The Nature and Validity of Relativism

Discussion of the philosophy of “Relativism” as viewed by Protagoras and Plato.

Relativism, although it contains several variants, can be succinctly defined as the viewpoint that no objective standards of good and bad, right and wrong, can be discovered by mankind, and that, furthermore, no objective knowledge of the world is available to us either. This paper explores the validity of relativism by looking at the Philosopher’s Protagoras’ definition as well as his beliefs on the topic. Plato’s views are also discussed on this topic.