ABSTRACT
“Sociologism” is the label given to the claim (i) that knowledge and morality are social phenomena, and (ii) that traditional philosophical accounts of knowledge and morality are nothing but misrepresentations of these social realities. Metaphysics is a reification of social processes. Thus philosophy should be replaced by the positive science of sociology. In his 1912 book The Elementary Forms of the Religious Life, Emile Durkheim offered a classic statement of sociologism. First he gave a sociological account of “primitive” religious beliefs and then applied his analysis to contemporary forms of Neo-Kantian philosophy. I shall explain Durkheim’s position and then use his perspective to examine a typical example of current, anti-relativist argumentation. My target will be two papers by the philosopher Crispin Wright: one directed at what Wright calls “traditional” relativism; the other at what he calls “true” relativism. I shall argue that Durkheim’ insights are still highly relevant to today’s discussions and, for example, help us to see the flaws in Wright’s anti-relativism.
