Against Relativism
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Against Relativism
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Author : James Franklin Harris
language : en
Publisher: Open Court Publishing
Release Date : 1992
Against Relativism written by James Franklin Harris and has been published by Open Court Publishing this book supported file pdf, txt, epub, kindle and other format this book has been release on 1992 with Body, Mind & Spirit categories.
Recent decades have witnessed the extraordinary growth of radical relativism, a doctrine which now dominates the entire culture, from popular music to journalism and from religion to school curricula. According to the radical relativist creed, any proposition can be true or false in relation to a chosen framework, the evaluation of fundamental theories or 'paradigms' is beyond argument, there are no universal standards of rationality, and, methodologically, 'Anything goes!'. As James Harris explains in Against Relativism, the new relativism undoes the work of the Enlightenment and inevitably leads to the conclusion that Galileo was wrong to insist that the Earth indeed moves. Succor for relativism has come from many philosophical schools, both Analytic and 'Continental'. Among the sources of the new relativism are the collapse of Logical Positivism and the shift within anthropology from a linear evolutionary model to numerous models for understanding human culture. In this detailed critique, Professor Harris has selected the strongest and most plausible arguments for relativism within contemporary academic philosophy. He turns the techniques of relativism against relativism itself, showing that it is ultimately self-refuting or otherwise ineffectual. He demonstrates that Quine's rejection of the analytic-synthetic distinction appeals to the very analytic truths Quine tries to dispel; that Kuhn's celebrated account of paradigms must be either self-refuting or unintelligible; that Rorty cannot avoid presuppposing the epistemological principles he attacks; and that (although feminist criticisms of science exert a welcome corrective) attempts to develop a distinctively 'feminist science'are misconceived and unhelpful to feminism. In all these discussions, the author explains the arguments he is criticizing, for the benefit of the non-specialist reader, so that this work can serve as a partisan but fair introduction to some of the most important of present-day philosophy.
Fear Of Knowledge
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Author : Paul Boghossian
language : en
Publisher: Clarendon Press
Release Date : 2007-10-11
Fear Of Knowledge written by Paul Boghossian and has been published by Clarendon Press this book supported file pdf, txt, epub, kindle and other format this book has been release on 2007-10-11 with Philosophy categories.
The academic world has been plagued in recent years by scepticism about truth and knowledge. Paul Boghossian, in his long-awaited first book, sweeps away relativist claims that there is no such thing as objective truth or knowledge, but only truth or knowledge from a particular perspective. He demonstrates clearly that such claims don't even make sense. Boghossian focuses on three different ways of reading the claim that knowledge is socially constructed - one as a thesis about truth and two about justification. And he rejects all three. The intuitive, common-sense view is that there is a way things are that is independent of human opinion, and that we are capable of arriving at belief about how things are that is objectively reasonable, binding on anyone capable of appreciating the relevant evidence regardless of their social or cultural perspective. Difficult as these notions may be, it is a mistake to think that recent philosophy has uncovered powerful reasons for rejecting them. This short, lucid, witty book shows that philosophy provides rock-solid support for common sense against the relativists; it will prove provocative reading throughout the discipline and beyond.
Against Relativism
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Author : Ruth Macklin
language : en
Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA
Release Date : 1999
Against Relativism written by Ruth Macklin and has been published by Oxford University Press, USA this book supported file pdf, txt, epub, kindle and other format this book has been release on 1999 with Medical categories.
This book analyzes the debate surrounding cultural diversity and its implications for ethics. If ethics are relative to particular cultures or societies, then it is not possible to hold that there are any fundamental human rights. The author examines the role of cultural tradition, often used as a defense against critical ethical judgments, and explores key issues in health and medicine in the context of cultural diversity: the physician-patient relationship, disclosing a diagnosis of a fatal illness, informed consent, brain death and organ transplantation, rituals surrounding birth and death, female genital mutilation, sex selection of offspring, fertility regulation, and biomedical research involving human subjects. Among the conclusions the author reaches are that ethical universals exist but must not be confused with ethical absolutes. The existence of ethical universals is compatible with a variety of culturally relative interpretations, and some rights related to medicine and health care should be considered human rights. Illustrative examples are drawn from the author's experiences serving on international ethical review committees and her travels to countries in Africa, Asia, and Latin America, where she conducted educational workshops and carried out her own research.
Against Relativism
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Author : Christopher Norris
language : en
Publisher: Wiley-Blackwell
Release Date : 1997-11-10
Against Relativism written by Christopher Norris and has been published by Wiley-Blackwell this book supported file pdf, txt, epub, kindle and other format this book has been release on 1997-11-10 with Science categories.
This book offers a vigorous and constructive challenge to relativism by examining a wide range of anti-realist theories, and in response offering a variety of arguments amounting to a strong defence of critical realism in the natural and social sciences.
Fear Of Knowledge
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Author :
language : en
Publisher:
Release Date : 2010
Fear Of Knowledge written by and has been published by this book supported file pdf, txt, epub, kindle and other format this book has been release on 2010 with Constructivism (Philosophy) categories.
Rationality And Cognition
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Author : Nenad Miscevic
language : en
Publisher: University of Toronto Press
Release Date : 2000-12-15
Rationality And Cognition written by Nenad Miscevic and has been published by University of Toronto Press this book supported file pdf, txt, epub, kindle and other format this book has been release on 2000-12-15 with Philosophy categories.
