“Different cultures have different truths”. “A truth is that which can be accepted universally.” What are the implications for knowledge in agreeing with these opposing statements?
Jack Tomlinson
Theory of Knowledge
Word Count: 1300
6/04/09
When first approaching these statements it appears as though they are contradictory, as they seem to convey two conflicting ideas of truth. The first statement relates to the idea of relativism, which simply refers to the belief that what is true is that which is accepted by one´s culture or community, whereas the second statement relates mainly to the idea of absolutism, which refers to an argument that claims that a statement is either completely true, or completely false, leaving nothing in between. The statements are in direct conflict with each other by means that the first leads us to imply that each individual culture has its own set of truths which do not have to be in correlation with other cultures truths, while the second directly contradicts the first by stating that nature of truth allows it to flow through all barriers (including the barrier of culture), making it universally acceptable. The implication for knowledge, if we agree with these conflicting statements, is the realization that cultural beliefs/truths are not automatically equivalent to universal truths and allows for an additional understanding of the ethical and moral decisions which we accept, regardless of our diverse cultural background.
The first statement basically just expresses the idea of cultural relativism. Cultural relativism essentially dictates that a person’s culture strongly influences his or her mode of perception and thought, and generally receives a different amount of perceptual evidence. In the modern context, however, the general content of that, which has been received through perception, will be relatively similar throughout humanity. Thus despite the numerous varieties of cultures, there is a validity in one attaching their personal beliefs to a universally accepted truth, this occurs because of the different method that someone is brought up, which in turn causes that particular person’s views of different facts to be related to their experiences and cultural backgrounds; therefore determining how one examines the world. This is what the phrase “different truths” in the first statement is trying to portray. The vague usage of the term “truths” strongly implies a strong belief rather than an actual truth. The statement indicates that truth is subjective rather than objective. Objective truth is data based as opposed to subjective truth that is based on perception, beliefs, theory and philosophy. Strong belief in subjective truth, regardless of reason, usually renders knowledge tricky. For example, most Asian cultures believe that continuous studies without a social aspect are one of the only ways to succeed in life. However, the West generally holds the development of a combination of a social aspect and a studious aspect to the development of one’s personality. These conflicting ideals have caused considerable squabble amongst academics around the world. A strong belief in subjective truth, can also lead to one society attempting to impose its “truths” upon another (in some cases multiple) societies; Hitler’s Nazi’s attempting to brainwash the World into believing that the Aryan’s (the superior race), had every right to annihilate mere mortals. One´s cultural background can also influence one´s perception on matters like that of beauty. For example, the perception of beauty in some Ndebele tribes in southern Africa is that a woman stretches her neck my means of using large copper rings. The disproportion that this causes is considered remarkably beautiful in Ndebele culture. This is often viewed in western cultures peculiarly as it does not conform to the cultural truth that western culture was brought up with. In contrast, western culture seems to idolize the “perfectly” proportional body as beautiful. These examples perfectly illustrate that “different cultures have different truths.”
