Dr. Seuss and Philosophy - Jacob M. Held [66]
Stewing a Who, or Isn’t It All Relative?
Many people claim that respecting diversity makes it impossible to make moral claims, especially across cultural lines. After all, if we want to avoid normative hubris and totalizing tendencies, who are we to say that someone else’s practices are wrong? Some of us are vegetarians while others are omnivores. In Star-Belly circles, it seems obvious that the Plain-Belly Sneetches are inferior, and Horton wants to protect the Whos, even when all of his neighbors think he is insane. If we are supposed to respect diversity, what’s wrong with Sneetch culture uplifting the Star-Bellies or with the people of Nool stewing the Who?
Two types of relativism are relevant here. Descriptive relativism simply notes that different cultures have different practices. Some cultures strive to achieve gender equality, while others explicitly state that women are subordinate to men, for instance. But normative (or moral) relativism goes further by claiming that cultural norms are culture specific and cannot be adequately judged outside of that particular milieu. However, does a respect for diversity mean that we must accept moral relativism? Even if my basic understanding of myself is that “I am what I am,” does this mean that whatever I think is good is in fact good for me or that I don’t have a responsibility to be better than I am? Seuss doesn’t think so. For instance, despite Jo-Jo’s preference for yo-yoing, he must set aside his toys and work to save his community when it is endangered, and Mayzie, that fun-loving fowl, loses all claim to her child when she abandons her egg in favor of sun and surf. We exist in a world that requires moral decision making, and the philosophy of diversity must address this need while trying to avoid normative hubris.
Two approaches seem to allow for moral decision making while respecting diversity. The first is captured by the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which states that “[a]ll human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood.”16 Because all humans have inherent rights, we can stop practices that undermine those rights. While this work expresses a respect for cultural differences, it also allows us to make moral judgments against those practices that undermine individual rights without necessarily falling prey to normative hubris. For instance, ending slavery did not destroy Southern culture, but it set in motion changes to better ensure that everyone’s rights were valued. Southerners still drink iced tea and have biscuits and gravy for breakfast. Pickup trucks and cowboy boots aren’t going anywhere. But now a group of people who had no recourse can demand that their rights be respected, just as the Who now have a voice among the citizens of Nool.
A second approach appears in John Dewey’s discussions of morality and growth. Dewey (1859–1952), an American Pragmatist, rejects the idea that rights are unalienable, arguing that the rights of humanity have instead resulted from social development as individuals have become dissatisfied with tyranny and have struggled against it. By viewing rights as inherent, we can easily lose sight of our need to continually work toward ideals of social justice. According to Dewey, this work must center upon our daily activities, for he defines democracy as “a personal way of individual life.”17 In Dewey’s day, as well as our own, people claim to believe in democracy while living lives out of step with democratic