Cognitive science has posed some radical challenges to philosophy in recent years, particularly in the study of the cognitive activities and capacities of individuals. Many philosophers have taken up the challenge, and one result has been the emergence of a radical new wave of relativism, one that assaults the credibility of rationalist views. In this book Nenad Mis̆c̆ević defends naturalistic rationalism against these recent relativist attacks. The book begins with an excellent introduction to cognitive science, and goes on to create a searching defence of human rationality and of a traditional role for truth in epistemology. Mis̆c̆ević presents a critical scrutiny of the relativism championed by Stephen Stich and Paul Churchland and their followers, showing that it not only exaggerates the subversive impact of science, but relies on its links with naturalism for much of its crediblity. His careful dissection of relativist arguments establishes the main outlines of a positive rationalistic picture that is both original and convincing.
Universalism Vs Relativism
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Author : Don S. Browning
language : en
Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield
Release Date : 2006
Universalism Vs Relativism written by Don S. Browning and has been published by Rowman & Littlefield this book supported file pdf, txt, epub, kindle and other format this book has been release on 2006 with Philosophy categories.
Has moral relativism run its course? The threat of 9/11, terrorism, reproductive technology, and globalization has forced us to ask anew whether there are universal moral truths upon which to base ethical and political judgments. In this timely edited collection, distinguished scholars present and test the best answers to this question. These insightful responses temper the strong antithesis between universalism and relativism and retain sensitivity to how language and history shape the context of our moral decisions. This important and relevant work of contemporary political and social thought is ideal for use in the classroom across many disciplines, including political science, philosophy, ethics, law, and theology.
Relativism
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Author : Maria Baghramian
language : en
Publisher: Routledge
Release Date : 2019-09-30
Relativism written by Maria Baghramian and has been published by Routledge this book supported file pdf, txt, epub, kindle and other format this book has been release on 2019-09-30 with Philosophy categories.
Relativism, an ancient philosophical doctrine, is once again a topic of heated debate. In this book, Maria Baghramian and Annalisa Coliva present the recent arguments for and against various forms of relativism. The first two chapters introduce the conceptual and historical contours of relativism. These are followed by critical investigations of relativism about truth, conceptual relativism, epistemic relativism, and moral relativism. The concluding chapter asks whether it is possible to make sense of relativism as a philosophical thesis. The book introduces readers to the main types of relativism and the arguments in their favor. It also goes beyond the expository material to engage in more detailed critical responses to the key positions and authors under discussion. Including chapter summaries, suggestions for further reading, and a glossary, Relativism is essential reading for students of philosophy as well as those in related disciplines where relativism is studied, such as anthropology, sociology, and politics.
Rationality And Cognition
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Author : Nenad Miscevic
language : en
Publisher:
Release Date : 2000
Rationality And Cognition written by Nenad Miscevic and has been published by this book supported file pdf, txt, epub, kindle and other format this book has been release on 2000 with Cognition categories.
Cognitive science has posed some radical challenges to philosophy in recent years, particularly in the study of the cognitive activities and capacities of individuals. In this book Nenad Mi?cevic defends naturalistic rationalism against recent relativist attacks.
Facing Relativism
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Author : Alyssa Luboff
language : en
Publisher: Springer Nature
Release Date : 2020-05-19
Facing Relativism written by Alyssa Luboff and has been published by Springer Nature this book supported file pdf, txt, epub, kindle and other format this book has been release on 2020-05-19 with Philosophy categories.
This book tackles the difficult task of defending relativism in the age of science. It succeeds where others have failed by combining the rigor of analytic philosophy with the first-hand insights of anthropological experience. Typically, an anthropologist’s work on relativism offers rich examples of cultural diversity, but lacks philosophical rigor, while a philosopher’s work on relativism offers rigorous argumentation, but lacks rich anthropological examples. Facing Relativism, written by a North American philosopher who lived in the Ecuadorian rainforest, does both. Relativism at a global scale is a view that our claims about the world, both theoretical and practical, are evaluable only relative to a context shaped by factors such as culture, history, language, and environment – or, “a way of life.” It can be at once intuitive and disturbing. While we might expect a way of life to exert some influence on our claims, relativism seems to move to the overly strong conclusion that all of our claims about what is true or good must merely be expressions of cultural bias. It easily opens itself to a host of charges, including paradox and self-contradiction. Facing Relativism argues that such problems arise largely from a failure to situate the view within the context that has, throughout its long history, been its inspiration: the experience – whether through literature, the imagination, or direct anthropological contact – of deeply engaging with a very different way of life. By starting with a careful analysis of the experience of deep engagement, this book shows that relativism is neither as incoherent nor as alarming as we tend to think. In fact, it might just offer the tools we need to face these times of global crisis and change. Alyssa Luboff has produced an exceptional defense of a cultural relativism that recognizes how the epistemic and the ethical intertwine in a way of life. Drawing from her deep engagement over many years with the Chachi and traditional Afro-Ecuadorian people, she provides vivid and compelling examples of how one can come to understand another way of life as well-reasoned, coherent, and integrated, as challenging to one’s own commitments at the same time that one challenges it. Luboff combines her deep engagement with command of the relevant philosophical and anthropological literature. She presents the major arguments against relativism in a sympathetic and generous way, and carefully responds with a sophisticated relativism that acknowledges how the world resists and responds to different conceptual shapings of it. This book is beautifully written and will engage both the academic specialist and the intelligent general reader. – David Wong, Duke University By the time her brilliant faceoff is over, philosophical relativism will never again be seen as a straw man. – Richard A. Shweder, University of Chicago This book will interest readers who seek an astute account of how the pursuit of “truth” – whether relative or absolute – enters into practices of power. Luboff ’s treatment is impressive. – Michael Krausz, Bryn Mawr College and Linacre College, Oxford University