What is the difference between pluralism and relativism

According to moral realists, the universe has lots of properties -- the universe has physical properties, it has conscious properties after all, we are conscious, and we are part of the universe , and it has moral properties.

And those moral properties are just as real as the physical ones. Furthermore, realists hold that the moral aspects of the universe are what they are independent of human opinion. Realists deny relativism, because relativists think that obligations are rooted in human opinion. Realists think that people can simply be wrong or mistaken about what their obligations are. Relativists cannot make sense of that. Pluralism Pluralism is the position that there are many or at least more than one moral values or sources of obligation.

It is in contrast with the position that requires that all values and obligations can be fit into nice tidy, neat little boxes, and so arranged that these things can never be in real conflict. Conflict, in this position let's call it "heirarchicalism" , is nothing more than the result of human limitation. The film "A Few Good Men" concerned two enlisted marines who were on trial for murder or manslaughter or something. It seems, in an effort not to offend anyone in the congregation, the Sunday service was really bland to me.

I am not - definitely not - one who thinks my religion is the only right one. However, I don't think I should water down my beliefs in order to make someone else comfortable in my church. Am I missing something here? Robert Wright in The Evolution of God has a lot to say about this under the rubric of 'universal love. Contact motivates mutual interests which promote tolerance or universal love. He gives early examples such as Philo, a Jew, living in Egypt and later Paul.

He suggests that Jesus' universal love was more limited to Jews. I have a rough hypothesis that relates urbanism and tolerance as a result of interaction with those who are culturally different.

Multicultural interaction would, I think, be more common in urban environments. Pluralism is good when done right. And just like all potentially good things, it can be done wrong. If a path isn't distinctive enough to be meaningful, then there's an issue, though it could be a lot of different things. At the same time, tribalism and hard boundaries are at least as problematic.

Negotiations are tricky, messy, and inevitably ad hoc. Speaking pragmatically, the trick is to find a bargain where the things that matter to you embraced. This could be a certain ethic social gospel , a set of beliefs Lutheran , or a community a church can be defined by its neighborhood and be better for it.

If you go somewhere that's made the wrong bargain for you, then there's a problem. In terms of what I think is the right way to do it I dunno. One of my horrible confessions is I still cannot bring myself to attend a church on a consistent basis. Going into that would be a personal stories thread, but it limits what I'm willing to give as an opinion on the right effective or moral way of doing things.

I basically agree. Social capital has been shown to create all types of interesting effects, including generalized trust in a society. Even just having bowling leagues or bridge games helps create a network in society that increases care for one's common man. A key question for me is how much contact do people have with people who aren't exactly like them, and what kind of contact is it?

If one has very 'thin' interactions with a group, it is very easy to maintain superficial stereotypes. As such, I think urbanism may help, but can't be relied on by itself as the central independent variable.

Can you think of any societies in which the urbanites are generally less open minded tolerant than their rural counterparts? In the U. I would think that the intensity of contact would be a factor. As I recall, Wright emphasized commercial cooperation being a or the factor in promoting universal love.

Maybe it becomes harder to hate the guy who buys your fish every week. Off the top of my head, no. I mean, if I tried, I could probably find something, but I'm willing to agree with you it's a generally true thing. I could probably dig up in a day or two a substantial list of descriptors on how all urban social spaces are not created equal, which was really all I meant. Urban space in areas of major cities are actively disciplined into making sure interactions don't take place.

If one wants to go old school i. Again, I agree with you: it is harder to hate the guy you buy fish from every week. It gets even harder when you know his name, when you see him outside of work, etc. Or, to put it in a personal anecdote, realizing that a guy was a conservative evangelical after I had spent 4 years practicing aikido with him made me more willing to see him as a person than a crazy.

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Pluralism And Relativism? Share More sharing options Followers 0. Reply to this topic Start new topic. Recommended Posts. BillM Posted November 22, Posted November 22, Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options Replies 78 Created 9 yr Last Reply 7 yr.

Top Posters In This Topic 10 11 13 9. Yvonne November 24, BillM November 30, Nick the Nevermet Posted November 22, Yvonne Posted November 22, I'm glad this came up, and I like your definitions. Neon Genesis Posted November 23, Posted November 23, BillM Posted November 23, Posted November 23, edited. Nick, Yvonne, I appreciate your input on this.

Further thoughts are, of course, welcome. So I'm wondering how pluralism or relativism plays into this. Edited November 23, by Wayseeker. Thanks, Neon, that's very helpful. GeorgeW Posted November 23, Nick and Neon, I really liked your definitions. Nick the Nevermet Posted November 23, George, As I said, it's really an accusatory term. Please subscribe or login to access full text content.

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