East Asia in the Globe: Beyond Universalism and Relativism

Title

East Asia in the Globe: Beyond Universalism and Relativism

Author

Long-xi ZHANG

Page

25-37

DOI

Abstract

In cross-cultural understanding, universalism and relativism are two opposite paradigms, of which relativism predominates in contemporary scholarship. In comparison with Vico's historicism, contemporary relativism does not just acknowledge cultural diversity, but it insists on cultural incommensurability, thereby questioning the possibility of cross-cultural understanding and communication. By examining the arguments of Peter Winch, Richard Nisbett and others, this essay exposes the limitations and internal difficulties of the relativist paradigm and argues for a broader perspective on East Asia in the globe well beyond the dichotomy between universalism and relativism.

Keyword

universalism, relativism, historicism, incommensurability, Giambattistta Vico, Peter Winch, Richard Nisbett, cross-cultural understanding

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