Single Idea 10356

[catalogued under 13. Knowledge Criteria / E. Relativism / 4. Cultural relativism]

Full Idea

MacIntyre formulates relativism in terms of rationality rather than truth or objectivity. Things are rational relative to some particular tradition, but not rational as such.

Gist of Idea

Relativism can be seen as about the rationality of different cultural traditions

Source

report of Alasdair MacIntyre (Whose Justice? Which Rationality? [1988], p.352) by Martin Kusch - Knowledge by Agreement Ch.19

Book Reference

Kusch,Martin: 'Knowledge by Agreement' [OUP 2004], p.273


A Reaction

Personally I had always taken it to be about truth, and I expect any account of rationality to be founded on a notion of truth. There can clearly be cultural traditions of evidence, and possibly even of logic (though I doubt it).