Abstract
Ian C. Jarvie is widely known for his contribution to the “rationality debate” in philosophy of the social sciences. In this chapter, I shall critically examine his view of rationality and rebuttal of cultural relativism. First, I shall discuss his view of rationality while paying attention to its relation to Karl Popper’s critical rationalism. Second, I shall scrutinize Jarvie’s criticism of cultural relativism, after his debate with Peter Winch. Jarvie proposes a middle way to avoid ethnocentrism and cultural relativism by examining Melville Herskovits’s cultural relativism and its relation to the American Anthropological Association’s “Statement on Human Rights.” Third, I shall examine Jarvie’s social and institutional view of rationality by discussing his ideas of weak absolutism, workshop rationality, and social institution.
Original language | English |
---|---|
Title of host publication | The Impact of Critical Rationalism |
Subtitle of host publication | Expanding the Popperian Legacy through the Works of Ian C. Jarvie |
Publisher | Palgrave Macmillan |
Pages | 145-158 |
Number of pages | 14 |
ISBN (Electronic) | 9783319908267 |
ISBN (Print) | 9783319908250 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - 2018 Jan 1 |
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Social Sciences(all)
- Arts and Humanities(all)