Cultural and ethical relativism
We live in a global village with people from different backgrounds, origins, races, cultures, and religions. Societies in different geographical locations vary in terms of beliefs and norms. Ethics are moral principles or standards that guide our behavior or conduct. There is a set of agreed principles that determine what is right and what is wrong. Whether a person is of good moral character to bad moral character is determined by the society Ethics are defined by society. What is ethical in one community may not apply to another community, so when you go to the Romans, do what the Romans do. The saying in relation to ethics says that when you go to a particular community or society, abide by their ethics, understand their definition of morality, and do as they do. Otherwise, you will be regarded as unethical and immoral. It is best described through cultural, ethical relativism, and ethical universalism or objectivism.
Cultural and ethical relativism best describe this: when you go to Rome, do as the Romans do. As mentioned earlier, cultures differ in terms of their definition of what is right and what is wrong. Some conduct in one society may be regarded as unacceptable in another community. An example, in British society, it is acceptable to do business while taking a drink during a meal as compared to the Japanese. The latter prefers not to eat completely during business dealings.
On the other hand, the French prefer to eat first before discussing business while the Germans prefer to talk business before taking the meal. The communities listed represent different societies with different views of the same issue. In one community, it would seem unacceptable to transact business on an empty stomach while in another community business comes first, then food follows. It illustrates that the moral code which makes up the ethics is dependent on the practices and norms by different social groups, which determine if a person’s conduct is right or wrong. The use of specific terms such as forbidden, required, and good in societies is different, and so when in a community that is not our own, we should be careful to understand their norms so that we do not have misconduct.
The second theory is the ethical objectivism theory or the ethical universalism theory. The ethical universalism states that there are ethics that are tall universal societies. It assumes that we are fallible about our moral views and are allowed for errors as ethics require great work to discover and abide by. This theory states that there are ethics that should not change despite the society or the geographical position one is in. For example, honesty and integrity are two ethical principles that should be universal. Being dishonest should not be determined by one’s society, it is wrong to be dishonest or untrustworthy, and that is a universal truth. It is morally unacceptable to kill someone despite their cultural beliefs. this theory states that in as much as when you go to Rome we should do what the Romans do, it should not be in contrary to the universal moral conduct
In conclusion, cultures vary from each other in terms of their norms and practices, and therefore, moral principles vary across the communities. It is essential to understand and respect the cultures of other people and do what they do if amongst them, but this should not contradict the universal ethical principles. They should not change despite the environment as they have been set to help us coexist peacefully and uphold human principles.