A Companion to Relativism

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

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, twentieth-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.

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, twentieth-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 fauldess 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.