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**WertyNtont** · 09-22-2012, 01:00 AM

If one is to learn about and understand people from a different culture, one must refrain from making value judgments. If you rely on your own culture as a frame of reference, and refer to other cultures and their practices as not "good" or not "modern," you are probably not going to learn to appreciate the customs and practices of other cultures.

Most cultural norms are adopted by a society because they are somehow adaptive, and help the society to survive and prosper. In order to understand the practices of another society, one must learn about the circumstances under which the practices began, and how they helped the society to promote its own survival. Whether or not you think it is a "good" practice is irrelevant. It is, after all, not your culture.

09-22-2012, 01:00 AM	#33
WertyNtont Join Date Oct 2005 Posts 481 Senior Member	If one is to learn about and understand people from a different culture, one must refrain from making value judgments. If you rely on your own culture as a frame of reference, and refer to other cultures and their practices as not "good" or not "modern," you are probably not going to learn to appreciate the customs and practices of other cultures. Most cultural norms are adopted by a society because they are somehow adaptive, and help the society to survive and prosper. In order to understand the practices of another society, one must learn about the circumstances under which the practices began, and how they helped the society to promote its own survival. Whether or not you think it is a "good" practice is irrelevant. It is, after all, not your culture.
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