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Making noises in counterpoint or chorus: Putnam's rejection of relativism

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Abstract

Putnam's internal realism entails the simultaneous rejection of metaphysical realism and (“anything goes” or “total” or “cultural”) relativism. Putnam argues, in some places, that relativism is self-contradictory, and in others, that it is self-refuting. This paper attempts the exegetical task of explicating these challenging arguments, and the critical task of suggesting that a full-blown epistemological relativism may be capable of surviving the Putnam attack.

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Johnson, J.L. Making noises in counterpoint or chorus: Putnam's rejection of relativism. Erkenntnis 34, 323–345 (1991). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00172518

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00172518

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