore, becomes an ultimate good in and of itself, which is

contradictory to the entire idea of relativism. In the same way, heinous crimes such as rape and

murder demand a moral judgment, but strict cultural relativism cannot say that such things are

always wrong.

Relativism in general breaks down when examined from a purely logical perspective. The

basic premise is that truth is relative. If every truth statement is valid, then the statement some

truths are absolute must be valid. The statement ‘there are no absolute truths’ is accurate,

according to relativism, but it is an absolute truth itself. These contradict the very concept of

relativism, meaning that absolute relativism is self-contradictory and impossible6.

6 c.f. STh I Q. 2-13.



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Picture 1: An Illustration of Cultural Relativism

The picture above is an example of cultural relativism that can be defined as a concept whereby

cultural norms and values derive their meaning within a specific social context. The idiom

“When in Rome, do as the Romans do,” is a simple means of summarizing the concept, however

it implies action, whereas the history of the term relates to observation.



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Ethical Application and its Criticism to Cultural Relativism

Despite its anthropological origins, cultural relativism has gained prominence as an

ethical theory, however not without significant criticism. The heart of the issue lies in applying a

theory of observation and understanding to one of right and wrong, with the relative culture

serving as the measure of appropriateness.

Cultural relativism states that there is no singular truth on which to base ethical or moral

behavior as our interpretations of truths are influenced by our own culture. Modifying our idiom,

one could say that whatever the Romans do in Rome is ethical and acceptable because that’s life

for them and we have no right to judge them even if we see and are aware that what they do is

wrong. In this manner, it shares the position with moral relativism7 that there is no absolute or

universal set of values or principles that can be used to judge human behavior, what is acceptable

is judged by the culture in which the actions take place, and cannot be viewed out of that context.

With moral behavior being relative to a learned set of cultural norms rather than being

relative to the actions of the individual, cultural relativism differs from moral relativism. In the

sense that it considers moral behavior to be situated in a particular time and space. However one

criticism dismisses this notion, as cultures evolve and change, as do the subsequent norms. For

example, slavery was once acceptable in western cultures, but that is no longer the case.

Therefore, cultural relativism can be questioned based on its foundation of a changeable set of

norms.

7 Moral relativism is the view that moral judgments are true or false only relative to some particular and that no

standpoint is uniquely privileged over all others.



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AN ABUSE TO THE INDIVIDUAL IN CULTURAL RELATIVISM?

Cultural relativism is one of the many principles of the philosophy of ethics. Unlike most

other theories, however, it has more anthropological significance than ethical.

For Anthropology

Cultural relativism may be vital tool for anthropology. As such, it does not claim to

define right or wrong behavior. Instead, it is a device used to investigate different cultures

without making judgments about those cultures. In other terms, this is a decision to understand

one’s behavior within the context of one’s culture, instead of comparing it to another. Here,

language is investigated more carefully, taking into account sounds and inflections not native to

the researcher. The behavior is also compared to the culture and environment, showing how

taboos came to be without judging those ethics.

In Ethics

In ethics, cultural relativism falls under the auspices of ethical relativism. Ethical

relativism says that there is no universal standard of morality. Cultural relativism as an ethical

theory goes beyond anthropology and states definitively that an act is moral if it adheres to the

culture of the acting agent.



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In Relation to Christianity

Cultural relativism is mildly biblical. We can see this description in the Gentile believers

who did not have to obey the same laws that the Jews did, although they were still required to be

set-apart as God's people8.

One way Christian missionaries have responded to cultural relativism is through the

adaptation. Instead of forcing a distinctly European-style worship of Jesus, churches in

predominantly non-Christian countries have a graduated mixture of Bible-based truths and

cultural standards. So a believer in Saudi Arabia may still eat ‘Halal’ food and wear a headscarf

(for a woman) because one believes it is right.

Another issue in Asia and Africa is the practice of polygamy. Polygamy is perfectly legal

in many countries and in Islam. But when a man with several wives becomes a Christian, he is

often convicted that polygamy was not God's perfect plan for His followers. In this case, he is

struggling with his own culture, and has difficult decisions to make.

8 c.f. Acts 15:24-29, NRSV.



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AQUINAS ON ETHICS

St. Thomas Aquinas argues that for every action or series of actions there must besomething that is first in “order of intention”. In other words, there must be some end or

good that is intrinsically desirable and serves the will’s final cause9.

For Aquinas, the ‘Natural Law’ is our participation in the governance of the universe that

God brings about through the Eternal Law.

By use of reason, we are able to understand the order by which God cares for everything

in the universe, and it is thus that we discover the natural law, the reflection of God's eternal law

that is written into our nature.

The common good, for Aquinas, is that for which human society exists, it is the purpose

of the human community. In absolute terms, Aquinas believes that human society exists to

glorify God like in everything else. In relation to the members of the human society, it exists for

full flourishing of all of the members. This flourishing, the good of each individual, is dictated

by natural law. It is dictated by what reason determines to be the end or ends toward which God

has determined every human to be directed according to his or her rational nature.

Thus, as life is to be preserved as a good for all living things, therefore certain goods

which pertain to human nature in particular are also to be preserved and protected, for example

freedom to worship, the opportunity to develop one's rational capacities through education and

so on.

Also, there are certain goods that humans should pursue as rational beings, not only in

isolation and for the sake of each individual, but also social goods as in the examples of civil

9 c.f. STh I Q4 a1.



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peace or national defense. All of these goods, life, religion, education and national defense,

pertains to the common good.

Aquinas as a Constructivist

For Aquinas the origin and purpose of the Law is rational, and generated by reason, for

the good of the community, and therefore the law is for the common good. Laws set an account

of the good, particularly shows them something about being a good member of the community.

Even though laws may be general, they are still adapted to the nature of the community, which

varies from community to community, and to the classes of individuals who make up the society.

The human law according to Thomas is not obliged to stop all vices10

. The law is meant

or custom built for most people, who are far from perfect in virtue. The aim of the law is to

counteract more grievous vices from which the majority society can abstain, where vices are

more prone to hurt others, like in the examples of murder, theft, and the likes. Should the law

attempt to legislate perfection, it would make people hostile to the law and defeat its purpose.

In reference to the changing in natural law, this can be done in two ways; the first way is

by addition where nothing hinders the law from being changed. Secondly, a change in the

natural law may be understood by way of subtraction, so that what previously was according to

the natural law, ceases to be so.11

10 STh I-II Q. 96, a. 2.

11 STh I-II Q. 94, a. 2.





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This theory allows one to have morals without reading the Bible for atheists and

Christians alike, primarily because of the idea that humans can use their reason and wisdom to

generate their own secondary precepts, can uphold natural law.

Bibliography

Baghramian, Maria and Carter, Adam. Relativism. The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy. Ed.Edward N. Zalta. Winter 2015 Edition.

Beatch, Richard. Cultural Relativism and Philosophy. Review of Metaphysics vol. 47.1994.

Carter, J. Adam and Gordon, Emma C. A new Maneuver Against the Epistemic Relativist . 2013.

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Cultural Revolution - Thomas Aquinas