文章基本信息

标题：Relativism and Progress
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作者：Howard Darmstadter
期刊名称：Reason Papers : A Journal of Interdisciplinary Normative Studies
印刷版ISSN：0363-1893
出版年度：2007
卷号：29
页码：41-57
出版社：Reason Papers
摘要：I wish to defend a kind of relativism. Relativism is often caricaturedas the view that there are no factual or moral truths of the matter; what's "truefor me" doesn't have to be "true for you." A relativist, so it is said, can believewhatever he or she likes. The result is a slackness of thought and morals.Moreover, it is often charged that relativism is self-contradictory, because itmust allow that realism can be "true for realists." Again, it is argued thatrelativism is unable to explain the obvious growth in human knowledge overthe years. Finally, it is often suggested that in these troubled times, relativismcan offer no convincing explanation of the superiority (both moral andmaterial) of the open societies of the West to the closed societies of theMiddle East.I shall argue that all of these arguments are misconceived. Inparticular, relativists can defend particular moral positions, can make cross-cultural comparisons, and can criticize alien cultures. Indeed, relativism is aphilosophy with a particular world-view that favors tolerant open societies,and has a convincing analysis of the causes of their superiority. But before Ideal with the misconceptions, I shall advance a positive argument forrelativism