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What Are Aaa's View Of Cultures?

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The American Anthropological Association (AAA) has seen their share of criticism regarding their view of cultures. The Ayaan Hirsi Ali (AHA) Foundation has taken up a stance to do anything within their power to fight for the rights of women worldwide, specifically pertaining to honor violence. There seems to be serious philosophical tension between the AAA and the AHA. In this paper, I will set out to discuss this tension in three ways. The first thing I will do is to try and present the AAA’s position with as much accuracy and charitability as I can. The second thing I will try to do is to apply the AAA’s stance specifically to honor violence. Lastly, I will argue for my view of the AAA’s position. Hopefully, I will offer a compelling case …show more content…

The reason is this. For an individual to truly grow as a person, that individual must be in a societal context that supports growth. The reverse is also true. For a society to grow, it must consist of individuals who place a high value on support for one another. The argument is thus self-sustaining. In this, I believe they are trying to communicate that all cultures should be given the same amount of respect. If all cultures are made up of humans, then in their eyes attacking a culture is the same as attacking an …show more content…

The entire premise of their statement has been that you cannot judge a culture by another culture. Therefore, the view of absolute moral claims goes against that. However, that is exactly what they are presenting. By saying that there are no moral claims, that view in and of itself is a moral claim. Their view that there is no such thing as absolute morality is a statement of absolute morality. The AAA’s statement is neither coherent nor convincing. It is by its own nature inconsistent. In this paper, I have showed my case as to why I believe the American Anthropological Association’s statements are inconsistent and self-defeating. I presented what I believed their position was in an unbiased and charitable position as possible. I also showed that they could neither endorse the Ayaan Hirsi Ali movement to help women nor could the condemn honor violence. I finally revealed what I believed the weaknesses of their argument were. The statements of the AAA show what happens when people rely on emotion apart from

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