RELATIVISM

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Relativism

Relativism is the philosophical position that all points of view are equally valid, and that all truth is relative to the individual.

Types

• cognitive relativism (truth)
• moral/ethical relativism
• situational relativism

cognitive relativism (truth) -
Cognitive relativism asserts the relativity of truth.

This kind of relativism can take different forms depending on the nature of the standpoint or framework to which truth is relativized.

If truth is relativized to the individual subject, for instance, the result is a form of subjectivism. If the standpoint is an entire culture, the result is some form of cultural relativism. Other possible frameworks include languages, historical periods, and conceptual schemes.

moral/ethical relativism - All morals are relative to the social group within which they are constructed.
Moral relativism is the view that moral judgments are true or false only relative to some particular standpoint (for instance, that of a culture or a historical period) and that no standpoint is uniquely privileged over all others. It has often been associated with other claims about morality: notably, the thesis that different cultures often exhibit radically different moral values.

situational relativism - Ethics (right and wrong) are dependent upon the situation.

KIERKEGAARD

EXAMPLES

Murder is wrong. Shooting an enemy soldier to save a comrade is heroic. Both involve killing a fellow human being. Essentially the same thing, yet viewed quite differently.

Foucault suggests that the classification of homosexuality as a disease results from employing a certain kind of theoretical framework, one that posits a sharp distinction between the natural and the unnatural and correlates the former with the healthy, the latter with the sick. And this framework becomes established because it serves certain interests. So truth is identified with what is believed to be true, and what is believed to be true is determined by larger social forces operating within a culture or historical epoch.

A 14 year old who has been raped should be allowed to have an abortion. A happily married 29 year old woman who wants an abortion because her pregnancy is stopping her from going on holiday is not a good reason and they shouldn’t have an abortion.