Understanding Culture, Society and Politics: Quarter 1 - Module 3: Cultural Relativism
Understanding Culture, Society and Politics: Quarter 1 - Module 3: Cultural Relativism
Understanding Culture, Society and Politics: Quarter 1 - Module 3: Cultural Relativism
Understanding
Culture, Society
and Politics
Quarter 1 – Module 3:
Cultural Relativism
Subject Area – 11/12
Self-Learning Module (SLM)
Quarter 1 – Module 3: Cultural Relativism
First Edition, 2020
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Understanding
Culture, Society
and Politics
Quarter 1 – Module 3:
Cultural Relativism
Introductory Message
For the facilitator:
This module was collaboratively designed, developed and reviewed by educators both
from public and private institutions to assist you, the teacher or facilitator in helping
the learners meet the standards set by the K to 12 Curriculum while overcoming
their personal, social, and economic constraints in schooling.
This learning resource hopes to engage the learners into guided and independent
learning activities at their own pace and time. Furthermore, this also aims to help
learners acquire the needed 21st century skills while taking into consideration their
needs and circumstances.
In addition to the material in the main text, you will also see this box in the body of
the module:
As a facilitator you are expected to orient the learners on how to use this module.
You also need to keep track of the learners' progress while allowing them to manage
their own learning. Furthermore, you are expected to encourage and assist the
learners as they do the tasks included in the module.
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For the learner:
The hand is one of the most symbolized part of the human body. It is often used to
depict skill, action and purpose. Through our hands we may learn, create and
accomplish. Hence, the hand in this learning resource signifies that you as a learner
is capable and empowered to successfully achieve the relevant competencies and
skills at your own pace and time. Your academic success lies in your own hands!
This module was designed to provide you with fun and meaningful opportunities for
guided and independent learning at your own pace and time. You will be enabled to
process the contents of the learning resource while being an active learner.
What I Need to Know This will give you an idea of the skills or
competencies you are expected to learn in the
module.
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Assessment This is a task which aims to evaluate your
level of mastery in achieving the learning
competency.
1. Use the module with care. Do not put unnecessary mark/s on any part of the
module. Use a separate sheet of paper in answering the exercises.
2. Don’t forget to answer What I Know before moving on to the other activities
included in the module.
3. Read the instruction carefully before doing each task.
4. Observe honesty and integrity in doing the tasks and checking your answers.
5. Finish the task at hand before proceeding to the next.
6. Return this module to your teacher/facilitator once you are through with it.
If you encounter any difficulty in answering the tasks in this module, do not
hesitate to consult your teacher or facilitator. Always bear in mind that you are
not alone.
We hope that through this material, you will experience meaningful learning and
gain deep understanding of the relevant competencies. You can do it!
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What I Need to Know
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What I Know
In this part, let’s check your knowledge on cultural relativism and its
importance in attaining cultural understanding. Choose the correct answer in
the following statements below. Write your answers on the space provided.
___1. Cultural relativism wrongly claims that each culture has its own distinct
but equally valid mode of perception, thought, and _____________.
a. feelings
b. ideas
c. choice
d. lesson
___2. Cultural relativism, the opposite of the idea that moral truth is
____________ and objective, contends there is no such thing as absolute right
and wrong.
a. general
b. valid
c. assuming
d. universal
a. inviolate
b. fradaulent
c. unsuitable
d. vulgar
___4. Who stated that, “The notion of the mask over the face of nature is….
what I have called “relativism”.
a. Plato
b. Karl Marx
c. Aristotle
d. John Grote
a. Chinese
b. Japanese
c. Western
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d. Eastern
a. acceptable
b. unacceptable
c. ignored
d. defined
a. burial
b. marriage
c. bethrotal
d. food
a. Plato
b. Horace
c. Protagoras of Abdera
d. Karl Marx
a. Cultural relativism
b. Ethnocentrism
c. Culture lag
d. Xenocentrism
a. feelings
b. language
c. cultures
d. symbols
Good Job! You are done on the first part of this module. Now, let us proceed to
the next activity.
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Definition of Cultural
Lesson Relativism in the Perspective
1 of Sociology
What’s In
Awesome! I know you are ready to the next topic in this module.
