RELATIVISM AND ALETHIC FUNCTIONALISM

The essay is an attempt to offer a version of the conceptual relativism that escapes Donald Davidson's (widely thought) decisive criticisms of the notion of 'conceptual scheme'. Two variants of relativism are distinguished, a weaker and a stronger one. The concrete proposal involves accepting a version of 'alethic' pluralism. After discussing 'alethic' pluralism in general, and after exploring both strong and weak versions of it, a suitable version is presented: 'alethic' functionalism. The final part offers an illustration of how embracing 'alethic' functionalism may help the relativist.