Saturday, February 27, 2016

Perspectivism, Relativity, Comparativism

In Physics, a Perspective is termed a Frame of Reference.  Now, from a given Frame of Reference, any perception of Motion or Rest is only relative, i. e. via a comparison with another Frame of Reference.  Thus, Parmenides and Heraclitus are each wrong--both Motion and Rest are real, but relational.  Also, this concept of Relativity underlies Einstein's two theories that go by that name.  Conversely, Physicist Relativism is instructive for Perspectivism--it shows that Self-Knowledge requires a comparison, as Kant argues in his Refutation of Idealism, e. g. 'I am running' means 'I am moving faster than the spin of the Earth'.  Likewise, Moral judgment is always comparative--even Kant's Categorical Imperative entails a contrast between acting as required and acting otherwise.  But, while such judgments seem intra-personal, they are the products of an internalization of a social relation, i. e. in which one of the terms one casts oneself as another.  So, Perspectivism entails Comparativism, and is fundamentally social.

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