Universalism vs Cultural Relativism in Human Rights - Literature review Example

The Discord of relativism in Relation to Universal Wrongs Name Subject Professor Date The diversity of cultural norms and practices necessarily indicate the differences in what are morally acceptable with one group and how this may be different with another.... The opposition to relativism in the essay was delved into with Goodman's suggestion that polygamy is among those that are simply wrong.... This assertion was based on four instances Goodman relates as ‘Deserts' or expressions which distinguish human beings....

Author's Name Subject/ Course Number Date Submitted cultural relativism: When culture dictates which is left, and which is right When we try to interpret or understand something in the course of making an opinion about it, we often times use our own set of experiences and our own personal value systems derived from our community to arrive at a conclusion that eventually determines our attitudes towards the subject.... cultural relativism is, according to James Rachels, “a theory about the nature of morality”, that “challenges our ordinary belief in the objectivity and universality of moral truth” (Rachels)....

This paper discusses the attitude towards the cultural practice of one society that is far different from one's own.... Moreover, this paper points out the universality of cultural principles, i.... .... how some sound practices of one society can be adopted by others....

In the Western model of Democracy, for example, due process of law, respect for human rights and individual liberty, and the general population's participation in the democratic electoral process are among the standards that have thus far been raised by the Western school of thought to measure a country's level of democracy.... Repressive regimes that fail to meet Western standards of Democracy, and who have a history, for example, of human rights violations, staggering judicial systems, and a weak electoral process, have thus been pressured in numerous instances to reform and meet these Western standards in order to gain the acceptance and approval of the dominant West....

This paper presents a summary of Karen Musalo article When Rights and Culture Collide which she wrote in a reflection in a case she had handled that concerned human rights.... nbsp;  … After presenting details of the story, Musalo then advances to offer a critical analysis of the application of human rights and the views exhibited by proponents of cultural relativism and cultural universalism.... nbsp;  Summary of Karen Musalo's Article When Rights and Culture CollideKaren Musalo is the author of a compelling article titled When Rights and Culture Collide which she wrote in a reflection in a case she had handled that concerned human rights....

hellip; The work by Maya is considering the possibility of escape from the “dehumanizing strictures of collective identity, neoconservative minorities raise a valid concern about the relationship between the culturally particular and the universally human” (Maya 77).... So these persons are seen as individuated ones and they lack human agency.... The neoconservative theory describes the fact of being human, configuring racial and cultural particularity against universal humanity....

Democracies which fail to foster both the two pillars of political participation and civil rights are considered as illiberal democracies.... The paper "Democracy as a Form of Government" highlights that as the opposition push for elections, the incumbent resists and when the competitive authoritarian regime accepts to have elections, the elections are first manipulated to maintain the power of the authoritarian regime....

nbsp;… In cross-cultural studies of many existing ethnic cultures all over the world, menstruation has been portrayed as a negative act.... This assignment "Gender, Folklore and Inequality" discusses the relationship between menstruation and pollution, Davis Floyd and the technocratic model of birth in the United States, female initiation ceremonies, female genital cutting and Martin and PMS....