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Single Idea 6398

[filed under theme 13. Knowledge Criteria / E. Relativism / 6. Relativism Critique ]

Full Idea

Different points of view make sense, but only if there is a common co-ordinate system on which to plot them.

Gist of Idea

Different points of view make sense, but they must be plotted on a common background

Source

Donald Davidson (The Very Idea of a Conceptual Scheme [1974], p.184)

Book Ref

Davidson,Donald: 'Inquiries into Truth and Interpretation (2nd ed)' [OUP 2001], p.184

A Reaction

This seems right to me. I am very struck by the close similarities between people from wildly differing cultural backgrounds, as seen, for example, at the Olympic Games.

The 19 ideas with the same theme [criticism of the idea that there are only points of view]:

247 God is "the measure of all things", more than any man [Plato on Protagoras]
606 Protagoras absurdly thought that the knowing or perceiving man is 'the measure of all things' [Aristotle on Protagoras]
612 Relativists think if you poke your eye and see double, there must be two things [Aristotle on Protagoras]
335 Do the gods also hold different opinions about what is right and honourable? [Plato]
2053 If you claim that all beliefs are true, that includes beliefs opposed to your own [Plato]
2054 Clearly some people are superior to others when it comes to medicine [Plato]
2059 How can a relativist form opinions about what will happen in the future? [Plato]
20921 How can we state relativism of sweet and sour, if they have no determinate nature? [Theophrastus]
576 If the majority had diseased taste, and only a few were healthy, relativists would have to prefer the former [Aristotle]
7620 Some kind of objective 'rightness' is a presupposition of thought itself [Putnam]
6398 Different points of view make sense, but they must be plotted on a common background [Davidson]
4244 It is very confused to deduce a nonrelativist morality of universal toleration from relativism [Williams,B]
4243 Our ability to react to an alien culture shows that ethical thought extends beyond cultural boundaries [Williams,B]
2065 Not every person is the measure of all things, but only wise people [Plato on Kim]
1550 Why didn't Protagoras begin by saying "a tadpole is the measure of all things"? [Plato on Kim]
3857 Defeat relativism by emphasising truth and reference, not meaning [Newton-Smith]
1577 Relativism is a disease which destroys the possibility of rational debate [Roochnik]
3878 Why should you believe someone who says there are no truths? [Scruton]
7066 If the world is just texts or social constructs, what are texts and social constructs? [Heil]