Facing Relativism

This book looks relativism in the eyes and explores our reasons for facing relativism at this point in time. It does so by way of therapy: a working through and a working with the forces that define our times. Defending relativism in light of considerations in philosophy of science, theories of truth, and anthropology, the book examines such concepts and topics as deep engagement, the relativist and anti-relativist dance, the dynamic of resonance and loss, the interface of relativism and realism, and the future of relativism. Relativism at a global scale is the view that our claims about the world, both theoretical and practical, are evaluable only relative to a context shaped by factors such as culture, history, language and environment, or "a way of life." It is at once intuitive and disturbing. One might expect a way of life to exert some influence on our claims, but relativism seems to move to the overly strong conclusion that all of our claims about what is true or good must merely be expressions of cultural bias. It easily opens itself to charges of paradox or self-contradiction. It seems to force us to be tolerant of practices and beliefs that we hold to be clearly immoral or mistaken. The book argues that these problems arise largely from a failure to fully situate relativism within the context that has, throughout its long history, been its inspiration: the experience - whether through literature, the imagination or direct anthropological contact - of deeply engaging with a very different way of life. By developing the insights that emerge from a careful analysis of the experience of deep engagement, the book shows that a relativist line of thought is neither as absurd nor as alarming as we tend to think.