Defensive Relativism

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Defensive Relativism

Frederick Cowell
Defensive Relativism Book PDF

Author : Frederick Cowell
Publisher : University of Pennsylvania Press
Page : 329 pages
File Size : 42,8 Mb
Release : 2022-10-25
Category : Law
ISBN : 9781512823325

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Defensive Relativism by Frederick Cowell Pdf

Defensive Relativism describes how governments around the world use cultural relativism in legal argument to oppose international human rights law. Defensive relativist arguments appear in international courts, at the committees established by human rights treaties, and at the United Nations Human Rights Council. The aim of defensive relativist arguments is to exempt a state from having to apply international human rights law, or to stop international human rights law evolving, because it would interfere with cultural traditions the state deems important. It is an everyday occurrence in international human rights law and defensive relativist arguments can be used by various types of states. The end goal of defensive relativism is to allow a state to appear human rights compliant while at the same time not implementing international human rights law. Drawing on a range of materials, such as state reports on the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) and cases from the European Court of Human Rights involving freedom of religion, this book provides a definitive survey of defensive relativism. Crucially, Frederick Cowell argues, defensive relativism is not about alternative practices of human rights law, or debates about the origins or legitimacy of human rights as a concept. Defensive relativism is instead a variety of tactical argument used by states to justify ignoring international human rights law. Yet, as Cowell concludes, defensive relativism can’t be removed from the law, as it is a reflection of unresolved tensions about the nature of what it means for rights to be universal.

The Book of Absolutes

William D. Gairdner
The Book of Absolutes Book PDF

Author : William D. Gairdner
Publisher : McGill-Queen's Press - MQUP
Page : 416 pages
File Size : 55,6 Mb
Release : 2008-08-21
Category : Philosophy
ISBN : 9780773578326

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The Book of Absolutes by William D. Gairdner Pdf

A lively challenge to postmodern opinion that reveals satisfying and reliable certainties.

Natural Moralities : A Defense of Pluralistic Relativism

Department of Philosophy Duke University David B. Wong Professor and Chair
Natural Moralities A Defense of Pluralistic Relativism Book PDF

Author : Department of Philosophy Duke University David B. Wong Professor and Chair
Publisher : Oxford University Press, USA
Page : 313 pages
File Size : 46,7 Mb
Release : 2006-09-07
Category : Philosophy
ISBN : 9780198041566

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Natural Moralities : A Defense of Pluralistic Relativism by Department of Philosophy Duke University David B. Wong Professor and Chair Pdf

David B. Wong proposes that there can be a plurality of true moralities, moralities that exist across different traditions and cultures, all of which address facets of the same problem: how we are to live well together. Wong examines a wide array of positions and texts within the Western canon as well as in Chinese philosophy, and draws on philosophy, psychology, evolutionary theory, history, and literature, to make a case for the importance of pluralism in moral life, and to establish the virtues of acceptance and accommodation. Wong's point is that there is no single value or principle or ordering of values and principles that offers a uniquely true path for human living, but variations according to different contexts that carry within them a common core of human values. We should thus be modest about our own morality, learn from other approaches, and accommodate different practices in our pluralistic society.

Decolonizing Enlightenment

Nikita Dhawan
Decolonizing Enlightenment Book PDF

Author : Nikita Dhawan
Publisher : Verlag Barbara Budrich
Page : 335 pages
File Size : 53,7 Mb
Release : 2014-04-24
Category : Political Science
ISBN : 9783847403142

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Decolonizing Enlightenment by Nikita Dhawan Pdf

Do norms of justice, human rights and democracy enable disenfranchised communities? Or do they simply reinforce relations of domination between those who are constituted as dispensers of justice, rights and aid, and those who are coded as receivers? Critical race theorists, feminists and queer and postcolonial theorists confront these questions and offer critical perspectives.

