The purpose of this paper is to show that, pace (Field, 2009), MacFarlane's assessment relativism and expressivism should be sharply distinguished. We do so by arguing that relativism and expressivism exemplify two very different approaches to context-dependence. Relativism, on the one hand, shares with other contemporary approaches a bottom-up, building block, model, while expressivism is part...

This study is going to investigate the problem of relativism in the writings of Karl Mannheim and David Bloor. These two scholars are important confessors of the sociology of knowledge. Mannheim began to apply the notion of relationism instead of relativism. Some critics believed to understand this object, others talked about the lack of real differences. My first aim is to differentiate these ...

Diversity is an asset, as long as it allows cooperation. In the case of information systems and databases, the data model used is a help or a hindrance for this cooperation of diverse views; this is characterized by the semantic relativism of the model. We first analyze diversity within an information system, where cooperation is made possible by the use of external schemata; semantic relativis...

Relativism is usually a derogatory word in philosophical bioethics in the West. If people make the mistake of trying to understand radically “different” points of view, an accusation of relativism is quickly forthcoming.1 But why should this be an accusation? My aim in this paper is to demonstrate that it should not. My demonstration is simple, and it consists of filling in the empty boxes of T...

Since its inception in the work of the classical social theorists, the sociology of knowledge—or as some would prefer, of belief—has generated an extensive array of debates about relativism. A central question has been whether the very existence of social determinants for beliefs makes it impossible to regard them as true or rational in any absolute sense, and this has proved especially content...

There are five basic ways to resolve disagreements: keep arguing until capitulation, compromise, locate an ambiguity or contextual factors, accept Pyrrhonian skepticism, and adopt relativism. Relativism is perhaps the most radical and least popular solution to a disagreement, and its defenders generally think the best motivator for relativism is to be found in disputes over predicates of person...

Despite D. Davidson’s influential criticism of the very notion of conceptual schemes, the notion continues enjoying its popularity in contemporary philosophy and, accordingly, conceptual relativism is still very much alive. There is one major reason responsible for Davidson’s failure which has not been widely recognized: What Davidson attacks fiercely is not the very notion, but a notion of con...

given the significance of relativism in molding our worldview and uncovering the nature of truth, this study using the newly-developed concept of emotioncy, attempted to introduce sensory relativism as a new perspective based on which senses can relativize our understanding of the world. to espouse the theory, 24 individuals were interviewed on their experiences of phlebotomy. the results were ...