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RESEARCH PRODUCT

Critical Relativism and Disagreement

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description

The main message of this book is that moderate viewpoint relativism is a sound epistemological stance and basis for learning and creating new knowledge. The world is complicated and open to new interpretations and approaches. Everything has many different facets and aspects that different points of view bring out. The world can be articulated in different ways. This diversity is a gift—not a problem. Still, not all points of view have to be accepted. I consider critical relativism to be a relativist orientation where points of view can be critically examined by weighing their justifications and effects. The first part of this chapter deals with critical relativism, the basic theses of which are plurality, tolerance and criticality. The second part deals with epistemic disagreements and resolving them. This chapter also functions as a review of the views and principles presented earlier in the book, but now I will examine them from the perspective of resolving disagreements and social criticism.