Of Course Some Cultures Are Better Than Others
We apply critical thinking in our lives to observe, with evidence, what is functioning well and what is not; to examine how social norms and inherited values shape our perceptions of right and wrong; and, ultimately, to engage in the philosophical task of discerning what is worth preserving, what must be reimagined, and what should be ethically let... See more
Can We Apply Critical Thinking to Identity & Culture?
“If all beliefs are equally true or historically contingent, if the belief in reason is simply an ethnocentric Western prejudice, then there is no superior moral position from which to judge even the most abhorrent practices—as well as, of course, no epistemological basis for postmodernism itself.”
Alexander C. Karp • The Technological Republic: The Sunday Times bestseller from the great minds behind Palantir
Drew Waterstreet • This Entire Reality Is a Lie. | Whatifalthist with Rudyard Lynch • Podcast Notes
If this is the case, it is natural to ask where these rules come from: how are they constructed? One possible answer is radical cultural relativism . This position takes the view that different moral systems happen to be what they are in a given society for historically contingent reasons that might be arbitrary. These moral systems are not... See more
Lionel Page • Morality works without absolute moral truths
Today this approach to understanding culture —taking seriously, and respecting, what you do not necessarily take as true — is virtually absent, and desperately needed. Whether you are observing a Balinese cockfight or a Wall Street board meeting or a sexual-harassment-prevention training session at an American university, you will find people... See more