Cultural relativism and understanding difference

Abstract

The paper discusses cultural relativism through contrasting views within philosophy and anthropology, drawing parallels to linguistic relativity. Language is commonly perceived as a tool for classifying the world, where the researcher is a detached observer of language or reasoning. This is the starting point for the relativism/rationalism dichotomy in philosophy, which relies on a distinction between language and thought, or the form and content of thought, as separate categories that can be identified from an objective viewpoint. Both the rationalist and the relativist are commonly described as agreeing on the terms of the debate, and disagreeing only on the relations between the categories. This starting point will be challenged through drawing parallels between debates in philosophy, anthropology and linguistics.