Relativism and the foundations of liberalism
點閱:1作者:by Graham Long
出版年:2011
出版社:Andrews UK Limited
出版地:Luton
集叢名:St Andrews Studies in Philosophy and Public Affairs:3
格式:EPUB 流式
字數:570712
ISBN:9781845402693
分類:英文書  
Moral relativism is often regarded as both fatally flawed and incompatible with liberalism. This book aims to show why such criticism is misconceived. First, it argues that relativism provides a plausible account of moral justification. Drawing on the contemporary relativist and universalist analyses of thinkers such as Harman, Nagel and Habermas, it develops an alternative account of ‘coherence relativism’. Turning to liberalism, the book argues that moral relativism is not only consistent with the claims of contemporary liberalism, but underpins those claims. The political liberalism of Rawls and Barry is founded on an unacknowledged commitment to a relativist account of justification. In combining these two elements, the book offers a new understanding of relativism, and demonstrates its relevance for contemporary liberal thought.