Download or read book The Truth about Relativism written by Joseph Margolis and published by Wiley-Blackwell. This book was released on 1991-01-01 with total page 224 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Relativism and Monadic Truth written by Herman Cappelen and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 2009-01-15 with total page 157 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Cappelen and Hawthorne present a powerful critique of fashionable relativist accounts of truth, and the foundational ideas in semantics on which the new relativism draws. They argue compellingly that the contents of thought and talk are propositions that instantiate the fundamental monadic properties of truth and falsity.
Download or read book Fear of Knowledge written by Paul Boghossian and published by Clarendon Press. This book was released on 2007-10-11 with total page 160 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The academic world has been plagued in recent years by scepticism about truth and knowledge. Paul Boghossian, in his long-awaited first book, sweeps away relativist claims that there is no such thing as objective truth or knowledge, but only truth or knowledge from a particular perspective. He demonstrates clearly that such claims don't even make sense. Boghossian focuses on three different ways of reading the claim that knowledge is socially constructed - one as a thesis about truth and two about justification. And he rejects all three. The intuitive, common-sense view is that there is a way things are that is independent of human opinion, and that we are capable of arriving at belief about how things are that is objectively reasonable, binding on anyone capable of appreciating the relevant evidence regardless of their social or cultural perspective. Difficult as these notions may be, it is a mistake to think that recent philosophy has uncovered powerful reasons for rejecting them. This short, lucid, witty book shows that philosophy provides rock-solid support for common sense against the relativists; it will prove provocative reading throughout the discipline and beyond.
Download or read book The Metaphysics and Ethics of Relativism written by Carol Rovane and published by Harvard University Press. This book was released on 2013-12-16 with total page 274 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Relativism is a hotly contested doctrine among philosophers, some of whom regard it as neither true nor false but simply incoherent. As Carol Rovane demonstrates in this analytical tour-de-force, the way to defend relativism is not initially by establishing its truth but by clarifying its content. The Metaphysics and Ethics of Relativism elaborates a doctrine of relativism that has a consistent logical, metaphysical, and practical significance. Relativism is worth debating, Rovane contends, because it bears directly on the moral choices we make in our lives. Three intuitive conceptions of relativism have been influential in philosophical discourse. These include the idea that certain unavoidable disagreements are irresolvable, leading to the conclusion that "both sides are right," and the idea that truth is always relative to context. But the most compelling, Rovane maintains, is the "alternatives intuition." Alternatives are truths that cannot be embraced together because they are not universal. Something other than logical contradiction excludes them. When this is so, logical relations no longer hold among all truth-value-bearers. Some truths will be irreconcilable between individuals even though they are valid in themselves. The practical consequence is that some forms of interpersonal engagement are confined within definite boundaries, and one has no choice but to view what lies beyond those boundaries with what Rovane calls "epistemic indifference." In a very real sense, some people inhabit different worlds--true in themselves, but closed off to belief from those who hold irreducibly incompatible truths.
Download or read book Absolute Relativism The New Dictatorship and What to Do about It written by Stefanick Chris and published by Catholic Answers. This book was released on 2011-05-01 with total page 59 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Welcome to the new tyranny "If it feels good, do it." "That's your opinion, and this is mine." "I don't want to impose my beliefs on others." And thus the Dictator of Relativism speaks as he has always spoken to seduce humanity into a false sense of freedom. Pope Benedict XVI, Christ's personally chosen defender of the Truth is fighting back. He recognized this in his homily on April 18, 2005, "We are building a dictatorship of relativism that does not recognize anything as definitive and whose ultimate goal consists solely of one's own ego and desires." Through a down-to-earth, easily accessible Question-and-Answer format, Stefanick's book shows: Why relativism inherently contradicts its own claims. What makes it one of the worst ideas in the history of ideas. How relativism has a direct influence on the morals and virtues of a nation. Why relativism doesn't even work "in real life." How relativism is counterproductive to the true practice of tolerance Why religion which makes claims to absolute truth is finally more tolerant than relativism. What Christianity has almost singlehandedly done to foster true tolerance in the world. How all laws legislate morality What the true meaning of "open-minded" means it's not what you think!
Download or read book Relativism written by Maria Baghramian and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2019-09-30 with total page 303 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Relativism, an ancient philosophical doctrine, is once again a topic of heated debate. In this book, Maria Baghramian and Annalisa Coliva present the recent arguments for and against various forms of relativism. The first two chapters introduce the conceptual and historical contours of relativism. These are followed by critical investigations of relativism about truth, conceptual relativism, epistemic relativism, and moral relativism. The concluding chapter asks whether it is possible to make sense of relativism as a philosophical thesis. The book introduces readers to the main types of relativism and the arguments in their favor. It also goes beyond the expository material to engage in more detailed critical responses to the key positions and authors under discussion. Including chapter summaries, suggestions for further reading, and a glossary, Relativism is essential reading for students of philosophy as well as those in related disciplines where relativism is studied, such as anthropology, sociology, and politics.
