Logical Relativism

Logic, Grammar, and Arithmetic in Cultural Comparison

Datos Bibliográficos

ID3856166
AutoresC Greiffenhagen (0000-0002-7544-9246, University of Manchester, autor de correspondencia), W Sharrock (0000-0002-7029-8653, University of Manchester)
Año2006
Volumen14
Número3
Páginas275-301
Fecha de publicación2006-09-01
Peer ReviewedSí
Open AccessNo
TipoARTICLE
RevistaConfigurations (JOURNAL)
Identificadores de la revistaISSN: 1063-1801 • E-ISSN: 1080-6520
EditorialProject MUSE (PUBLISHER • US)
DOI10.1353/con.0.0016
OpenAlexW2020579846
IdiomaEN
Citas recibidas5
Referencias citadas18

Logical relativism is the claim that different cultures may think according to \ndifferent logical laws. For example, it is often argued that whereas ‘we’ (Westerners) \noperate according to the law of the excluded middle, ‘they’ (e.g., the Chinese or the \nAzande) may not. In this article, we question whether logical relativism is an empirical \nthesis, i.e., a thesis that is substantiated through anthropological examples. \nWe distinguish two forms of logical relativism, both of which try to account for alleged \ncontradictions in the beliefs of other cultures. The ‘alternative logic’ approach suggests \nthat contradictions only appear if we judge beliefs according to classical logic, but do not \nexist if we judge them according to an alternative (non-standard) logic. The ‘symmetric \ntreatment’ suggests that whether there is a contradiction or not is itself a culture-specific \nmatter, such that what may be a contradiction ‘for them’ may not be a contradiction ‘for \nus’ and vice versa. We question whether either of these arguments really involves \nrelativism and show that problems arise in the treatment of the examples, firstly, in terms \nof questionable preconceptions made about the status of logic as a standard of \ncomparison and, secondly, in the ways in which relevant beliefs are formulated

Cultural relativism · Epistemology · Logical reasoning · Rationality · Relativism · Categorization, perception, and language · Cultural Differences and Values · Language and cultural evolution · Law · Mathematics · Philosophy