Ariadne's Thread on Ethical Relativism
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Vera Speaking
If we are listing factors to consider when justifying interference, I have something to add.

First of all, there are cases in which we might intervene to help people who do not share the dominant values of their culture or group. If there are women desperate for ways to have fewer children and we are thinking of interfering with their culture in order to provide such devices, the fact that they want them matters.

Second, we often speak as though people simply have certain values and neglect the process by which they have come to have those values. There are cases in which women and other groups have internalized certain values, but they have done so because of long periods of domination and oppression. When someone accepts values under those circumstances, we might call the values 'inauthentic.' On the other hand, 'authentic' values are those arrived at under conditions of free discussion and deliberation. Again, if we are considering interfering with another culture - or any group - I think this distinction matters.


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