Dialogues on Relativism, Absolutism, and Beyond: Four Days in India

141 Pages·2011·0.45 MB·English

by  Michael Krausz

Dialogues on
Relativism, Absolutism, and Beyond
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A series in dialogue form, explicating foundational problems
in the philosophy of existence, knowledge, and value
Series Editor
Professor Dale Jacquette
Senior Professorial Chair in Theoretical Philosophy
University of Bern, Switzerland
In the tradition of Plato, Berkeley, Hume, and other great philosophical dra-
matists, Rowman & Littlefield presents an exciting new series of philosophical
dialogues. This innovative series has been conceived to encourage a deeper
understanding of philosophy through the literary device of lively argument in
scripted dialogues, a pedagogic method that is proven effective in helping stu-
dents to understand challenging concepts while demonstrating the merits and
shortcomings of philosophical positions displaying a wide variety of structure
and content. Each volume is compact and affordable, written by a respected
scholar whose expertise informs each dialogue, and presents a range of posi-
tions through its characters’ voices that will resonate with students’ interests
while encouraging them to engage in philosophical dialogue themselves.
Titles
J. Kellenberger, Moral Relativism: A Dialogue (2008)
Michael Ruse, Evolution and Religion: A Dialogue (2008)
Charles Taliaferro, Dialogues about God (2008)
Brian Orend, On War: A Dialogue (2008)
Dale Jacquette, Dialogues on the Ethics of Capital Punishment (2009)
Bradley Dowden, The Metaphysics of Time: A Dialogue (2009)
Michael Krausz, Dialogues on Relativism,
Absolutism, and Beyond: Four Days in India (2011)
Forthcoming Titles
Dan Lloyd, Ghosts in the Machine: A Dialogue
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Dialogues on
Relativism, Absolutism, and Beyond
Four Days in India
Michael Krausz
Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, inc.
Lanham (cid:129) Boulder (cid:129) New York (cid:129) Toronto (cid:129) Plymouth, UK
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Copyright © 2011 by Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc.
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British Library Cataloguing in Publication Information Available
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Krausz, Michael.
Dialogues on relativism, absolutism, and beyond : four days in India / Michael Krausz.
p. cm. — (New dialogues in philosophy)
Includes bibliographical references (p. ) and index.
ISBN 978-0-7425-6032-1 (cloth : alk. paper) — ISBN 978-0-7425-6033-8 (pbk. : alk.
paper)
1. Relativity. 2. Absoute, The. 3. Philosophy, Indic. I. Title.
BD221.K73 2011
149—dc22
2010044599
™
The paper used in this publication meets the minimum requirements of
American National Standard for Information Sciences—Permanence of Paper
for Printed Library Materials, ANSI/NISO Z39.48-1992.
Printed in the United States of America
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(cid:2)
Contents
Prologue vii
Day One Relativism versus Absolutism: A First Encounter 1
Day Two Reconciling Relativism and Absolutism 35
Day Three Strands of Absolutism and Relativism 63
Day Four Beyond Relativism and Absolutism 85
For Further Reading 125
Index 127
About the Author 131
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Prologue
Ronnie, Adam, Barbara, and Nina are old friends from their days at Cana-
day College, where they were all philosophy majors. They had often spoken
about their dream one day to visit India together.
After ten years, Ronnie is a professor of anthropology at Canaday College.
Adam is a geologist at the National Bureau of Standards in Washington,
D.C. Barbara is a psychotherapist at Jefferson Hospital in Philadelphia, and
Nina lives in a Hindu (Advaita) ashram in India.
Now they have finally fulfilled their dream. The group has gathered on the
veranda of the Ganges View Hotel, overlooking the Ganges River in Varanasi,
the holy city of the Hindus. As they drink tea, they are reflecting upon their
early morning experience on the boat that took them up the Ganges, where
they had viewed the funeral pyres, at which the dead are cremated.
These four friends are fictional. Their names signal their views: Ronnie is
a relativist. Adam is an absolutist. Barbara is both. And Nina is neither. Bar-
bara seeks to embrace features of both relativism and absolutism. Nina seeks
to go beyond absolutism and relativism. She is a meditator and a mystic. She
thinks that beyond Ronnie, Adam, and Barbara’s aim for truth is a deeper
aim, which is self-realization.
For their helpful suggestions, the author thanks Elizabeth D. Boepple,
John Gibson, Dale Jaquette, Christine Koggel, Joyce Lussier, V.A. Rao, An-
dreea Ritivoi, Jill Stauffer, Bharath Vallabha, Mary Wiseman, David Wong,
and students at Bryn Mawr College. For their instruction and inspiration, the
author thanks Tenzin Gyatso (the Dalai Lama), Lobsang Gyatso, Ngawang
Samten, Swami Shyam, Aatma Shakti, and Jitendra Mohanty.
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D A Y O N E
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Relativism versus Absolutism:
A First Encounter
The Baby in the Ganges
Adam: R onnie, when you told me to look over the side of the boat early
this morning, I couldn’t believe my eyes. I was shocked.
Ronnie: Yes, when I first saw it, I was shocked too.
Adam: At first, it looked like debris floating on the surface of the Gan-
ges. But gradually I realized that it was a dead baby floating on the
Ganges!
Barbara: Y es, it was shocking. But you know what? Maybe it wasn’t all that
shocking after our nice hotel manager Mr. Shashank explained it
to me when I returned to the hotel. He could see that the whole
thing upset me. He said that such things happen sometimes, and
his Western guests are often taken aback. But actually, it is some-
thing Indians take in their stride.
Adam: In their stride? How bizarre. What did he say?
Barbara: He explained that the people who are cremated at the stations
along the river—they call those stations ghats—are ordinary peo-
ple who have lived impure lives. But there is a special category
of persons who have lived pure lives—or at least it’s supposed
1
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