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| Tolerance |
| Ayesha
Speaking
|
 Tolerance
is a good place to start.
The anthropologists who originally promoted what they called "cultural relativism" back in the 1930s and 1940s felt strongly that ethical codes were binding or "valid" only with a culture. They felt that this implied that we should be more tolerant of the values and ways of life practiced by people in other cultures. Melville Herskovits, for example, seemed at times to believe that cultural relativism implied greater tolerance of and non-interference with other cultures. I am inclined to agree. If we accept the notion that there are cases in which more than one contradictory moral judgment can be true or "equally valid" then we no longer have a basis for criticizing and condemning the values of others. Their values are as true as ours within their framework of understanding. But if we have no basis for criticizing their values, then we have no reason to be intolerant or to interfere with their way of life. |
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