MINORITIES AND ABSOLUT RELATIVISM

Abstract

The intellectual justification of the protection of minorities, although from a legitimate attitude, is based often on inconsistent theoretical grounds which leads to paradoxical results. Relativism, which – by its very nature – cannot offer itself as an alternative to universal importance, has replaced rational discussion about the validity of values. Remains the irrational exaltation of cultural unity, which can cause racism and the closing of the culture itself, immune to change and criticism. Relativism serves as a temporary tool to attempt a impartial understanding of other cultures, something like a "suspension of disbelief", as Coleridge wanted, but cannot apply to the positive values ​​of the culture without condemning it to extinction.