noun
- the belief that knowledge, truth, or morality exists in relation to culture, society, or historical context, and is not absolute
Usage: philosophy
Examples
- Cultural relativism suggests that moral judgments should be understood within their cultural context.
- The professor argued against moral relativism, claiming some ethical principles are universal.
- Relativism in science holds that scientific knowledge is influenced by social and historical factors.
- Critics of relativism worry it leads to the conclusion that all viewpoints are equally valid.
- The anthropologist’s work reflected a form of cultural relativism that avoided judging other societies.
- Philosophical relativism challenges the idea of objective truth.