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Florovsky’s logical relativism: a philosophical and theological analysis

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Abstract

Georges Florovsky’s essay ‘On the Grounding of Logical Relativism’ has attracted attention from various theologians and students of Russian thought but has until now avoided a serious philosophical analysis and critique. The complex but thought-provoking essay presents Florovsky’s so-called logical relativism, a position which he seemed to maintain for the rest of his career. This paper will show that by conflating ‘scientific’ with ‘alethic’ relativism, Florovsky exposed himself to detrimental philosophical and theological critique. After some methodological remarks, the first part of the paper will introduce Florovsky’s article, and present its central argument as a scientific relativism which is then conflated with a truly logical or alethic relativism. The second and third parts will highlight the philosophical and theological problems with Florovsky’s position.

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Notes

  1. In text references refer, respectively, to both the English translation of Florovsky’s essay and the Russian original. Boyle’s translation is problematic in certain areas and has thus been adjusted where necessary. Noticeably, Boyle’s translation does not maintain Florovsky’s original italicised emphases.

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  1. Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China

    Harry James Moore

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Moore, H.J. Florovsky’s logical relativism: a philosophical and theological analysis. Stud East Eur Thought (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11212-023-09564-8

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