Against Relativism

James Franklin Harris
Against Relativism Book PDF

Author : James Franklin Harris
Publisher : Open Court Publishing
Page : 252 pages
File Size : 54,7 Mb
Release : 1992
Category : Body, Mind & Spirit
ISBN : 0812692020

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Against Relativism by James Franklin Harris Pdf

Recent decades have witnessed the extraordinary growth of radical relativism, a doctrine which now dominates the entire culture, from popular music to journalism and from religion to school curricula. According to the radical relativist creed, any proposition can be true or false in relation to a chosen framework, the evaluation of fundamental theories or 'paradigms' is beyond argument, there are no universal standards of rationality, and, methodologically, 'Anything goes!'. As James Harris explains in Against Relativism, the new relativism undoes the work of the Enlightenment and inevitably leads to the conclusion that Galileo was wrong to insist that the Earth indeed moves. Succor for relativism has come from many philosophical schools, both Analytic and 'Continental'. Among the sources of the new relativism are the collapse of Logical Positivism and the shift within anthropology from a linear evolutionary model to numerous models for understanding human culture. In this detailed critique, Professor Harris has selected the strongest and most plausible arguments for relativism within contemporary academic philosophy. He turns the techniques of relativism against relativism itself, showing that it is ultimately self-refuting or otherwise ineffectual. He demonstrates that Quine's rejection of the analytic-synthetic distinction appeals to the very analytic truths Quine tries to dispel; that Kuhn's celebrated account of paradigms must be either self-refuting or unintelligible; that Rorty cannot avoid presuppposing the epistemological principles he attacks; and that (although feminist criticisms of science exert a welcome corrective) attempts to develop a distinctively 'feminist science'are misconceived and unhelpful to feminism. In all these discussions, the author explains the arguments he is criticizing, for the benefit of the non-specialist reader, so that this work can serve as a partisan but fair introduction to some of the most important of present-day philosophy.

Forms of Life and Following Rules

D.K. Barry
Forms of Life and Following Rules Book PDF

Author : D.K. Barry
Publisher : BRILL
Page : 207 pages
File Size : 51,5 Mb
Release : 2021-12-06
Category : History
ISBN : 9789004450363

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Forms of Life and Following Rules by D.K. Barry Pdf

This study defends a version of epistemological relativism, taking as its point of departure some key arguments from the later work of Ludwig Wittgenstein - especially those concerning rule following and forms of life. An opposition is established between the dominant form of epistemological realism - that which relies upon 'truth-conditions'- and theories in which knowledge and truth are fundamentally dependent upon context. It is argued in Part One that Wittgenstein proves the necessity for a contextual understanding of knowledge. Part Two develops a clearer idea of that context, using Thomas Kuhn's concept of paradigm. It is argued that this concept has been largely misunderstood (even by Kuhn), but that it can be developed to be remarkably consistent with Wittgenstein's arguments. All those - philosophers, historians, sociologists and others - who wish finally to understand the complex issues involved in debates about epistemological relativism will find this book invaluable.

Protagoras and the Challenge of Relativism

Ugo Zilioli
Protagoras and the Challenge of Relativism Book PDF

Author : Ugo Zilioli
Publisher : Routledge
Page : 172 pages
File Size : 44,9 Mb
Release : 2016-04-15
Category : Philosophy
ISBN : 9781317074472

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Protagoras and the Challenge of Relativism by Ugo Zilioli Pdf

Protagoras was an important Greek thinker of the fifth century BC, the most famous of the so called Sophists, though most of what we know of him and his thought comes to us mainly through the dialogues of his strenuous opponent Plato. In this book, Ugo Zilioli offers a sustained and philosophically sophisticated examination of what is, in philosophical terms, the most interesting feature of Protagoras' thought for modern readers: his role as the first Western thinker to argue for relativism. Zilioli relates Protagoras' relativism with modern forms of relativism, in particular the 'robust relativism' of Joseph Margolis, gives an integrated account both of the perceptual relativism examined in Plato's Theaetetus and the ethical or social relativism presented in the first part of Plato's Protagoras and offers an integrated and positive analysis of Protagoras' thought, rather than focusing on ancient criticisms and responses to his thought. This is a deeply scholarly work which brings much argument to bear to the claim that Protagoras was and remains Plato's subtlest philosophical enemy.

