As a society, we respect certain rules and customs. For the most part, we think our rules and customs are correct and we accept them. We also recognize that other societies have rules and customs different from ours. But are they wrong? Should we judge them for their beliefs? These are the questions that cultural relativism answers. Cultural relativism agrees with the idea that we are not the type to judge other societies by their standards. More importantly, morality differs in every society. What is morally right and what is morally wrong is simply subjective and determined by the society and culture in which we live. On the other side of the spectrum is dogmatism. Dogmatism is accepting what is right or wrong as unquestionably true, regardless of the opinions or evidence of others. I will carefully develop and analyze these two contrasting views on truth and morality and evaluate which system seems to carry more weight. I will then respond to the first case study presented using my analysis of cultural relativism and dogmatism to reach a conclusion about what to do in the given circumstances. Although commonly discussed when discussing religious beliefs, dogmatism can refer to lifestyle, politics, or, more importantly, in this context, moral views. A dogmatic point of view would follow the exclusive “my way is the only way” model. If we accept this view, we can believe that we have already arrived at the truth and that all differing opinions are false and do not matter. Looking at “The Challenge of Cultural Relativism” by James Rachels, he gives an example of two cultures with different points of view. Both the Callatians and the Greeks had very different ways of honoring the dead. The Callatians would eat... middle of paper... as previously thought. In fact, as Rachel states: “…the argument turns out to be fallacious. So it doesn’t prove anything” (Rachels 3). But putting that argument aside, what if we took cultural relativism seriously? What would be the consequences? One of the first things that comes to mind when considering cultural relativism is the apparent wrongdoings of other societies. A common example would be Nazi Germany during World War II. If we take cultural relativism seriously, we cannot criticize Hitler for his heinous acts against the Jews. In fact, we can't even call them abhorrent because, under cultural relativism, they are no less morally inferior to our own standards. Rachels writes: "We could not even say that a society tolerant of Jews is better than an anti-Semitic society, because that would imply some sort of cross-cultural standard of comparison" (Rachels 3).