relativism

noun

rel·a·tiv·ism | \ˈre-lə-ti-ˌvi-zəm

Definition of relativism

1a : a theory that knowledge is relative to the limited nature of the mind and the conditions of knowing

b : a view that ethical truths depend on the individuals and groups holding them

2 : relativity

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Long shrouded in a gray area of cultural relativism, eating dogs has become a taboo in the country as younger generations gravitate closer to the Western belief that a pooch is man’s best friend, rather than a tasty delicacy, according to AFP. — Fox News, "South Korean court outlaws killing dogs for their meat," 21 June 2018 Today, the lens represents a struggle between objectivity and relativism. — Allain Daigle, The Atlantic, "How the 50-mm Lens Became ‘Normal’," 13 May 2018 There is space within the Catholic tradition for a kind of situational ethics that doesn’t automatically collapse into moral relativism. — Tara Isabella Burton, Vox, "The conservative case against Pope Francis — and why it matters," 5 Apr. 2018 Still, by challenging moral relativism more broadly, Douthat nonetheless raises an important point. — Tara Isabella Burton, Vox, "The conservative case against Pope Francis — and why it matters," 5 Apr. 2018 Some might blame the truth-disparaging theories that have long been incubating in certain corners of the academy, which go by the names of relativism and postmodernism. — Rebecca Newberger Goldstein, WSJ, "Truth Isn’t the Problem—We Are," 15 Mar. 2018 Walter Kempowski, who was born in 1929 and died in 2007, was a lifelong investigator of this kind of private relativism. — Rachel Aviv, The New Yorker, "Walter Kempowski’s Epic Novel of Germany in Collapse," 21 Mar. 2016 Such relativism often breeds nihilism, something of which Ball has been accused. — Ellie Robins, latimes.com, "Jesse Ball's 'Census' is an understated tale of a father and son taking stock of America," 9 Mar. 2018 The filial correction alleged that Pope Francis committed seven heresies regarding his teachings on divorce and remarriage and moral relativism. — Tyler Arnold, National Review, "Pope Francis’s Controversial Step on Communion for the Divorced and Remarried," 12 Dec. 2017

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