Ethics of the Civilizational Approaches and National Characters
Navigating Cultural Relativism and Universalism in the Mongolian Context
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.22353/mar.202501.06Keywords:
ritual cultures, national character, social evolution, symbolism, NomadicAbstract
This paper critically explores the ethical tensions between cultural relativism and universalism within the framework of the civilizational approach in Mongolia. Drawing on historical, philosophical and socio-political dimensions, it examines how Mongolian society negotiates moral values in regard to sharing traditional nomadic cultures and civilizations with other nations and how to use Buddhist ethics and international human rights discourses. The paper analyses how Mongolia's resistance of civilizational discrimination helped adopting global ethical values via UNESCO and revealing the complexities of moral pluralism in a rapidly globalizing yet culturally distinct society. By engaging with theories of civilization, ethics and intercultural dialogue, the study contributes to broader debates on whether ethical norms can be universally applied or must be culturally contextualized.
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