Ethnocentrism Vs Cultural Relativism..

My 4th post is about Ethnocentrism and Cultural Relativism that discussed in the lecturer  last week.
First of all.. I'd like to tell you what is ethnocentrism..


Ethnocentrism is the tendency to see the world only through their own cultural perspective. or the tendency to view one's own culture as the best and to judge that the belief and the behavior of culturally different by one's own standards,.., or Simply it means that "mine" is the best, "yours" are worst (0.o)?.. Based on this definition of ethnocentrism is not always negative, as generally understood. Ethnocentrism in certain cases also a positive thing. Unlike the general assumption that ethnocentrism is something that is merely bad, ethnocentrism is also something that is functional because it encourages the group in the struggle to find the power and wealth...

for example,, as a Javanese,, especially orang Jogja or Solo which is in the environment of Keraton.. we have to eating by sitting,, we should not eat on a way, we have to sit when we're eating.,,
and if we find people from another place, with a different culture who eating on a way,, immediately we will say "not polite, or something bad to judge them"! if we said that,, it means we have a rigid ethnocentrism. But if we say "that's how he/ she learned to do it" means that maybe we have a flexible ethnocentrism.


The principle Cultural relativism is that an individual human's beliefs and activities make sense in terms of his or her own culture.
Cultural relativism leads to ethnocentric behavior.

Cultural relativism is a similar concept. Using the same examples, Canadians see towing away as wrong, Americans do not. Western society sees female circumcision as wrong, traditional African cultures do not. Your sister commits adultery. In America, we scold her. In Yemen, she is killed. All cultural relativism. What is murder and mutilation here is correct behavior there..

that is what I understand about our last material,, and what about you??