Philosophical Relativism and the Consequences to Democratic Liberalism.

Through an examination of the book Contingency, Irony, and Solidarity, by Richard Rorty, this paper examines the consequences to Western liberalism that must come about after a society-wide acceptance of relativism. These consequences include a disinclination to expand liberalism, due to the inevitable pain that will occur during transitions to democratic government, and the decline of civil society that must transpire when human beings are offered nothing more solid than contingency as an impetus to action. In drawing these conclusions, this paper focuses on critiquing Rorty’s moral philosophy, especially as it relates to his condemnation of cruelty, his disregard of traditional Western understandings of human nature, and his belief that the transient nature of vocabularies necessitates the disregard of philosophical absolutes. Furthermore, the central and inescapable role of reason in uniting humanity and necessitating moral action is closely examined. This paper concludes that philosophical relativism is the ultimate dehumanizing force in the world, because absent philosophical understandings of absolute truth, morality, and the central role of reason, human beings have no real recourse against arbitrary despotism. ..PAT.-Unpublished Manuscript [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]