William Graham Sumner

William Graham Sumner was an American sociologist and philosopher best known for his ideas on cultural relativism and descriptive ethics. He argued that moral beliefs are shaped by cultural context, meaning that what is considered right or wrong varies across societies. Sumner contended that we should study moral customs without judgment, understanding them as products of social evolution. His work emphasizes the importance of acknowledging diverse ethical systems and cautions against imposing one's own cultural values onto others, highlighting the complexity of human morality across different cultures.