Relativism

What’s the relationship between theories and the world to which theories meant to apply? Are there ultimate truth which can be obtained through a series of scientific validation and falsification? Is critical relativism appropriate for scientific research (marketing or consumer research in particular)? Those are some critical questions raised by this week’s readings that centered on the topic of rationality and relativism. Several authors provide different insights on answering those above questions as follows: Initially, the debate between Cooper and Anderson introduced the controversial issue of whether scientist or consumer researcher should adopt the perspective of critical relativism. Cooper rejected the critical relativism saying that…

Understanding Although a key issue in contemporary times, relativism dates back to the beginnings of Western philosophy. As Baghramian (2015) notes, the earliest documented source on relativism can be traced back to Plato’s account of the Sophist Philosopher Protagoras of Abdera (490-420BC) who, during a period of increased contact between people of different cultures in ancient Athens, claimed that “Man is the measure of all things; of the things that are, that they are; and of the things that…

Compare the concepts of cultural relativism and ethical relativism. Is it possible to understand the values and worldview of another culture(s) and not accept all of their practices and standards? Does adopting an ethical relativist viewpoint present a problem such as ethnocentrism? Cultural Relativism in Anthropology theorizes the way people act, behave and perceive things relative to their cultures. One must understand the culture in order to understand certain actions or customs (Debra…

In the philosophical world, there are varying definitions of the word “relativism”. From the early era of the Sophists to the atheist perspective of David Hume, to the theory of ethics from Immanuel Kant, etc. Throughout each of these philosophical categories, we can break each of them down to identify their own definitions, as we will do later. In addition to the concept of ethics, the two main ethical topics in philosophy are both ethical and cognitive relativism. Although we will only discuss…

Arguments Against Epistemic Relativism Yet, despite arguments that show the validity of epistemic relativist thought, for some scholars, relativism has remained controversial and “untenable” (Kalderon, 2009, p. 236). For example, it could be argued that Black Feminist Thought has risked closing off discourse when dealing with false consciousness. Since subjugated knowledges like coloured women’s resistance develops in cultural contexts, dominant groups can attempt to influence an oppressed…

The normative theory of ethical relativism is one that states that there is no right or wrong, simply that people from different areas of the world and from different cultures have their own set of beliefs and way of doing things. This fits into ethical relativism because in theory there are no moral principles that are universal and the same throughout the world. This theory claims that it would be impossible for one single set of rules or ‘rights and wrongs’ to ever pertain to everyone on the…

Rachel’s point of view on cultural relativism, he defines it as “a theory about the nature of morality” (Rachel, pg 19). He then shows based on his definition of cultural relevance that the argument is invalid. Even if the premise is true, the conclusion does not follow. Therefore the very form of argument is a mistaken belief. Here is what the argument would have us believed. Since, “different cultures have different moral codes” (Rachel, pg 12). It follows from the facts that there is no…

Today, we are members of a society that is more connected than ever on a global scale. The internet and social media have given us access to the world, quite literally, at our fingertips with the means to communicate with people living entire continents away at any given moment. A consequence of this exposure is an increase in ethnocentrism, “the practice of judging all other cultures by one’s own culture” (Kendall 61). Citizens of the United States of America display a particularly strong…

I enjoyed your post and your thoughts on ethical relativism. You are correct in saying that even in a state there are smaller areas in which families and individuals see issues differently and they handle matters in the way they have been shown. Subjects such as discipline, how to run a family, and how to handle personal family matters are something we tend to learn culturally from our families. Having lived in a small town in Tennessee I remember my mother in law telling her grandchildren (as…

Sovereign over all, does not cry, Mine!”. Kuyper 's belief in the absolute truth of the Gospel contrasts sharply with the popular idea of relativism. In relativism, no absolute truths exist because people interpret truth differently relative to their cultural, societal, and historical context. In the book Life of Pi, author Yann Martel relates Pi’s belief in…