Philosopher and academic Alan Levinovitz recently offered a think-piece on the use of relativism in public discourse. In it, he makes solid claims against a certain kind of strong relativism, in which any kind of moral evaluation is thought to be unwise. But thankfully, relativism is a more capacious idea, and can help show us how to be more persuasive in our arguments against Trump.
Specifically, Levinovitz lambasts “cultural relativism,” which he loosely defines as “reluctance to take one culture’s norms as authoritative”. He then states that such a relativism requires a belief that pointing out falsehoods is “disrespectful” of those who believe them. But this isn’t what multiculturalists necessarily believe. Rather, they would typically
Specifically, Levinovitz lambasts “cultural relativism,” which he loosely defines as “reluctance to take one culture’s norms as authoritative”. He then states that such a relativism requires a belief that pointing out falsehoods is “disrespectful” of those who believe them. But this isn’t what multiculturalists necessarily believe. Rather, they would typically