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Articles

Relativism – An Allegorical Elucidation

Emrys Westacott comes to the aid of a much reviled theory.

Of all philosophical doctrines relativism surely gets the worst press. It is routinely described by its critics as ‘foolish’, ‘simple-minded’, ‘sophomoric’, or ‘obviously self-refuting.’ It has been blamed for everything from rising crime to falling rates of literacy. And the received view among a large part of the philosophical establishment is that it was decisively refuted by Plato almost two and half thousand years ago. Not that that has discouraged contemporary critics from putting additional stakes through its heart.

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