A companion to relativism / edited by Steven D. Hales.

Format:

Book

Contributor:

Hales, Steven D.

Class of 1924 Book Fund.

Series:

Blackwell companions to philosophy ; 74.

Blackwell companions to philosophy ; 74

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Relativity.

Physical Description:

xi, 662 pages : illustrations ; 26 cm.

Place of Publication:

Chichester, West Sussex, U.K. ; Malden, MA : Wiley-Blackwell, 2011.

Summary:

"A Companion to Relativism presents original contributions from leading scholars that address the latest thinking on the role of relativism in the philosophy of language, epistemology, ethics, philosophy of science, logic, and metaphysics. Features original contributions from many of the leading figures working on various aspects of relativism Presents a substantial, broad range of current thinking about relativism Addresses relativism from many of the major subfields of philosophy, including philosophy of language, epistemology, ethics, philosophy of science, logic, and metaphysics"-- Provided by publisher.

"Relativism is one of philosophy's oldest -- and most polarizing -- concepts. It has captivated thinkers since the days of Protagoras (who supported the notion) and Plato (who did not). Relativism is assailed by popes as leading people away from absolute religious truths, and blamed by social commentators for many of society's ills. With a few notable exceptions, 20th-century philosophers grew to dismiss relativism as an obviously mistaken or even self-refuting concept. But in the past decade, even its staunchest philosophical critics have come to realize that relativism is a legitimate option for explaining a variety of phenomena, including faultless disagreement, the utility of alternative logics, varieties of cross-cultural moralities, and differing ontological conceptual schemes. Reflecting this overdue reappraisal, A Companion to Relativism presents the latest thinking on the role of relativism in the philosophy of language, epistemology, ethics, philosophy of science, logic, and metaphysics. Original contributions to this volume feature cutting edge thinking from a variety of eminent scholars who approach relativism from various perspectives and philosophical subfields"-- Provided by publisher.

Contents:

Part I. Characterizing Relativism: Global relativism and self-refutation / Max Kölbel; Relativism requires alternative, not disagreement or relative truth / Carol Rovane; Three kinds of relativism / Paul Boghossian; Varieties of relativism and the reach of reason / Michael Krausz

Part II. Truth and Language: Truth relativism and truth pluralism / Michael P. Lynch; The many relativisms: index, context, and beyond / Dan López de Sa; Variation in intuitions about references and ontological disagreements / Edouard Machery; Centered worlds and the content of perception / Berit Brogaard; Conceptual relativism / Kenneth A. Taylor; The limits of relativism in the late Wittgenstein / Patricia Hanna and Bernard Harrison

Part III. Epistemic Relativism: Epistemological relativism: arguments pro and con / Harvey Siegel; Relativism about epistemic modals / Andy Egan; Relativism and confirmation theory / Igor Douven; Epistemic relativism, epistemic incommensurability, and Wittgensteinian epistemology / Duncan Pritchard; Relativism and contextualism / Patrick Rysiew

Part IV. Moral Relativism: Relativism in contemporary liberal political philosophy / Graham M. Long; Secularism, liberalism, and relativism / Akeel Bilgrami; Moral relativism and moral psychology / Christian B. Miller; Bare bones moral realism and the objections from relativism / Mark Balaguer; Virtue ethics and moral relativism / Christopher W. Gowans; Relativist explanations of interpersonal and group disagreement / David B. Wong

Part V. Relativism in the Philosophy of Science: Relativism and the sociology of scientific knowledge / David Bloor; Incommensurability and theory change / Howard Sankey; Thomas Kuhn's relativistic legacy / Alexander Bird; Anti-realism and relativism / Christopher Norris

Part VI. Logical, Mathematical, and Ontological Relativism: Horror contradictions / Johan van Benthem; Varieties or pluralism and relativism for logic / Steward Shapiro; Relativism in set theory and mathematics / Otávio Bueno; Putnam's model-theoretic argument / Maximillian de Gaynesford; Quine's ontological relativity / Gary L. Hardcastle; Carving up a reality in which there are no joints / Crawford L. Elder.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Local Notes:

Acquired for the Penn Libraries with assistance from the Class of 1924 Book Fund.

ISBN:

9781405190213

1405190213

OCLC:

664354479

Publisher Number:

99942729210