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What’s New
What is cultural relativism?
According to Khan Academy (2020), cultural relativism refers to not
judging a culture to our own standards of what is right or wrong, strange or
normal. Instead, we should try to understand cultural practices of other
groups in its own cultural context.
For example, in the Philippines, instead of thinking, “Fried
grasshoppers (tipaklong) are disgusting!” one should instead ask, “Why do
some cultures eat fried insects?” You may learn that fried grasshoppers are
full of protein.
In addition, cultural relativism wrongly claims that each culture has its
own distinct but equally valid mode of perception, thought, and choice.
Cultural relativism, the opposite of the idea that moral truth is universal and
objective, contends there is no such thing as absolute right and wrong. There
is only right and wrong as specified by the moral code of each society. Within
a particular society, a standard of right and wrong can be inviolate. Cultural
relativism maintains that man’s opinion within a given culture defines what
is right and wrong. (Younkins, 2000)
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Although the term “relativism” is of recent coinage, doctrines and
positions, with some of the hallmarks of contemporary relativism, date back
to the very beginnings of Western philosophy. Protagoras of Abdera (c. 490–
420 BC) is often considered the first overt champion of relativism, and his
dictum:
“Man (anthrôpos) is the measure (metron) of all things
(chrêmatôn), of the things which are, that they are, and of the
things which are not, that they are not (tôn men ontôn hôs esti,
tôn de mê ontôn hôs ouk estin) (from Plato’s Theaetetus 152a 2–
4)”
its first battle-cry. According to Plato, Protagoras thought:
“Each thing appears (phainesthai) to me, so it is for me, and as
it appears to you, so it is for you—you and I each being a man.
(Theaetetus 152a 6–8)”
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Processing Questions:
1. Based on the actions that you have noted in the template, did you find
similarity or difference between the actions you had observed in your
own community and the actions you had seen in other community?
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2. Would you consider these actions in your community are far better that
those in other communities? Why? Take note of your answers.
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Good Job!
Have you ever wondered what society was like before your lifetime?
Maybe you wonder in what ways has society transformed in the past few
centuries? Human beings have created and lived in several types of societies
throughout history. In this activity, you are going to cite the practices of the
different societies in social, cultural, economic and political.
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Processing Questions:
5 / 4 / 3 / 2 / NEEDS 1 /
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ENT GOOD GE MENT ABLE
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The writing The The text The text The reader has
has an easy writing hums seems choppy to practice quite
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ready to
publish.
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Lesson
The Importance of Cultural
2 Relativism
What is It
What is the importance of cultural relativism?
(Adapted from Michael Kilman, 2017)
This is one of the ones that confuse people. Some people might
claim that we can never understand something because it’s ‘cultural’.
Not so. There are certain beliefs and practices that are objectively
harmful. But this is where someone, who has never studied
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Those who believed that the earth is flat
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anthropology, might not understand that kinship/marriage patterns
don’t actually contain any real morality outside of culture. For
example, there is nothing objectively wrong with a woman practices
polyandry (she has several husbands), such as is practiced in some
parts of the Himalayas.
Cultural relativism teaches us that, marriage patterns are cultural
options, not objective truth. We can also examine the history of our
own (I am American) cultural relationships to marriage and see these
things have changed over time. However, it’s pretty easy to say that a
group of people who kill their neighboring tribes for the purpose of
cannibalism is wrong. We can all easily agree that murder is a bad
thing across culture. An anthropologist in this circumstance would
use cultural relativism (one of the three main aspects of the
anthropological lens) to understand why a tribe engages in this
practice and how it relates to their worldview. An applied
anthropologist would take it one step forward and perhaps use that
cultural knowledge to try and put an end to the harm that is being
created by the practice.
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What’s More
Cultural relativism is a vital tool in anthropology. As such, it does not
claim to define right or wrong behaviour. Instead, it is a device used to
investigate different cultures without making judgments about those
cultures. Basically, it is a decision to understand an individual's behaviour
within the context of that individual's culture, instead of comparing it to
another culture. For example, archaeologists analyze pottery in the context of
the culture, instead of strictly comparing it to pottery of other areas. Language
is investigated more carefully, taking into account sounds and inflections not
native to the researcher. And behaviour is compared to the culture and
environment, showing how mores and taboos came to be without judging
those ethics. (Compelling Truth, 2020)
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wrong by inferring that, because some practices are like this, all of them must
be.