Defensive Mutualism in Microbial Symbiosis

James F. White Jr.,Monica S. Torres
Defensive Mutualism in Microbial Symbiosis Book PDF

Author : James F. White Jr.,Monica S. Torres
Publisher : CRC Press
Page : 436 pages
File Size : 47,5 Mb
Release : 2009-05-26
Category : Science
ISBN : 9781420069327

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Defensive Mutualism in Microbial Symbiosis by James F. White Jr.,Monica S. Torres Pdf

Anemones and fish, ants and acacia trees, fungus and trees, buffaloes and oxpeckers--each of these unlikely duos is an inimitable partnership in which the species' coexistence is mutually beneficial. More specifically, they represent examples of defensive mutualism, when one species receives protection against predators or parasites in exchange for

The Book of Absolutes

William D. Gairdner
The Book of Absolutes Book PDF

Author : William D. Gairdner
Publisher : Unknown
Page : 0 pages
File Size : 51,7 Mb
Release : 2009-09
Category : Philosophy
ISBN : 0773536191

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The Book of Absolutes by William D. Gairdner Pdf

Current dogma holds that all cultures and moral values are conditional, nothing human is innate, and Einstein proved that the whole universe is "relative." Challenging this position, William Gairdner argues that relativism is not only logically and morally self-defeating but that progress in scientific and intellectual disciplines has actually strengthened the case for absolutes, universals, and constants of nature and human nature. Gairdner refutes the popular belief in cultural relativism by showing that there are hundreds of well-established cross-cultural "human universals." He then discusses the many universals found in physics - as well as Einstein's personal regret at how his work was misinterpreted by the public's eagerness to promote relativism. Gairdner also gives a lively account of the many universals of human biology, including the controversial topic of universal gender differences or "brain sex." He then looks at universal concepts of both natural and international law, and ends by discussing language theory. He shows how philosophers from Nietzsche to Derrida have misused linguistic concepts to justify their relativism, even though a sustained and successful effort by serious scientists and philosophers of language has revealed myriad universals of human language, ranging from language acquisition, to word-order, to "Universal Grammar."From ethics to Einstein, culture to biology, law to language, The Book of Absolutes makes complex topics accessible to a broad audience and demonstrates that there are plenty of certainties, even in our postmodern world.

Mere Natural Law

Hadley Arkes
Mere Natural Law Book PDF

Author : Hadley Arkes
Publisher : Simon and Schuster
Page : 338 pages
File Size : 50,8 Mb
Release : 2023-05-02
Category : Philosophy
ISBN : 9781684513017

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Mere Natural Law by Hadley Arkes Pdf

Originalism Is Not Enough In this profoundly important reassessment of constitutional interpretation, the eminent legal philosopher Hadley Arkes argues that “originalism” alone is an inadequate answer to judicial activism. Untethered from “mere Natural Law”—the moral principles knowable by all—our legal and constitutional system is doomed to incoherence. The framers of the Constitution regarded the “self-evident” truths of the Natural Law as foundational. And yet in our own time, both liberals and conservatives insist that we must interpret the Constitution while ignoring its foundation. Making the case anew for Natural Law, Arkes finds it not in theories hovering in the clouds or in benign platitudes (“be generous,” “be selfless”). He draws us back, rather, to the ground of Natural Law as the American Founders understood it, the anchoring truths of common sense—truths grasped at once by the ordinary man, unburdened by theories imbibed in college and law school. When liberals discovered hitherto unknown rights in the “emanations” and “penumbras” of a “living constitution,” conservatives responded with an “originalism” that refuses to venture beyond the bare text. But in framing that text, the Founders appealed to moral principles that were there before the Constitution and would be there even if there were no Constitution. An originalism that is detached from those anchor - ing principles has strayed far from the original meaning of the Constitution. It is powerless, moreover, to resist the imposition of a perverse moral vision on our institutions and our lives. Brilliant in its analysis, essential in its argument, Mere Natural Law is a must-read for everyone who cares about the Constitution, morality, and the rule of law.

The Challenge of Relativism

Patrick J.J. Phillips
The Challenge of Relativism Book PDF

Author : Patrick J.J. Phillips
Publisher : A&C Black
Page : 169 pages
File Size : 40,7 Mb
Release : 2011-11-13
Category : Philosophy
ISBN : 9781441178855

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The Challenge of Relativism by Patrick J.J. Phillips Pdf

Offering a comprehensive overview and introduction to the concept of relativism and relativistic arguments this book surveys important relativist philosophers, both classical and modern.

