PHIL 273 Relativism
Have you ever thought that "Everything is relative," or that "there is no truth" because "everything is a matter of opinion?" If so, believe it or not, you are already doing philosophy. In fact, you have ancient company: some 2,400 years ago, Protagoras championed the view that "knowledge is perception" and relatedly, that "man is the measure of all things." In other words, he was one of the first full-blown relativists. In this class, we will examine just what it means to be a relativist, asking and answering the questions: Is it a good position to hold? Why or why not? To help us work through this topic, we will read one of Plato's dialogues, some contemporary literature, and watch a number of related films.