Should you respect other "Cultures" (or the people

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I read this article in the Guardian which said that people concerned with human rights should not respect culture because "culture" has often been laid down and decided by the strongest people in a country and that you should instead respect the rights of the individual people in a country, as they may be oppresed by a culture. For instance some feminists believe respecting the culture of a male dominated/patriarchal country means neglecting the rights of women there. I often wonder where to see the difference between universal human rights and relative cultural differences, so I would be interested to know others thoughts.

Last edited by Tom on 04 Dec 2009, 5:49 pm, edited 1 time in total.

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Respect, v.t. [L. respecto, or respectus, from respicio; re and specio, to view.]
1. To regard; to have regard to in design or purpose.
2. To have regard to, in relation or connection; to relate to.
3. To view or consider with some degree of reverence; to esteem as possessed of real worth.
4. To look towards.
(Webster, 1828)
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Might we consider the extreme example of circumcision? Culture "A" practices male circumcision, culture "B" practices female circumcision, culture "C" does neither, and all three are patriarchal. So then, the feminists who believe "respecting the culture of a male dominated/patriarchal country means neglecting the rights of women there" are distracted from the real issue: How should women be treated (regarded)? Pushing men aside so women can take over is not working.

Yes, every time I read about Universal rights Vs Relativism they always use an example like foot-binding and female circumcision, and then people start arguing angrily on those issues, but I've always found it hard to pin down the overall frame of mind a left person should approach all these issues from, or how to define the difference between universally "bad" things and cultural difference.

In any situation, I believe altruism is always respectable:

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Main Entry: al·tru·ism
Etymology: French altruisme, from autrui other people, from Old French, oblique case form of autre other, from Latin alter
Date: 1853
1 : unselfish regard for or devotion to the welfare of others
2 : behavior by an animal that is not beneficial to or may be harmful to itself but that benefits others of its species
(Merriam-Webster Online)
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Culture is what the entire population of the country is creating though. It includes the counterculture. You are part of the culture of the country you live in by simply existing. If we ignore culture we ignore ourselves.

Healthy culture and altruism are synonymous:

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Culture, n. [L. See Cultivate.]
1. The act of tilling and preparing the earth for crops; cultivation; the application of labor or other means of improvement.
(We ought to blame the culture, not the soil.)
2. The application of labor or other means to improve good qualities in, or growth; as the culture of the mind; the culture of virtue.
3. The application of labor or other means in producing; as the culture of corn, or grass.
4. Any labor or means employed for improvement, correction or growth.
(Webster, 1828)
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interesting thanks

Thats actully incorect, culture is formed as a way to live within a pecefic environent at a specific time. It's easier to pass down this knowlege then to have to relearn it, so yes respect it espicilly as it may teach you how to live there.

Social culture is not the same as agriculture, aquaculture, or those activities associated with education, the arts, or special behaviors of an elite class except in a tangential aspect.

The culture of Nazi Germany or Stalinist USSR or Maoist China could hardly be characterized as altruistic. The culture of selfish capitalism could only be viewed as altruistic from a rather distorted viewpoint.

It says in Perke Avot: Who is wise? He who learns from all men.

ruveyn

Understood. The OP question here was about respect of culture ...



... and I mean to be suggesting to not respect cultures that are not altruistic.

And by your comment you seem to respect the culture of growing vegetables. Commendable.

al⋅tru⋅ism
  /ˈæltruˌɪzəm/ Show Spelled Pronunciation [al-troo-iz-uhm]

1. the principle or practice of unselfish concern for or devotion to the welfare of others (opposed to egoism ).
2. Animal Behavior. behavior by an animal that may be to its disadvantage but that benefits others of its kind, as a warning cry that reveals the location of the caller to a predator.

The problem here is the designation of "others". Assuming that means other living things I suppose I conform somewhat as I regularly take insects in my apartment and toss them out the window rather than killing them. I have twinges of conscience when I peel a potato or an onion and I freely admit shedding a tear or two in the latter process. I do not physically injure other humans or animals if it can be avoided and never drop atomic bombs on Muslims or any other sect nor advocate others to do so.
When I eat an apple I allocate the seeds to surrounding terrain since I do not approve of killing fetuses except in the case of an endangered mother and I have no idea of the physical state of the apple tree where my apple originated.
I have never had the opportunity to cry out warnings about predators since lions, tigers, dinosaurs, black widow spiders, fanatic terrorists, dragons, fundamentalist Christians, etc. have yet to make their presence known in my locality. I will be on the lookout and am prepared to cry out. I assume that makes me altruistic.

Why must you mock me? I have said nothing like that. The OP question was about respect for culture versus respect for "the rights of the individual people in a country, as they may be oppresed by a culture."

But, at least maybe the bugs you toss out your window will fare far better in the vegetable garden below anyway, eh?!

I didn't mock you. I merely took the bulk of your quote at face value:

Healthy culture and altruism are synonymous:

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Culture, n. [L. See Cultivate.]
1. The act of tilling and preparing the earth for crops; cultivation; the application of labor or other means of improvement.
(We ought to blame the culture, not the soil.)
2. The application of labor or other means to improve good qualities in, or growth; as the culture of the mind; the culture of virtue.
3. The application of labor or other means in producing; as the culture of corn, or grass.
4. Any labor or means employed for improvement, correction or growth.
(Webster, 1828)

The rest of my comment was to the ambiguity of the definition of altruism. The basic functions of all life involve a huge amount of killing off of other life and although community preservation also has its advantages there are problems with that as well. Generalities in this area are simplifications of hugely complicated problems.

Culture is often an idealized model of a reality (and usually created by the elites, although some people can gain some semiotic power from it through various means).

I was speaking of culture as mentioned by the OP.