Philosophical Ethics

Stephen Darwall
Philosophical Ethics Book PDF

Author : Stephen Darwall
Publisher : Routledge
Page : 272 pages
File Size : 42,7 Mb
Release : 2018-04-24
Category : Philosophy
ISBN : 9780429966903

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Philosophical Ethics by Stephen Darwall Pdf

This book shows how Hobbes, Mill, Kant, Aristotle, and Nietzsche all did ethical philosophy? It introduces students to ethics from a distinctively philosophical perspective, one that weaves together central ethical questions.

Relativism

Maria Baghramian,Annalisa Coliva
Relativism Book PDF

Author : Maria Baghramian,Annalisa Coliva
Publisher : Routledge
Page : 326 pages
File Size : 44,7 Mb
Release : 2019-09-30
Category : Philosophy
ISBN : 9781000691108

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Relativism by Maria Baghramian,Annalisa Coliva Pdf

Relativism, an ancient philosophical doctrine, is once again a topic of heated debate. In this book, Maria Baghramian and Annalisa Coliva present the recent arguments for and against various forms of relativism. The first two chapters introduce the conceptual and historical contours of relativism. These are followed by critical investigations of relativism about truth, conceptual relativism, epistemic relativism, and moral relativism. The concluding chapter asks whether it is possible to make sense of relativism as a philosophical thesis. The book introduces readers to the main types of relativism and the arguments in their favor. It also goes beyond the expository material to engage in more detailed critical responses to the key positions and authors under discussion. Including chapter summaries, suggestions for further reading, and a glossary, Relativism is essential reading for students of philosophy as well as those in related disciplines where relativism is studied, such as anthropology, sociology, and politics.

Calming the Storm: Navigating the Crises Facing the Catholic Church and Society

Fr. Gerald E. Murray,Diane Montagna
Calming the Storm Navigating the Crises Facing the Catholic Church and Society Book PDF

Author : Fr. Gerald E. Murray,Diane Montagna
Publisher : Emmaus Road Publishing
Page : 295 pages
File Size : 51,6 Mb
Release : 2022-04-14
Category : Religion
ISBN : 9781645851943

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Calming the Storm: Navigating the Crises Facing the Catholic Church and Society by Fr. Gerald E. Murray,Diane Montagna Pdf

Today, the Catholic Church is dealing with many complex problems that often leave the faithful confused about the authentic interpretation of Catholic teaching. In Calming the Storm: Navigating the Crises Facing the Catholic Church and Society, experienced Vatican journalist Diane Montagna conducts a wide-ranging and trenchant interview with Fr. Gerald E. Murray that examines the root causes of and potential solutions to the many challenges the Church faces today. Fr. Murray’s insights provide sure guidance in understanding the Church’s teaching on the indissolubility of marriage, homosexuality and gender ideology, the worthy reception of Holy Communion, the value of the Traditional Latin Mass, the horror of the sexual abuse of minors by Catholic clergy, the responsibility of bishops to uphold—not contradict—the Catholic Faith, and the duty of all Catholics to remain faithful to the teachings handed down from the apostles. Fr. Murray’s analysis highlights that while Christianity is under siege in the modern world, our Faith teaches us to have confidence in God’s never-failing providence. Renewing our minds and hearts in the truths that Christ and His Church teaches us brings true peace of soul. Amidst the maelstrom of doctrinal confusion and worldliness in the Church, Christ alone calms the storm when, like the Apostles, we turn to him in confidence and faith.

Natural Moralities

David B Wong
Natural Moralities Book PDF

Author : David B Wong
Publisher : Oxford University Press
Page : 312 pages
File Size : 49,6 Mb
Release : 2009-03-03
Category : Philosophy
ISBN : 0199724849

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Natural Moralities by David B Wong Pdf

In this book, David B. Wong defends an ambitious and important new version of moral relativism. He does not espouse the type of relativism that says anything goes, but he does start with a relativist stance against alternative theories such that there need not be only one universal truth. Wong proposes that there can be a plurality of true moralities existing across different traditions and cultures, all with one core human question as to how we can all live together.