24.03 Relativism, Reason, & Reality, Fall 2002
Author(s)
Yablo, Stephen
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Alternative title
Relativism, Reason, & Reality
Metadata
Show full item recordAbstract
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.
Date issued
2002-12Other identifiers
24.03-Fall2002
local: 24.03
local: IMSCP-MD5-0eb0f335af5d36cac30e6f51ff6d426a
Keywords
relativism, moral standards, science, truth, rationality, cultural norms, Thomas Kuhn, Karl Popper, Gilbert Harman, Judith Thomson, Derek Parfit, Ethical relativism, Cultural relativism