About | HeinOnline Law Journal Library | HeinOnline Law Journal Library | HeinOnline
LOG IN
LOG IN

6 Hum. Rts. Q. 400 (1984)
Cultural Relativism and Universal Human Rights

handle is hein.journals/hurq6 and id is 414 raw text is: HUMAN RIGHTS QUARTERLY Cultural Relativism and Universal Human Rights Jack Donnelly * Cultural relativity is an undeniable fact; moral rules and social institutions evidence an astonishing cultural and historical variability. Cultural relativism is a doctrine that holds that (at least some) such variations are exempt from legitimate criticism by outsiders, a doctrine that is strongly supported by notions of communal autonomy and self-determination. Moral judgments, however, would seem to be essentially universal, as suggested not only by Kant's categorical imperative but also by the common sense distinction between principled and self-interested action. And if human rights are, literally, the rights (every)one has simply because one is a human being, they would seem to be universal by definition. How can the competing claims of cultural relativism and universal human rights be reconciled? In this article I shall try to specify the nature of their relationship, and argue for an approach that preserves the tension between, and the insights of, both relativism and universalism. DEFINING CULTURAL RELATIVISM The two extreme positions on cultural relativism can be called radical cultural relativism and radical universalism. Radical cultural relativism would hold that culture is the sole source of the validity of a moral right or rule. Radical universalism would hold that culture is irrelevant to the validity of moral rights and rules, which are universally valid. Rhoda Howard's criticisms of earlier drafts forced me to greater clarity and precision, and saved me from several errors-although I have stubbornly insisted on leaving a few in here. John Vincent started me thinking along- ese lines and provided helpful comments on an earlier draft. Ted Lewellen offered useful observations from an anthropologist's point of view. I am grateful to them for their help.

What Is HeinOnline?

HeinOnline is a subscription-based resource containing thousands of academic and legal journals from inception; complete coverage of government documents such as U.S. Statutes at Large, U.S. Code, Federal Register, Code of Federal Regulations, U.S. Reports, and much more. Documents are image-based, fully searchable PDFs with the authority of print combined with the accessibility of a user-friendly and powerful database. For more information, request a quote or trial for your organization below.



Short-term subscription options include 24 hours, 48 hours, or 1 week to HeinOnline.

Purchase Access

Contact us for annual subscription options:

Contact Us

Already a HeinOnline Subscriber?

Log In

profiles profiles most