PHL 205 - Relativism

Course Units: 1.0

(TBD: Staff) Relativism is not just a ‘theoretical’ issue: the Events of 9/11 have pitted those who demand ‘moral clarity’ against those who urge ‘more understanding’. Moral disagreement is not limited to conflicts between cultures: democratic societies attempt to accommodate points of view which conflict and diverge, sometimes nearly to the point of violence, as debates on abortion or gay marriage or the separation of church and state, or even taxation, show. But relativism is also an important theoretical issue as it raises questions about truth, justification of belief and moral skepticism. We explore these theoretical, moral and political dimensions through reading of theorists such as Rawls, Nagel, Harman, Thomson, Gutmann, and others. One philosophy course prerequisite or permission of the instructor CC: HUM