Cultural Relativism and Moral Action

Love is a broad concept and topic that involves our daily lives. When I was younger, I would often times see it in the Disney movies and classic fairy tales. Then I read ‘Romeo and Juliet’ by William Shakespeare and learned that the concept of love can be complicated. Currently, I have been dating my boyfriend for three years now and we both get a long quite well even though we share cultural differences. My boyfriend is half Egyptian, and I am half Japanese. The dilemma involved our families’ cultural background values. My mother is Japanese, and academics is very important in our culture, which meant that dating was frowned upon until further academic achievements were made. In Seal’s article about Asian-American parenting and academic success, she states that more Asian-American children often time spend “less time” in “dating” (pp.10). My parents were strictly against dating, especially during an important academic time in my life.

It was very difficult for me to choose between someone I love and agreeing with my cultural values since I value both. My boyfriend finished his bachelor’s degree in pre-medicine and was getting ready to go to a medical school soon at the time. We both knew that if we didn’t commit some time together then, it would be difficult for us to be in a relationship in the future with our schedules (time was limited and crucial). In the Egyptian culture, the value of family is critically important as Goldschmidt’s article states that in cultural life “family remains the most important link in the social chain” (p.6). The lack of communication made it extremely uncomfortable for my boyfriend’s family and his mother didn’t agree with the relationship thinking that the right thing to do was to end it. This made it very clear to the both of us that our decision to continue the relationship on the one hand or to go against our culture on the other hand was a dilemma.

Subjective moral relativism is when the actor that is acting upon the decision that is made states that the act is the correct choice. Whether one agrees with it or disagrees with it, the choice for the actor is simply moral. Therefore, a subjective moral relativist that values love might say that being in the relationship is morally permissible because that is what they consider to be moral. Cultural moral relativism involves the specific group of what they consider is moral in the society. This makes individuals in the cultural society to make the choices that the culture believes is moral. Therefore, considering this situation on both different cultures, a cultural moral relativist will say that the correct approach would be to end the relationship because it interferes with both cultures’ core values. Reflecting back to the situation of our current relationship, I would say that the cultural moral approach would be the wrong choice because of the growth in our experiences and values that have developed.

After confronting the dilemma and speaking with my boyfriend, we decided to continue this relationship, identifying as an ethical relativist prioritizing the value of love. In the end, both families were able to compromise and make an agreement. Since the Japanese culture values academic success, it was important to communicate about both of our academic goals and plans. If either me or him end up losing that academic success, we will break-up because that would be morally correct in the Japanese culture. Seal’s article states that Asian culture incorporates people into “achieving virtues” (pp.11) such as “perseverance” (pp.11) and will be able to continuously strive for perfecting themselves. The Egyptian culture has a strong value in family so communication between both families was the key foundation to approving the relationship. Considering multiple possibilities for solving the dilemma, having a peaceful resolution can indicate a moral approach. The objective moral truth is: if my boyfriend and I can cooperate with both family cultures respectfully and appropriately then there can be a relationship.

References

Goldschmidt, A. Eduard, Little, . Donald P., Holt,. Peter M., Smith,. Charles Gordon, Hopwood,. Derek and Baker,. Raymond William (2021, March 10).Egypt. Encyclopedia Britannica. https://www.britannica.com/place/Egypt

Karki, S. (2021). Cultural Relativism and Moral Action. (p. 1-4).

Rachels, J., & Rachels, S. (2019). The elements of moral philosophy. New York, NY: McGraw Hill Education.

Seal, K. (2017, June 14). Asian-American parenting and academic success. Pacific Standard. https://psmag.com/education/asian-american-parenting-and-academic-success-26053