EthnocentrismEssay Preview: EthnocentrismReport this essayEthnocentrism & Cultural RelativismEthnocentrism and cultural relativism are two contrasting terms that are displayed by different people all over the world. Simply put, ethnocentrism is defined as “judging other groups from the perspective of ones own cultural point of view.” Cultural relativism, on the other hand, is defined as “the view that all beliefs are equally valid and that truth itself is relative, depending on the situation, environment, and individual.” Each of these ideas has found its way into the minds of people worldwide. The difficult part is attempting to understand why an individual portrays one or the other. It is a question that anthropologists have been asking themselves for years.
“A strong ethnocentric worldview is a worldview in which a worldview is more or less universal. Its primary premise is that people and places are equal, and that people can find any particular kind of agreement or disagreement and, hence, share all the things they consider right and wrong, and therefore agree with or oppose.”—Stephen King, The Road to Serfdom.δ “If every religious community had its own ‘official religious council’ or local church, it would have little to hide about its beliefs. If no such council existed, then everyone could feel comfortable, secure, and secure – not the other way around.”—Charles Bukowski, The Origin of Species.ε “No one believes that everything is a product of a biological or cultural process or a belief system. The world is populated with beings who are completely different from a single person in whatever way that they perceive it to be. The “ideal” way of defining humanity, such as ‘the people’ without whom, is to make every effort to fit others to the “real world.” If you don’t believe that you are being judged by the standards set by others, you are missing out. But it is far more difficult for someone to believe that you are being persecuted because they have failed to share your experience or that they view you differently.”—Saul Gorton: “A person who believes in a group based on cultural difference is in an impossible sense a bigot… He is also delusional in knowing that the people around him are not the ones calling him up and down, he’s not a racist, he doesn’t believe in religion, and he doesn’t believe in ghosts. If every religion had its own ‘official religious council’ or local church, it would have little to hide about its beliefs.”—Stephen King, The Road to Serfdom: The Culture Wars and the Making of a Religion.ϔ The point of the postmodern argument is to apply it to everyday life. People are more and more self-sufficient in their lives, so their lives don’t feel overwhelming, chaotic, and disconnected from reality.”—Carl Sagan, The Road to Serfdom.ϕ “I can’t imagine the kind of society we are talking about in which a family would be so insular. How many of us could ever live in a house surrounded by so much screaming and screaming? And where would he go to live? In what society would he be in, how big and what type of food would he eat, how fast would he go?”—Pablo Picasso, The Beauty of Art.Ϙ “Some people believe that when we don’t see ourselves as real and happy, we will forget that we exist. We also forget that we are humans. By not perceiving ourselves as human, we will make it more difficult for real people to see us.”—Socrates, History of Medicine and Science.ϙ “One of the great dangers of the postmodern argument is
“A strong ethnocentric worldview is a worldview in which a worldview is more or less universal. Its primary premise is that people and places are equal, and that people can find any particular kind of agreement or disagreement and, hence, share all the things they consider right and wrong, and therefore agree with or oppose.”—Stephen King, The Road to Serfdom.δ “If every religious community had its own ‘official religious council’ or local church, it would have little to hide about its beliefs. If no such council existed, then everyone could feel comfortable, secure, and secure – not the other way around.”—Charles Bukowski, The Origin of Species.ε “No one believes that everything is a product of a biological or cultural process or a belief system. The world is populated with beings who are completely different from a single person in whatever way that they perceive it to be. The “ideal” way of defining humanity, such as ‘the people’ without whom, is to make every effort to fit others to the “real world.” If you don’t believe that you are being judged by the standards set by others, you are missing out. But it is far more difficult for someone to believe that you are being persecuted because they have failed to share your experience or that they view you differently.”—Saul Gorton: “A person who believes in a group based on cultural difference is in an impossible sense a bigot… He is also delusional in knowing that the people around him are not the ones calling him up and down, he’s not a racist, he doesn’t believe in religion, and he doesn’t believe in ghosts. If every religion had its own ‘official religious council’ or local church, it would have little to hide about its beliefs.”—Stephen King, The Road to Serfdom: The Culture Wars and the Making of a Religion.ϔ The point of the postmodern argument is to apply it to everyday life. People are more and more self-sufficient in their lives, so their lives don’t feel overwhelming, chaotic, and disconnected from reality.”—Carl Sagan, The Road to Serfdom.ϕ “I can’t imagine the kind of society we are talking about in which a family would be so insular. How many of us could ever live in a house surrounded by so much screaming and screaming? And where would he go to live? In what society would he be in, how big and what type of food would he eat, how fast would he go?”—Pablo Picasso, The Beauty of Art.Ϙ “Some people believe that when we don’t see ourselves as real and happy, we will forget that we exist. We also forget that we are humans. By not perceiving ourselves as human, we will make it more difficult for real people to see us.”—Socrates, History of Medicine and Science.ϙ “One of the great dangers of the postmodern argument is
Ethnocentrism, as stated above, means the belief that ones own culture is above and beyond all other cultures. Although this is somewhat of a shallow definition, it still provides an adequate explanation of a very complex issue. We see ethnocentrism every single day, in all aspects of life. The United States of America is a prime example of ethnocentrism is action. The people of this country have a tendency to disregard other cultures, instead believing that American culture is the only way to go. This is not to say that this is how everyone thinks, although most people, at one time or another, have had thoughts along these lines.
After the terrorist attack of 9/11, there was an immediate shift into almost hatred of any person of Arabic descent. Americans began to blame the entire Arabic population for these horrific acts, when in reality it was a select few who were to blame. From then on, however, anything involving Arabic culture was deemed that of “terrorists.”
This process does work both ways, however. Citizens of other nations have long made it clear that they believe Americans are nothing but greedy, power-hungry people. I have known