SSH 105 Lecture Notes - Lecture 3: Relativism

• School: Ryerson University
• Department: Social Sciences and Humanities
• Course: SSH 105
• Professor: Klaas Kraay

Document Summary

Realism : involving 2 claims being (i) (ii) what these truths are does not depend upon subjectivity but rather are objective. Realists believe there are objectively correct answers in the area of sciences, math, history, and even religion. Cons: doesn"t fit well with our intuitions of our views on more subjective areas (aesthetics, beauty) There are no truths whatsoever in a topic/subject area (it is what it is) Moral nihilism: the view that moral statements have no truth-value rendering them neither true or false. It is not true nor false that killing puppies for fun is bad. Pros: applicable to just about anything, morality is not of consideration, keeps you on neutral ground (neither bad nor good) Cons: extremely implausible and radical in many subject areas, nihilism is self- defeating. It is neither true nor false that nihilism is a good view of the world .