PHIL 110 Lecture Notes - Lecture 10: Relativism, Richard Rorty
21 Nov 2020
School
Department
Course
Professor
Document Summary
Thus, the relativist"s basic claim is that the truth and rational justifiability of knowledge-claims are relative to the standards used in evaluating such claims. The claim all truth is relative" is self-referentially incoherent in that if the claim is true then it is also false, and if it is false then it is false. According to its own criteria the opposite claim all truth is not relative would not be contradictory, and this would be incoherent. Thus, it precludes even the possibility of determining truth. The relativist sentiment that man is the measure of all things is attribute to. The most fundamental criticism of relativism is that the doctrine is self referentially incoherent. If relativism is right, then the very notion of rightness is undermined. The doctrine of relativism cannot be coherently defended - it can be defended only by giving it up, and this would be self-refuting.
