Response to Sept 3 Class

Since this is the first post on this blog, I guess I will be setting the tone and discourse for this week's responses. I was truly intrigued concerning the relativity vs. universality debate we had in class. Although I enjoyed the discussion, it was largely "academic" and I think many of those who participated did not understand the "real world" implications of the side they were advocating. I suppose I can ascribe my preference to universality to what I believe to be common sense and my instincts.

Whenever I enter any discussion with the terms "relativist" or "relativity" I tend to shy away from that side of the discussion because I believe anything truly relative would lack a baseline for determining right and wrong, etc. Yes, relativity, in the sense in which we discussed the term, does possess merit in understanding behavior and actions with reference to the cultural context. But, I believe relativity can be taken too far. I mentioned earlier in the same class the instances of domestic violence in certain European Muslim communities and how police in those countries were hesitant to act to prevent such crimes. I said, "the police were concerned about sensitivity," when Prof. Hayden argued there is a difference between sensitivity and concessions. This, I believe, is the crux of the debate. At what point must relativity be defined as concessions? Would a true relativist view anything as "concessions" so long as behavior was viewed through cultural context? Again, I refer to the "real world" implications of this debate. Concessions from one culture toward another must be faced, and appear to be politically insurmountable. There must be a point at which a line can be drawn to say "enough is enough."

I'm not saying where the line should be drawn, how it should be drawn, or when it should be drawn and against whom. I simply want to take this debate to a level where not only are the academic aspects understood to promote world peace, etc etc etc, but to a level where the implications behind each side are fleshed out. I'm not a strict universalist and, as I said, relativity does have its merits. We simply need to understand what we are saying and how our positions we take in debates do have consequences outside of the classroom. I would appreciate any other thoughts on this topic and would like to engage you in a more in-depth discussion.

-David Lindgren