Editing Relativism (section)

====Postmodernism<!--'Postmodern relativism' redirects here-->====
The term "relativism" often comes up in debates over [[postmodernism]], [[poststructuralism]] and [[Phenomenology (philosophy)|phenomenology]]. Critics of these perspectives often identify advocates with the label "relativism". For example, the [[Sapir–Whorf hypothesis]] is often considered a relativist view because it posits that linguistic categories and structures shape the way people view the world. [[Stanley Fish]] has defended postmodernism and relativism.<ref>[http://www.gwu.edu/~ccps/rcq/Fish.pdf ''Don't Blame Relativism''] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130521230254/http://www.gwu.edu/~ccps/rcq/Fish.pdf |date=2013-05-21 }} as "serious thought"</ref>

These perspectives do not strictly count as relativist in the philosophical sense, because they express agnosticism on the nature of reality and make [[epistemological]] rather than [[ontological]] claims. Nevertheless, the term is useful to differentiate them from [[Philosophical realism|realists]] who believe that the purpose of philosophy, science, or literary critique is to locate externally true meanings. Important philosophers and theorists such as [[Michel Foucault]], [[Max Stirner]], political movements such as [[post-anarchism]] or [[post-Marxism]] can also be considered as relativist in this sense - though a better term might be [[social constructivist]].

The spread and popularity of this kind of "soft" relativism varies between academic disciplines. It has wide support in [[anthropology]] and has a majority following in cultural studies. It also has advocates in political theory and political science, sociology, and [[continental philosophy]] (as distinct from Anglo-American analytical philosophy). It has inspired empirical studies of the social construction of meaning such as those associated with labelling theory, which defenders can point to as evidence of the validity of their theories (albeit risking accusations of [[performative contradiction]] in the process). Advocates of this kind of relativism often also claim that recent developments in the natural sciences, such as Heisenberg's [[uncertainty principle]], [[quantum mechanics]], [[chaos theory]] and [[Complex systems|complexity theory]] show that science is now becoming relativistic. However, many scientists who use these methods continue to identify as realist or [[post-positivist]], and some sharply criticize the association.<ref>{{cite web| url = http://www.physics.nyu.edu/faculty/sokal/| title = Sokal and the Science Wars}}</ref><ref>{{cite web| url = http://www.csicop.org/si/show/quantum_quackery/| title = Quantum quackery| date = January 1997}}</ref>