Relativism - Creedopedia

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Topic: Relativism

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Moral relativism - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Moral relativism is often described as a temporal idea of the "new" that conflicts with absolute moral standards of tradition; however, moral relativism encompasses views and arguments that have been held for a very long time in many different cultures (for example, in the ancient Taoist writings of Chuang Tzu).
Relativism and absolutism are opposite sides of an argument about the existence (or not) of objective truth.
Moral relativism, in contrast, contends that opposing moral positions have no truth value, and that there is no preferred standard of reference by which to judge them.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moral_relativism (2698 words)



Relativism

Relativism about truth boils down to relativism about belief, but rather different sets of issues are typically connected with central beliefs or principles, on the one hand, and issues about relative truth, on the other.
Relativism about concepts or beliefs is connected, rather trivially, to other kinds of relativism because all of them involve concepts and beliefs.
Many discussions of relativism in the earlier part of the twentieth century focused on the French anthropologist Lucien Lévy-Bruhl's (1922/1978) claim that members of preliterate (then called “primitive”) cultures had a “pre-logical mentality” that led them to reason in ways that differ from modes of reasoning common in modern Western cultures.

http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/relativism (18070 words)



RELATIVISM

Of course relativism doesn't give anyone a reason for not changing their beliefs, since if I just happen to change my beliefs, then relativism says that my new belief is just as true (for me) as, but no truer (for me) than my old belief was.
For relativism says that whatever anybody believes must be true (for that person), so that no belief can ever be mistaken, unjustified or even uncertain.
But that entails directly that relativism is absolutely neutral between the belief in tolerance and the belief in intolerance.

http://www.people.cornell.edu/pages/rcc2/relativism.html (8094 words)



BBC NEWS Magazine What is relativism?

Relativism does not equal moral dissolution: it merely recognises the blatant fact that there is a plurality of beliefs.
Relativism, he says, gets "a bad name" from opponents like the church who cast it only as "an anything goes" approach to moral questions.
It allows you to demonise others as evil, refuse to see their point of view and refuse to accept that moral standpoints are based in culture and change alongside it.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/magazine/4460673.stm (1231 words)



CULTURAL RELATIVISM, CONFLICT RESOLUTION, SOCIAL JUSTICE

And, at least in its weaker form, normative relativism should make us cautious about rushing imperiously to presume that our own definition of justice is the universal one.
Not only is it self-burlesquing, but if it is used in the arena of social activism it can be quite pernicious.
In its extreme form it is straw man. It is difficult to imagine anyone outside the pages of Carlos Castenada actually attempting to live according to the dictates of extreme epistemological relativism, choosing to regard gravity, for example, as “optional,” a mere social convention.

http://www.gmu.edu/academic/pcs/BlackAvruch61PCS.html (7678 words)



Does the Bible Contain False Prophecies

This article deals with the issue of religious relativism and the frequently heard statement that "all religions are paths to God." This statement is considered by many to be quite sophisticated and even beautiful.
Relativism is fatal to religious discussion of any kind, since choosing Christianity over Islam, or Buddhism, or Hinduism, etc. really amounts to little more than a matter of "taste" coupled perhaps with societal, familial, or other temporal concerns.
And, most importantly, there is relativism of truth and knowledge, which asserts that absolute truth is non-existent and, thus, "truth" becomes a matter of personal subjectivity.

http://www.geocities.com/mnapologetics/relativism.htm (532 words)



Ethical Relativism

Ethical relativism reminds us that different societies have different moral beliefs and that our beliefs are deeply influenced by culture.
Perhaps the strongest argument against ethical relativism comes from those who assert that universal moral standards can exist even if some moral practices and beliefs vary among cultures.
In other words, we can acknowledge cultural differences in moral practices and beliefs and still hold that some of these practices and beliefs are morally wrong.

http://www.scu.edu/ethics/practicing/decision/ethicalrelativism.html (1082 words)



Relativism

Thus, relativism basically presents itself as a true doctrine, which means that it will logically exclude its opposites (absolutism or objectivism), but what it actually says is that no doctrines can logically exclude their opposites.
And if we say that relativism simply means that whatever I believe is nobody else's business, then there is no reason why I should tell anybody else what I believe, since it is then none of my business to influence their beliefs.
Indeed, if Protagoras says that there is no falsehood, then he cannot say that the opposite, the contradiction, of his own doctrine is false.

http://www.friesian.com/relative.htm (4400 words)



Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger

Relativism has thus become the central problem for the faith at the present time.
The relativism of Hick, Knitter and related theories are ultimately based on a rationalism which declares that reason—in the Kantian meaning—is incapable of metaphysical cognition.[10] The new foundation of religion comes about by following a pragmatic path with more ethical or political overtones.
The areligious and pragmatic relativism of Europe and America can get a kind of religious consecration from India which seems to give its renunciation of dogma the dignity of a greater respect before the mystery of God and of man.

