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 . . . Cultural Relativism, upon first glance, appears to be quite a sophisticated and conceivable theory, as it acknowledges the different moral codes between cultures; encourages the acceptance of moral judgments made within these cultures; and rejects the belief of cultural superiority on the basis of moral standards. The idea that moral judgments are a consequence of cultural outlooks is illustrated through the funerary practices of the Greeks and Callatians. The Greeks maintained a custom of cremating the dead and the Callatians practiced the ritual of eating their deceased. Bother cultures found the practices of the other to be abhorrent; however neither custom is objectively right or objectively wrong. We must accept that cremation is correct for the Greeks and eating is correct forthe Callatians, as we have no grounds on which to judge one such custom over the other. This notion is known as the "Cultural Differences Argument". Cultural Relativism also seems to evade the faults of moral objectivism and theories such as moral skepticism that exclude moral truth-value entirely. It may seem impossible to establish a universal truth in ethics; however ethics are still commonly seen as "not merely subjective".Cultural Relativism accommodates this perception as it holds that moral judgments do have truth, however truth pertaining to a certain society.

Cultural Relativists claim that their theory explains the occurrence of moral disagreements and provides a foundation for tolerance. Arguments in support of Cultural Relativism explain that the difference in cultural perceptions of morality demonstrate that right and wrong are only matters of opinion and that there is no objective "truth" in morality. If there were, it would appear natural for an understanding and cross-cultural consensus on moral issues to arise. Non-Cultural Relativists generally give two responses to this claim. Some attempt to argue that Cultural Relativists overestimate the extent in which cultural values differ and moral differences are in fact a product of factual beliefs not moral values. For example, a particular culture may refuse to eat cows as they believe in reincarnation and the possibility that their cow is a deceased relative. These cultural values are similar to a society which does not believe in reincarnation and thus eats cows because they believe it cannot be their deceased relative. Both societies maintain thesame moral judgment that eating deceased relatives is wrong. Furthermore, Rachels argues that moral differences are a product of different practical circumstances and if a society was placed in the same physical context as another, it would develop similar cultural practices and values. For example, Eskimos live in a very harsh environment where resources are scarce and too many children would compromise the survival of the family. Eskimos thus practice infanticide in order to overcome this issue. Although perceived as "morally incorrect" from a Western perspective, Rachels argues that if our society was placed in this situation, we would also accept infanticide as a "right" action. . .

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