ABSTRACT
Poststructuralism has been repeatedly classified as a form of relativism. Philosophers that were labeled as proponents of poststructuralism have been confronted both with the charge of advocating a self-refuting version of global relativism as well as of upholding a doctrine of ethical and political indifference. In contrast, we argue that these charges misconstrue the main theoretical insights and normative implications of these approaches. Focusing on the work of Jacques Derrida and Michel Foucault, we show that their theories not only evade the conceptual scheme of relativism but rather provide a productive provocation for the discourse on relativism to critically reflect on its presuppositions and implications.
