Philosophy 2700F/G Chapter Notes -Moral Relativism, Cultural Relativism, World Health Organization
Document Summary
Many girls undergo ritual surgery involving removal of parts of their external genitalia. Usually performed between infancy and puberty these ancient practices are supposed to promote chastity, religion. Tragically, the usual ways of performing these surgeries deny women sexual orgasms. Those wishing to stop them increasingly use the description female genital mutilation. Women"s groups from around the world protect these practices and t he lack of notice they receive. State that they do not believe that such practices deprive them of anything important. Assume that their pleasure comes only from knowing they contribute to their husbands enjoyment. People who want to continue these practices resent such criticisms seeing them as assaults upon their deeply embedded and popular cultural traditions. Do the moral judgments from one culture have any relevance to judgments about what is right or wrong within another culture. There are moral truths but they are determined by the norms of the society.