Relativism (Central Problems of Philosophy)

The issue of relativism looms large in many contemporary discussions of knowledge, reality, society, religion, culture and gender. Is truth relative? To what extent is knowledge dependent on context? Are there different logics? Do different cultures and societies see the world differently? And is reality itself something that is constructed? This book offers a path through these debates. O'Grady begins by clarifying what exactly relativism is and how it differs from scepticism and pluralism. He then examines five main types of cognitive relativism: alethic relativism, logical relativism, ontological relativism; epistemological relativism, and relativism about rationality. Each is clearly distinguised and the arguments for and against each are assessed. O'Grady offers a welcome survey of recent debates, engaging with the work of Davidson, Devitt, Kuhn, Putnam, Quine, Rorty, Searle, Winch and Wittgenstein, among others, and he offers a distinct position of his own on this hotly contested issue. Cover......Page 1 Copyright......Page 5 Contents......Page 8 Preface......Page 10 1. Introduction to relativism......Page 14 2. Truth and logic......Page 40 3. Ontological relativism......Page 66 4. Epistemological relativism......Page 102 5. Relativism about rationality......Page 144 6. Evaluating relativism......Page 184 Guide to further reading......Page 196 Bibliography......Page 200 Index......Page 206 The issue of relativism looms large in many discussions of knowledge, reality, society, religion, culture and gender. This book offers a path through these debates. It begins by clarifying what exactly relativism is and how it differs from scepticism and pluralism. It then examines five main types of cognitive relativism.