Well, cultures that practise slavery such as the Islamic State are a lot worse then liberal democracies that practise the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
Cultures that teach natural selection and practise it daily in sequencing the genome, are superior to cultures like Islam and some fundamentalist Christian sects, who teach Creationism and ignore science and the daily sequencing of the genome.
Cultures with the values of equality and freedom are superior to cultures that teach and practise submission to authority.
And cultures that teach and practise evidence and reason are superior to those who practise traditional superstitions.
I agree that slavery's shitty, but that doesn't define an entire culture. It took Britain
decades for its grassroots abolition movement to end slavery; Britain and other countries who have practiced slavery in the past are not morally superior in that regard. It is great that it's finally abolished in many nations, but those nations aren't guilt-free, either.
Again,
our cultures tend to value science over religion, but that does not necessarily make our culture
superior--only in our eyes, when compared to
our values. I actually prefer it our way--which I acknowledge fully as ethocentrism, which I nor anyone else can ever be completely free on.
Submission to authority and freedom are not mutually exclusive--we submit to authority every day when we follow laws.
And no, your fourth statement is ethocentrism. Like I described previously in this reply, I definitely prefer logic and reason to tradition and superstition, but it
does not make us superior, because we are defining "superior" and "inferior" based in
the context of our own subjective culture.
Let's say there is a random culture living in a forest somewhere in this world that abhors technology and chooses to live in caves. They have their own traditions, practices, and set of cultural values. And those people would definitely think of their culture as superior to ours. Perhaps they would say we are abhorrent because our way of life breaks some set of cultural rules or values that they have.
eth·no·cen·trism
ËŒeTHnÅˈsentrizÉ™m/
noun
evaluation of other cultures according to preconceptions originating in the standards and customs of one's own culture.
I just want to clarify that I'm not completely disagreeing with your personal views. I think slavery is a disgusting concept, I prefer science to religion and creationism, and for the most part I would rather continue living in the sort of culture I live in now than go live in a culture that I might otherwise deem "lesser" because of my
subjective opinion of said culture's value based on my own
subjective cultural values.
I am simply trying to explain that no, you are not free of ethocentrism. And neither am I. And that is why
no one, not you, not me, not anyone, ever, will ever be able to say
objectively that "Culture x is superior to culture y." Ever.
We can never free ourselves of our own cultural context and lenses. We may try to expand them, and open our minds, but never be free of them.
And that is not to say that having our opinions is not okay. I think slavery is terrible, and I acknowledge that other cultures might not have the same values as mine, and yet I continue to think that it is terrible. But not without acknowledging that that fact alone doesn't make one culture better or worse. Because we can never truly be objective in this regard.
Edit: I also want to add that I don't mean saying "oh it's all ethocentrism" to be meant as an excuse for others' behavior. For example, yes, I think slavery's bad. Yes, I think that slavery might not be seen as "bad" under a different cultural context. No, that doesn't mean I'm saying "Herp derp don't try and do anything about it just let them be because ethocentrism."
I am just saying that you must acknowledge it. But not that you must permit it. AKA, no I absolutely don't condone slavery, and even realizing that my views are ethocentrist, would still push to end slavery in other parts of the world. Just in case that wasn't clear.
