A Companion to Relativism (Blackwell Companions to Philosophy Book 110)

A Companion To Relativism Presents Original Contributions From Leading Scholars That Address The Latest Thinking On The Role Of Relativism In The Philosophy Of Language, Epistemology, Ethics, Philosophy Of Science, Logic, And Metaphysics. Features Original Contributions From Many Of The Leading Figures Working On Various Aspects Of Relativism Presents A Substantial, Broad Range Of Current Thinking About Relativism Addresses Relativism From Many Of The Major Subfields Of Philosophy, Including Philosophy Of Language, Epistemology, Ethics, Philosophy Of Science, Logic, And Metaphysics-- Relativism Is One Of Philosophy's Oldest -- And Most Polarizing -- Concepts. It Has Captivated Thinkers Since The Days Of Protagoras (who Supported The Notion) And Plato (who Did Not). Relativism Is Assailed By Popes As Leading People Away From Absolute Religious Truths, And Blamed By Social Commentators For Many Of Society's Ills. With A Few Notable Exceptions, 20th-century Philosophers Grew To Dismiss Relativism As An Obviously Mistaken Or Even Self-refuting Concept. But In The Past Decade, Even Its Staunchest Philosophical Critics Have Come To Realize That Relativism Is A Legitimate Option For Explaining A Variety Of Phenomena, Including Faultless Disagreement, The Utility Of Alternative Logics, Varieties Of Cross-cultural Moralities, And Differing Ontological Conceptual Schemes. Reflecting This Overdue Reappraisal, A Companion To Relativism Presents The Latest Thinking On The Role Of Relativism In The Philosophy Of Language, Epistemology, Ethics, Philosophy Of Science, Logic, And Metaphysics. Original Contributions To This Volume Feature Cutting Edge Thinking From A Variety Of Eminent Scholars Who Approach Relativism From Various Perspectives And Philosophical Subfields-- Edited By Steven D. Hales. Includes Bibliographical References And Index. A Companion to Relativism......Page 5 Contents......Page 7 Notes on Contributors......Page 10 Acknowledgments......Page 13 Introduction......Page 15 Part I: Characterizing Relativism......Page 23 1: Global Relativism and Self-Refutation......Page 25 2: Relativism Requires Alternatives, Not Disagreement or Relative Truth......Page 45 3: Three Kinds of Relativism......Page 67 4: Varieties of Relativism and the Reach of Reasons......Page 84 Part II: Truth and Language......Page 99 5: Truth Relativism and Truth Pluralism......Page 101 6: The Many Relativisms: Index, Context, and Beyond......Page 116 7: Variation in Intuitions about Reference and Ontological Disagreements......Page 132 8: Centered Worlds and the Content of Perception......Page 151 9: Conceptual Relativism......Page 173 10: The Limits of Relativism in the Late Wittgenstein......Page 193 Part III: Epistemic Relativism......Page 213 11: Epistemological Relativism: Arguments Pro and Con......Page 215 12: Relativism About Epistemic Modals......Page 233 13: Relativism and Confirmation Theory......Page 256 14: Epistemic Relativism, Epistemic Incommensurability, and Wittgensteinian Epistemology......Page 280 15: Relativism and Contextualism......Page 300 Part IV: Moral Relativism......Page 321 16: Relativism in Contemporary Liberal Political Philosophy......Page 323 17: Secularism, Liberalism, and Relativism......Page 340 18: Moral Relativism and Moral Psychology......Page 360 19: Bare Bones Moral Realism and the Objections from Relativism......Page 382 20: Virtue Ethics and Moral Relativism......Page 405 21: Relativist Explanations of Interpersonal and Group Disagreement......Page 425 Part V: Relativism in the Philosophy of Science......Page 445 22: Relativism and the Sociology of Scientific Knowledge......Page 447 23: Incommensurability and Theory Change......Page 470 24: Thomas Kuhn’s Relativistic Legacy......Page 489 25: Anti-Realism and Relativism......Page 503 Part VI: Logical, Mathematical, and