Monday, August 3, 2009

Relativism and Secularism

Taking a look at secularism, relativism and morality, The Wall Street Journal reviews In Praise of Doubt by Peter Bergerand and Anton Zijderveld.

Fundamentalism enforces a consensus about ultimate ends without accounting for difference, while relativism makes sharing common values impossible. In “In Praise of Doubt,” Mr. Berger has teamed up with the Dutch philosopher Anton Zijderveld to argue that it is possible to maintain moral certainty about liberal democratic values without succumbing to either of these extremes.