http://www.ewtn.com/library/CURIA/RATZRELA.HTM (5882 words)



Refuting Relativism

If you are saying that it is merely my perception that is not true, then relativism is refuted.
If you admit that it is absolutely true that I am believing relativism is false, then relativism is defeated since you admit there is something absolutely true.
On what basis do you simply exclude relativism from the critique of logic?

http://www.carm.org/relativism/relativism_refute.htm (837 words)



Challies Dot Com: Challenges to the Church - Relativism

Thus we must stand strong against the relativism that is in our schools, our worldplaces and perhaps even our churches.
Our society teaches that morality is subjective - what is good or bad for you may differ from what is good or bad for me. The Bible, on the other hand, indicates that there are standards of morality that are given for all people at all times.
We live in a pluralist society in which many religions and worldviews co-exist.

http://www.challies.com/archives/001240.php (2441 words)



Matthew Yglesias: Ratzinger and Relativism

My inclination would be to say the reverse, that pernicious forms of relativism come about specifically because of the belief that "real" objective knowledge must be knowledge of the thing-in-itself and that when people see you can't do this there's a tendency to throw up your hands in despair.
This straw man is, in fact, pretty typical of the "Relativism is evil" crowd-- set up as the only possible alternative to their own belief in an absolute truth a hypothetical, anything-goes belief system that very few people actually believe.

http://yglesias.typepad.com/matthew/2005/04/ratzinger_and_r.html (10868 words)



Majikthise : Liberalism and moral relativism

But I, as a liberal Buddhist, and, I think, the conservative Christian could point out that this welter of hairsplitting distinctions is precisely the problem with what is called, as a shorthand, "moral relativism".
Superficiallly, this position might look like relativism because it offers no moral guidance in choosing what kind of sex to have.
Conservatives may have observed that people who abandon religion sometimes become relativists instead of adopting a secular moral theory.

http://majikthise.typepad.com/majikthise_/2004/09/moral_relativis.html (4480 words)



Relativism

Does that imply that all beliefs are equally reasonable and that one person’s belief is necessarily as true as another’s?
The argument presupposes that there are only two options: absolutism and relativism.
Relativism is usually supported by the following argument:

http://instruct.westvalley.edu/lafave/relativ.htm (2049 words)



Cognitive Relativism [Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy]

The relativist must therefore hold that relativism is both true and false.
If I assert that all judgements are only true relative to some non-privileged standpoint, the objection runs, I am implicitly claiming that this judgement--i.e.
Nor do they merely claim that different communities operate with different epistemic norms--i.e.

http://www.utm.edu/research/iep/c/cog-rel.htm (793 words)



Moral relativism Info - Encyclopedia WikiWhat.com

Moral relativism stands in contrast to moral absolutism, which sees morals as fixed by an absolute human nature (John Rawls), or external sources such as deities (many religions) or the universe itself (as in Objectivism).
One consequence of this viewpoint, also known as cultural relativism, is the principle that any judgment of society as a whole is invalid: individuals are judged against the standards of their society; societies themselves have no larger context in which judgement is even meaningful.
Essentially, the claim is that judging members of one society by the moral standards of another is a form of ethnocentrism; some moral relativists claim that people can only be judged by the mores of their own society.

http://wikiwhat.com/encyclopedia/m/mo/moral_relativism.html (448 words)



The Peace Encyclopedia: Moral Relativism, Moral Equivalence, Ethical Relativism, Cultural Relativism, Egalitarianism

"...relativism erodes belief in the truth or justice of their country's cause and thereby undermines their country's ability to persevere in any conflict with regimes whose educators are not relativists".
Another indication of a flawed religion no one questions in an era of cultural relativism.
Reinforcing this relativism is the behavioral doctrine that humanity in general, and their rulers in particular, employ altruistic language like "peace" or "justice" or the "common good" to conceal egotistical motives or dignify self-serving ends.

http://www.yahoodi.com/peace/mrelativism.html (1787 words)



CATHOLIC ENCYCLOPEDIA: Relativism

To dispel the doubt which Hume had cast on the validity of universal judgments of a synthetic character, Kant proposed that we should regard them as arising not from any apprehension of the nature of real things, but from the constitution of our won minds.
The world as we know it, the world of experience, is essentially relative to the human mind, whence it derives all that it has of unity, order and form.
The principal argument upon which this Relativism rests, is fundamentally the same as that used by Berkeley in his famous "Dialogue between Hylas and Philonus".

http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/12731d.htm (2427 words)



