The Challenge of Cultural Relativism

After reading James Rachels's article "The Challenge of Cultural Relativism," some things really stuck out to me.

I feel like some of it really applies to Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe and life itself. One of the things Rachels recognizes is the fact that "different societies have different moral codes," (Rachels 53). Rachels names several examples, like the Eskimos killing their babies and having multiple partners and the general public learning of these deeds, finding them as "disturbing revelations," (Rachels 53). Things Fall Apart contains two perfect example of this: Okonkwo and his friend, Obierika, are talking about the title "ozo" and how other clans, like Abame and Aninta, have "soiled" "ozo" because "every beggar takes it" (Achebe 70); Okonkwo tells Machi rumors of tribes where "a man's children belong to his wife and her family," but Machi cannot believe it (Achebe 74). In each conversation, the people are upset to hear this. It is obvious they would find a woman "owning" the family startling, and the idea of any regular-guy having the title of "ozo" is upsetting. In the US people marry adults--adults get married-- and when people, such as Doug Anthony, marry someone under eighteen many people call him a "child molester" and "pedophile" (Wilson), but children marriages are very popular in other countries around the world.

Rachels argues that if "we took ["the essence of Cultural Relativism"] seriously" then "we could no longer say that the customs of other societies are morally inferior to our own" (Rachels 54). I would like everyone to follow "Cultural Relativism," because I think telling people their way of life is "immoral" is ignorant and often causes cultures to be destroyed (like the countless instances of missionaries altering Afrrican tribes), but I do not completely agree with this. I believe that some things truly are "morally inferior" because certain deeds  lack morality. I think a grown man marrying someone under the age of eighteen is gross and immoral because someone under the age of eighteen is a child and is in no way prepared for marriage. Marrying a child is pedophilia, which I believe is immoral--I cannot think of a situation where that would ever be morally correct. I do not think it matters where you are from, it is wrong. More and more people are speaking out against child marriages, as prove by the fact that the "prevalence [of child marriages] has decreased slightly over the past three decades," (Unicef). They are speaking out against it because they know it's wrong.

I enjoyed reading James Rachels's article; it was fascinating and thought-provoking.

Sources:

Chinua, Achebe. Things Fall Apart. New York: A Division of Random House, 1994. Print.

Rachels, James. "The Challenge of Curtual Relativism." McGraw-Hill, Inc, 1993. Web.

Durham, Sarah Wilson. "Doug Anthony Hutchinson Marries 16-Year-Old Country Singer." People.com, 2011. Web.

"Child marriage." UNICEF, 2014. Web.

Monsters

As we have just finished reading Beowulf and excerpts from Grendel, I thought it would be the perfect excuse to talk about my love for monsters and learn the facts. I have always been fascinated with monsters from a young age; touring Lake Champlain in search of Champ with my mom and her long-time best friend, roaming the woods with friends as children in hopes of spotting Big Foot or some other woodland monster and watching old Sci-Fi flicks with my dad, featuring creatures such as mummies and slime-y things from lagoons. I think this is common for kids--to be intrigued with the spooky and scary. So why do we like to be scared? Where does this love stem from?

According to WebMD, people have long been fascinated with the "dark side." We like the idea of monsters because we don't understand it, and it's unique compared to our regular, everyday lives.  Glen Sparks has been studying how people react to frightening images for over twenty years, and he has found that people like to watch horror movies and be scared because they feel good that it's a different experience and they feel happy that the film is over and that they could watch the whole thing. The former president of the American Psychological Association, Farley, says that there are people that have "type T" personalities, which means they are thrill-seekers. Farley states, "Skydivers will tell you it's the thrill, the rush, and a little element of fear that motivates them to push themselves to the extreme." The body goes through unique physical sensations, such as sweaty palms, a racing heartbeat and an adrenaline rush, when scared and many will purposely put themselves in specific situations just so they can feel that.  A professor of psychology at Kansas State University states children like monsters because they are not real, and therefore can be used as an outlet for their emotions. He continues and mentions how teens enjoy horror movies because they often contain taboo subjects, and their attraction to it is like that of driving a car fast or smoking a cigarette.

We know now why people like to be scared, but why and how did they create myths and legends like Champ and the Loch  Ness Monster? If you're really that curious, head over to http://www.americanmonsters.com/site/# which gives thorough backgrounds for all infamous monsters!