Summary
Are all moral truths relative or do certain moral truths hold for all cultures and people? In Moral Relativism: A Reader, this and related questions are addressed by twenty-one contemporary moral philosophers and thinkers. This engaging and nontechnical anthology, the only up-to-datecollection devoted solely to the topic of moral relativism, is accessible to a wide range of readers including undergraduate students from various disciplines. The selections are organized under six main topics: (1) General Issues; (2) Relativism and Moral Diversity; (3) On the Coherence of MoralRelativism; (4) Defense and Criticism; (5) Relativism, Realism, and Rationality; and (6) Case Study on Relativism. Contributors include Ruth Benedict, Richard Brandt, Thomas L. Carson, Philippa Foot, Gordon Graham, Gilbert Harman, Loretta M. Kopelman, David Lyons, J. L. Mackie, Michele Moody-Adams,Paul K. Moser, Thomas Nagel, Martha Nussbaum, Karl Popper, Betsy Postow, James Rachels, W. D. Ross, T. M. Scanlon, William Graham Sumner, and Carl Wellman. The volume concludes with a case study on female circumcision/genital mutilation that vividly brings into focus the practical aspects andimplications of moral relativism. An ideal primary text for courses in moral relativism, Moral Relativism: A Reader can also be used as a supplementary text for introductory courses in ethics and for courses in various disciplines--anthropology, sociology, theology, political science, and cultural studies--that discussrelativism. The volume's pedagogical and research value is enhanced by a topical bibliography on moral relativism and a substantial general introduction that includes explanatory summaries of the twenty selections.
Table of Contents
Preface |
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Introduction |
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1 | (24) |
PART ONE General Issues |
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25 | (7) |
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Facts, Standards, and Truth: A Further Criticism of Relativism |
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32 | (21) |
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The Challenge of Cultural Relativism |
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53 | (16) |
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PART TWO Relativism and Moral Diversity |
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69 | (11) |
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Anthropology and the Abnormal |
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80 | (10) |
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90 | (3) |
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The Empirical Underdetermination of Descriptive Cultural Relativism |
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93 | (14) |
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The Ethical Implications of Cultural Relativity |
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107 | (16) |
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PART THREE On the Coherence of Moral Relativism |
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123 | (4) |
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Ethical Relativism and the Problem of Incoherence |
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127 | (15) |
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142 | (23) |
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PART FOUR Defense and Criticism |
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Is There a Single True Morality? |
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165 | (20) |
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185 | (14) |
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199 | (27) |
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Tolerance, Pluralism, and Relativism |
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226 | (15) |
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241 | (18) |
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PART FIVE Relativism, Realism, and Rationality |
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The Subjectivity of Values |
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259 | (18) |
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277 | (10) |
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Relativism and Normative Nonrealism: Basing Morality on Rationality |
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287 | (20) |
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PART SIX Case Study on Relativism |
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Female Circumcision/Genital Mutilation and Ethical Relativism |
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307 | (20) |
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Bibliography |
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327 | (6) |
Index |
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333 | |