Download or read book Foundations for Moral Relativism written by J. David Velleman and published by Open Book Publishers. This book was released on 2015-11-23 with total page 158 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In this new edition of Foundations for Moral Relativism a distinguished moral philosopher tames a bugbear of current debate about cultural difference. J. David Velleman shows that different communities can indeed be subject to incompatible moralities, because their local mores are rationally binding. At the same time, he explains why the mores of different communities, even when incompatible, are still variations on the same moral themes. The book thus maps out a universe of many moral worlds without, as Velleman puts it, "moral black holes”. The six self-standing chapters discuss such diverse topics as online avatars and virtual worlds, lying in Russian and truth-telling in Quechua, the pleasure of solitude and the fear of absurdity. Accessibly written, this book presupposes no prior training in philosophy.
Download or read book True Truth written by Art Lindsley and published by InterVarsity Press. This book was released on 2004-04-08 with total page 196 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Art Lindsley ably demonstrates that faith in Christ is necessarily opposed to and incompatible with the abuses of oppression, arrogance, intolerance, self-righteousness, closed-mindedness and defensiveness. Surprisingly, he shows that it is relativism which often harbors dangerous, inflexible absolutisms.
Download or read book True to the Life A novel written by and published by . This book was released on 1868 with total page 314 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book The Book of Absolutes written by William D. Gairdner and published by McGill-Queen's Press - MQUP. This book was released on 2008-08-21 with total page 415 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A lively challenge to postmodern opinion that reveals satisfying and reliable certainties.
Download or read book Natural Moralities written by David B Wong and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 2009-03-03 with total page 312 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In this book, David B. Wong defends an ambitious and important new version of moral relativism. He does not espouse the type of relativism that says anything goes, but he does start with a relativist stance against alternative theories such that there need not be only one universal truth. Wong proposes that there can be a plurality of true moralities existing across different traditions and cultures, all with one core human question as to how we can all live together.
Download or read book Relativism and the Foundations of Philosophy written by Steven D. Hales and published by MIT Press. This book was released on 2009-08-21 with total page 227 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A defense of the view that philosophical propositions are true in some perspectives and false in others, arguing that the rationalist, intuition-driven method of acquiring basic beliefs favored by analytic philosophy is not epistemically superior to such alternate belief-acquiring methods as religious revelation and the ritual use of hallucinogens. The grand and sweeping claims of many relativists might seem to amount to the argument that everything is relative—except the thesis of relativism. In this book, Steven Hales defends relativism, but in a more circumscribed form that applies specifically to philosophical propositions. His claim is that philosophical propositions are relatively true—true in some perspectives and false in others. Hales defends this argument first by examining rational intuition as the method by which philosophers come to have the beliefs they do. Analytic rationalism, he claims, has a foundational reliance on rational intuition as a method of acquiring basic beliefs. He then argues that there are other methods that people use to gain beliefs about philosophical topics that are strikingly analogous to rational intuition and examines two of these: Christian revelation and the ritual use of hallucinogens. Hales argues that rational intuition is not epistemically superior to either of these alternative methods. There are only three possible outcomes: we have no philosophical knowledge (skepticism); there are no philosophical propositions (naturalism); or there are knowable philosophical propositions, but our knowledge of them is relative to doxastic perspective. Hales defends relativism against the charge that it is self-refuting and answers a variety of objections to this account of relativism. Finally, he examines the most sweeping objection to relativism: that philosophical propositions are not merely relatively true, because there are no philosophical propositions—all propositions are ultimately empirical, as the naturalists contend. Hales's somewhat disturbing conclusion—that intuition-driven philosophy does produce knowledge, but not absolute knowledge—is sure to inspire debate among philosophers.
Download or read book Relative Truth written by Manuel García-Carpintero and published by Oxford University Press, USA. This book was released on 2008-08-14 with total page 325 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Relative Truth examines a question which has become the focus of one of the liveliest debates in philosophy: whether truth is relative to standards of taste, values, or subjective informational states. Specially written papers by leading figures, together with a helpful introduction, make this book the starting-point for future work.
Download or read book Moral Relativism written by Paul K. Moser and published by Oxford University Press, USA. This book was released on 2001 with total page 337 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This volume is devoted solely to the topic of moral relativism. The 19 contemporary selections are nontechnical and fall under five main headings which include general issues of moral relativism, moral diversity, the coherence of moral relativism, and relativism, realism, and rationality.
Download or read book Relativism written by Paul O'Grady and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2014-12-18 with total page 172 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: 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.
Download or read book A Refutation of Moral Relativism written by Peter Kreeft and published by Ignatius Press. This book was released on 1999 with total page 188 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: No issue is more fateful for civilization than moral relativism. History knows not one example of a successful society which repudiated moral absolutes. Yet most attacks on relativism have been either pragmatic (looking at its social consequences) or exhorting (preaching rather than proving), and philosophers' arguments against it have been specialized, technical, and scholarly. In his typical unique writing style, Peter Kreeft lets an attractive, honest, and funny relativist interview a "Muslim fundamentalist" absolutist so as not to stack the dice personally for absolutism. In an engaging series of personal interviews, every conceivable argument the "sassy Black feminist" reporter Libby gives against absolutism is simply and clearly refuted, and none of the many arguments for moral absolutism is refuted.
Download or read book Relativism written by Francis J. Beckwith and published by Baker Books. This book was released on 1998-10 with total page 192 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A critique of moral relativism, the belief that there exists no objective moral standards that apply to every place, person, and time.
