Final answer:
Cultural relativism refers to the assessment of a culture by its own standards, to deeply understand its practices and beliefs, without imposing one's own cultural biases. It requires an open mind and suspension of judgment to facilitate comprehension and cross-cultural relationships. The correct answer to the student's question is option c.
Step-by-step explanation:
Cultural relativism is the principle of assessing a culture by its own standards rather than comparing it to those of another culture. This approach seeks to understand a culture on its own terms, which involves analyzing cultural practices, beliefs, and values from the perspective of its members. An example of this would be examining Ghanaian clothing styles within the context of Ghanaian values rather than American values.
To understand cultural traditions and knowledge, cultural relativism requires an open mind and the suspension of judgment. This is not to say it advocates an "anything goes" mentality; rather, it is a method for gaining a deeper comprehension and forming cross-cultural relationships. Even when facing controversial practices like female genital cutting (FGC), cultural relativism insists on understanding the complex societal reasons behind such traditions before making judgments or interventions.
Therefore, option c, which states cultural relativism involves attempting to understand a culture by looking at it according to its own standards and analyzing it from the point of view of its members, best captures the ethos of cultural relativism.