Exotic Journeys: A Tourist's Guide to Philosophy

brought to you by Ron Yezzi

Emeritus Professor of Philosophy

Minnesota State University, Mankato

© Copyright 1986, 1994, 2015, 2020 by Ron Yezzi

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(Author's Note: The account below, with slight modifications, is taken from Ron Yezzi, Philosophical Problems: The Good Life (Mankato: G. Bruno & Co., 1994), pp. 123-126.)

Topics

Anthropology and Cultural Relativity

Controversies: Some Objections and Possible Replies

Creative Excursions

Sources

Negative Answer:

Anthropology and Cultural Relativity

Ruth Benedict

According to cultural relativists, anthropological study shows that values vary with the culture; that is, the particular environmental circumstances determine what particular values are important within a given culture. As a result, no account of values is objectively true.