The Devil in Social Anthropology; or the Empiricist Exorcist; or the Case against Cultural Relativism

Abstract

Ernest Gellner's argument that cognitive cultural relativism is a false solution to a real problem in modernity is codified & defended. Gellner attacks cognitive relativism, which claims that there is no knowledge beyond culture. It is argued that such relativism is illogical, because it is self-contradictory, & is a travesty, because, it misdescribes the human cognitive condition, which includes the fact of transcultural science. Relativism reintroduces the enchantment of science removed from the modern world, but in the form of reactionary obscurantism. Disenchantment is a real problem for modern society, but relativism is a vain solution. 11 References. H. von Rautenfeld