24.03 Relativism, Reason, & Reality, Fall 2002
Name
24-03Fall-2002/OcwWeb/Linguistics-and-Philosophy/24-03Relativism--Reason----RealityFall2002/CourseHome/index.htm
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14.24 KB
Format
HTML
Checksum (MD5)
463e67eb921104725808e7c20f9d4236
Author(s)
Yablo, Stephen
Alternative Title
Relativism, Reason, & Reality
Date Issued
December 2002
Abstract
An examination of philosophical issues on the theme of relativism. Are moral standards relative to cultures and/or moral frameworks? Are there incompatible or non-comparable ways of thinking about the world that are somehow equally good? Is science getting closer to the truth? Is rationality -- the notion of a good reason to believe something -- relative to cultural norms? What are selves? Is there a coherent form of relativism about the self? Discussion of these questions through the writings of contemporary philosophers such as Thomas Kuhn, Karl Popper, Gilbert Harman, Judith Thomson, and Derek Parfit. Emphasis on ways of making these vague questions precise, and critical evaluation of philosophical arguments.
Subjects
relativism
moral standards
science
truth
rationality
cultural norms
Thomas Kuhn
Karl Popper
Gilbert Harman
Judith Thomson
Derek Parfit
Ethical relativism
Cultural relativism
MIT Department
Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Linguistics and Philosophy
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