Post-modernism and Anti-Foundationalism

Although post-modernism is rightly criticized for its claim that science is simply a white, male, Western privileging of certain culturally-bound discourses, the anti-foundationalist turn in philosophy is congenial to science and naturalism. The articles in this section take an anti-foundationalist, mildly culturally relativist stance in debates about religion, rationality, morality, and human rights, while respecting science as the arbiter of factual claims about the world. 

What isn't relative to cultures is the rational requirement to be an empiricist when seeking factual truths. On the assumption that you want to act successfully on your own behalf and those you care about, taking faith, tradition, authority, revelation or intuition as your guides to factual questions is to be irrational; it's to shirk your cognitive responsibilities. So don't let any appeals to relativism deflect you from taking stock of the available evidence when evaluating matters of fact.

Articles in this Section

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