The second lesson has to do with keeping an open mind. As we grow up,
we develop strong feelings about things: We learn to see some types of behavior
as acceptable, and other types as outrageous. Occasionally, we may find those
feelings challenged. For example, we may have been taught that homosexuality
is immoral, and we may feel uncomfortable around gay people. But then
someone suggests that this may be prejudice; that there is nothing wrong with
being gay; and that gay people are just people, like anyone else, who happen
to be attracted to members of the same sex. Because we feel so strongly about
this, we may find it hard to take this line of reasoning seriously.
Realizing this can help broaden our minds. We can see that our feelings
are not necessarily perceptions of the truth— they may be due to cultural
conditioning and nothing more. Thus, when we hear it suggested that some
element of our social code is not really the best, and we find ourselves resisting
the suggestion, we might stop and remember this. Then we will be more open
to discovering the truth, whatever it might be. We can understand the appeal of
Cultural Relativism, then, despite its shortcomings. It is an attractive theory
because it is based on a genuine insight: that many of the practices and
attitudes we find natural are really only cultural products. Moreover, keeping
this thought in mind is important if we want to avoid arrogance and remain
open to new ideas. These are important points, not to be taken lightly. But we
can accept them without accepting the whole theory.”
(Source: Adapted from The Elements of Moral Philosophy by James Rachels, Chapter 2,
pp. 15-29. 1999 by McGraw-Hill, Inc.)
Processing questions:
1. What are the things that you had learned?
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2. How the article had helped you gain more insights about the importance
of cultural relativism?
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3. Are the things mentioned by James Rachels are applicable in your life?
Or in your community? Why or why not?
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_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
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Assessment
Direction: Read the statements below. Write the word TRUE if the statement
is true and FALSE if the statement incorrect.
___1. Cultural relativism is not really a vital tool in anthropology.
___2. Behaviour cannot be compared to the culture and environment, showing
how mores and taboos came to be without judging those ethics.
___3. According to Plato, man is the measure of all things of the things which
are, that they are, and of the things which are not, that they are not.
___4. The concept of cultural relativism as we know and use it today was
established as an analytic tool by German-American anthropologist Franz
Boas in the early 20th century.
___5. Cultural Relativism warns us, quite rightly, about the danger of
assuming that all of our practices are based on some absolute rational
standard.
___6. Cultural Relativism begins with the insight that many of our practices
are like this—they are only cultural products.
___7. Cultural relativism wrongly claims that each culture has its own distinct
but equally valid mode of perception, thought, and choice.
___8. There is sometimes a strange notion that there are no commonalities
between cultures.
___9. The English term “relativism” came into usage only in the 18th Century.
___10. Cultural relativism, the opposite of the idea that moral truth is
universal and objective, contends there is no such thing as absolute right and
wrong.
Additional Activities
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PRACTICES REMARKS
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Instruction. Read the following and determine whether the particular statement
about cultural relativism has HIGH or LOW importance in your community.
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Assessment What's In? What I Know
1. FALSE 1. Yey! 1. C
2. FALSE 2. Nay! 2. D
3. FALSE 3. Nay! 3. A
4. TRUE 4. Yey! 4. D
5. TRUE 5. C
5. Nay!
6. TRUE 6. B
7. TRUE 7. B
8. TRUE 8. C
9. FALSE 9. A
10.TRUE 10.C
Answer Key
DISCLAIMER
This Self-learning Module (SLM) was developed by DepEd SOCCSKSARGEN with
the primary objective of preparing for and addressing the new normal. Contents
of this module were based on DepEd’s Most Essential Learning Competencies
(MELC). This is a supplementary material to be used by all learners of Region XII
in all public schools beginning SY 2020-2021. The process of LR development
was observed in the production of this module. This is version 1.0. We highly
encourage feedback, comments, and recommendations.
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