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This holds that the validity or truth of an ethical belief can only be assessed by using the standards of the person (or of the group of the person) who holds the belief--i.e.
Philosophy 361 Ethics Darwall Fall 1997 METAETHICS IV -- RELATIVISM I Fundamental Dilemma of Metaethics-- We have been supposing that we could only choose between admitting ethical facts and rejecting them.
Bottom line: according to appraiser's relativism, two conflicting ethical beliefs (i.e., what each believes) can both be correct.

http://www-personal.umich.edu/~sdarwall/361me497.txt (791 words)



Moral Relativism

That is, instead of saying that the truth or justification of moral judgments is relative to a group, we should say it is relative to each individual (as noted above, relativism is sometimes defined to include both positions).
This is the sense in which relativism is correct.
The contention would have to be that they should believe it, and the argument for relativism would have to be formulated in those terms.

http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/moral-relativism (10699 words)



Relativism [Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy]

Thus, forms of moral relativism assert the relativity of moral values; forms of epistemological relativism assert the relativity of knowledge.
How controversial, and how coherent, these forms of relativism are will obviously vary according to what is being relativized to what, and in what manner.
The main genera of relativism can be distinguished according to the object they seek to relativize.

http://www.iep.utm.edu/r/relativi.htm (352 words)



Cultural Relativism

The roots of cultural relativism go to the rejection of the comparative school of the nineteenth century on the basis of exact and specific ethnological information.
Furthermore, as the basis of cultural relativism is a scientific view of culture, it also rejects value judgments on cultures.
One of the most important practitioners of cultural relativism was Ruth Benedict.

http://www.panam.edu/faculty/mglazer/Theory/cultural_relativism.htm (1442 words)



Relativism

Still, subjectivism like this could be just as bad as relativism.
Relativism is the theory that the truth is different for different people (not just that different people believe different things to be true).
Perhaps the main reason why people support relativism is that they believe we should tolerate different beliefs, and even different behavior.

http://academics.vmi.edu/psy_dr/relativism.htm (1065 words)



RELATIVISM

Also different versions of relativism will be systematically mapped out, particularly with regard to what (cultures, languages, normative communities etc.) standards of knowledge, meaning, truth etc. are supposed to be relativized.
From the standpoint of this kind of relativism, the validity of any piece of knowledge is, so to speak, only 'local'.
In these days, relativism regarding truth, knowledge, morality etc. seems to be an opinion more alive than ever, both concerning debates within various philosophical traditions as well as outside of philosophy.

http://www.phil.gu.se/relativism/relativismENG.html (446 words)



Ethical Relativism

Some relativists believe we can justify relativism by intuition, revelation, authority, etc.
Ethical Relativism: the prescriptive view that (1) different groups of people ought to have different ethical standards for evaluating acts as right or wrong, (2) these different beliefs are true in their respective societies, and (3) these different beliefs are not instances of a basic moral principle.
A possible reason for the observation of cultural relativism by sociologists is shown by the example of basic moral principles which could be said to support different moral rules according to the interpretations of different cultures.

http://philosophy.lander.edu/ethics/relativism.html (1404 words)



Moral Relativism

Do you believe life evolved or do you believe life was created?
All things created are subject to a set of laws, whether natural or divine.
It means sharing wisdom, giving reasons for believing as I do - and then trusting others to think and judge for themselves." She claims to be morally neutral, yet her message is clearly intended to influence the thinking of others an intention that is not, in fact, neutral.

http://www.allaboutphilosophy.org/moral-relativism.htm (586 words)



Truth or Tolerance?

According to the Barna Report, 66% of the entire population believe "there is no such thing as absolute truth." Another poll estimated that 72% of Americans between the ages of eighteen and twenty-five also reject the notion of absolutes.
Allen Bloom writes, "Openness--and the relativism that makes it the only plausible stance in the face of various claims to truth.
Believe it or not, our world is waging a war against truth.

http://www.leaderu.com/orgs/probe/docs/truthtol.html (2660 words)



Technorati Tag: relativism

Posts tagged Relativism per day for the last 30 days.
The Left is not what it says it is Filed under: Blogging, Politics, Mechanistic Relativism, Cultural Pessimism, Liberal Hypocrisy — demolition65 @...
This page shows blog posts, photos, and links that have been tagged relativism.

http://www.technorati.com/tag/relativism (515 words)



Philosophical Dictionary: Relativism-Ryle

Moral relativists hold that there are no universal standards of moral value, but only the cultural norms of particular societies.
Against Relativism: Philosophy of Science, Deconstruction, and Critical Theory
Fourteenth-, fifteenth- and sixteenth-century European intellectual movement characterized by rejection of scholastic authority, renewed interest in classical antiquity, and excitement about the prospect of achieving scientific knowledge.

http://www.philosophypages.com/dy/r9.htm (1311 words)



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http://www.stanford.edu/~allenw/papers/Relativism.doc (91 words)

Topic: Relativism

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