Ontological Relativism......Page 523 26: Horror Contradictionis......Page 525 27: Varieties of Pluralism and Relativism for Logic......Page 540 28: Relativism in Set Theory and Mathematics......Page 567 29: Putnam’s Model-Theoretic Argument......Page 583 30: Quine’s Ontological Relativity......Page 602 31: Carving Up a Reality in which There Are No Joints......Page 618 Index......Page 635 A Companion to Relativism 5 Contents 7 Notes on Contributors 10 Acknowledgments 13 Introduction 15 Part I: Characterizing Relativism 23 1: Global Relativism and Self-Refutation 25 2: Relativism Requires Alternatives, Not Disagreement or Relative Truth 45 3: Three Kinds of Relativism 67 4: Varieties of Relativism and the Reach of Reasons 84 Part II: Truth and Language 99 5: Truth Relativism and Truth Pluralism 101 6: The Many Relativisms: Index, Context, and Beyond 116 7: Variation in Intuitions about Reference and Ontological Disagreements 132 8: Centered Worlds and the Content of Perception 151 9: Conceptual Relativism 173 10: The Limits of Relativism in the Late Wittgenstein 193 Part III: Epistemic Relativism 213 11: Epistemological Relativism: Arguments Pro and Con 215 12: Relativism About Epistemic Modals 233 13: Relativism and Confirmation Theory 256 14: Epistemic Relativism, Epistemic Incommensurability, and Wittgensteinian Epistemology 280 15: Relativism and Contextualism 300 Part IV: Moral Relativism 321 16: Relativism in Contemporary Liberal Political Philosophy 323 17: Secularism, Liberalism, and Relativism 340 18: Moral Relativism and Moral Psychology 360 19: Bare Bones Moral Realism and the Objections from Relativism 382 20: Virtue Ethics and Moral Relativism 405 21: Relativist Explanations of Interpersonal and Group Disagreement 425 Part V: Relativism in the Philosophy of Science 445 22: Relativism and the Sociology of Scientific Knowledge 447 23: Incommensurability and Theory Change 470 24: Thomas Kuhn鈥檚 Relativistic Legacy 489 25: Anti-Realism and Relativism 503 Part VI: Logical, Mathematical, and Ontological Relativism 523 26: Horror Contradictionis 525 27: Varieties of Pluralism and Relativism for Logic 540 28: Relativism in Set Theory and Mathematics 567 29: Putnam鈥檚 Model-Theoretic Argument 583 30: Quine鈥檚 Ontological Relativity 602 31: Carving Up a Reality in which There Are No Joints 618 Index 635 9781405190213 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. (UK) "Relativism is one of philosophy's oldest -- and most polarizing -- concepts. It has captivated thinkers since the days of Protagoras (who supported the notion) and Plato (who did not). Relativism is assailed by popes as leading people away from absolute religious truths, and blamed by social commentators for many of society's ills. With a few notable exceptions, 20th-century philosophers grew to dismiss relativism as an obviously mistaken or even self-refuting concept. But in the past decade, even its staunchest philosophical critics have come to realize that relativism is a legitimate option for explaining a variety of phenomena, including faultless disagreement, the utility of alternative logics, varieties of cross-cultural moralities, and differing ontological conceptual schemes. Reflecting this overdue reappraisal, A Companion to Relativism presents the latest thinking on the role of relativism in the philosophy of language, epistemology, ethics, philosophy of science, logic, and metaphysics. Original contributions to this volume feature cutting edge thinking from a variety of eminent scholars who approach relativism from various perspectives and philosophical subfields"-- Provided by publisher Machine generated contents note: Editor's Introduction Part I: Characterizing Relativism Part II: Truth and Language Part III: Epistemic Relativism Part IV: Moral Relativism Part V: Relativism in the Philosophy of Science Part VI: Logical, Mathematical, and Ontological Relativism.