Cultural Relativism and Universalism

Different things, sometimes opposite things, are acceptable in different societies, in different cultures. And since opposite claims cannot all be true, it is clear that in matters of culture the acceptable does not coincide with the true. Universalism reigns in science, relativism in culture. The variations from one culture to another are so many and so large that the universalist thesis seems to be completely in error. Different modes of thought lead to different ways of conceiving of the universe, that is, they tend to develop different sciences. There are those who think that the science of different intelligent species should converge, for although they are rooted in different modes of thought, they must ultimately take into account the same fundamental aspects of the universe. The pressure for change comes in part from a very important aspect of the nature not only of art in particular but of culture in general: that of enriching the emotional and intellectual lives.