Volume 56, Number 14 · September 24, 2009
Why Should You Believe It?
By John R. Searle
Fear of Knowledge: Against Relativism and Constructivism
by Paul A. Boghossian
Clarendon Press/Oxford University Press, 139 pp., $19.95 (paper)
Relativism has a long history in our intellectual culture, and takes several different forms, such as relativism about knowledge and truth, ethical values, aesthetic quality, and cultural norms, to mention a few. Paul Boghossian's book concentrates on the first of these. The basic idea he opposes is that claims to objective truth and knowledge, for example the claim that hydrogen atoms have one electron, are in fact only valid relative to a set of cultural attitudes, or to some other subjective way of perceiving the world. Furthermore, according to relativism, inconsistent claims may have what he calls 'equal validity.' There can be no universally valid knowledge claims.
Review, 4586 words
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