Winch's pluralist tree and the roots of relativism
Article Abstract:
Instrumental pluralism, as suggested by Peter Winch in explaining how different cultures hold different criteria of instrumental rationality, leads to the concept of relativism. Winch arrived at his concept of pluralism through a misreading of the works on the subject by Ludwig Wittgenstein, of whom he is an avid follower. Relativism poses serious problems for anthropologists and philosophers who are searching for universal laws and not explanations that hold true only for specific cultures.
Publication Name: Philosophy of the Social Sciences
Subject: Social sciences
ISSN: 0048-3931
Year: 1997
User Contributions:
Comment about this article or add new information about this topic:
Relativism and the promise of tolerance
Article Abstract:
The common belief that relativists support tolerance is erroneous because relativism cannot engender tolerance in part because it is unreliable as a philosophy. The three types of relativists are the novice, the generous and the radical. All three types show that a tolerant relativist is a contradiction in terms. Moreover, relativism has a very feeble theological foundation because neutrality cannot be used regarding truth claims.
Publication Name: Journal of Interdisciplinary Studies
Subject: Social sciences
ISSN: 0890-0132
Year: 1998
User Contributions:
Comment about this article or add new information about this topic:
Can feminism be rational?
Article Abstract:
An allegory where Little Red Riding Hood is cast as second-generation feminism and Relativism is the Big Bad Wolf is used to demonstrate the irrationality of contemporary academic feminism. Second-generation feminism is different from first-generation feminism since it argues that the need for logic and evidence is sexist. This brand of feminism therefore embraces the concept of Relativism which is readily found to be illogical.
Publication Name: Journal of Interdisciplinary Studies
Subject: Social sciences
ISSN: 0890-0132
Year: 1998
User Contributions:
Comment about this article or add new information about this topic:
- Abstracts: Technology trends and the practice of law: an administrative perspective. How an innovation is formed: a case study of Japanese word processors
- Abstracts: The sexuality education programs of religious groups and denominations
- Abstracts: Implementing business process reengineering: the role of organizational justice. Consultant as container: assisting organizational rebirth in Mandela's South Africa
- Abstracts: Multi-ethnicity and the idea of Europe. Placing globalization. Information technology, ideology and governmentality
- Abstracts: Infant feeding patterns and the marketing of infant foods in the Philippines. The effects of fertility intentions and access to services on contraceptive use in Tunisia