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1、9.PragmatismandRelativism:UniversalValuesandTraditionalWaysofLifeInrecentyears,philosopherssuchasStuartHampshire,Bernard,Wil-liams,andAlasdairMacIntyre(responding,perhaps,toargumentsbyanthropologistssuchasCliffordGeertzandpoliticalscientistssuchasMichaelWalze
2、r)havegivenincreasingcentralitytothequestionwhetherethicsshouldbeuniversalisticorshouldratherberootedintheformsoflifeofparticulartraditionsandcultures.Iwanttocon-siderthatquestioninthefollowinglight:Ontheonehand,JohnRawls-whomIconsidertobethegreatestlivingsoc
3、ialethicist-hassaidthatheisnotdiscussingthe"foundations"ofethics,butratheraddressingthemainquestionconfrontingWesternbourgeoisdemoc-IraciesaftertheFrenchRevolution,thatis,thetensionbetweenequal-ityandliberty.'ThissuggeststhatRawlsispessimisticaboutthepros-pec
4、tsfor"universalistic"ethicaltheory(perhapsmoresothanwhenhewroteATheoryofJustice).Ontheotherhand,GeorgeSteinerhassuggestedthataftertheHolocaustitmaybeimpossibletobelievethatthevaluesoftheWesthaveanyvitalityatButtounderstandthisthoughtitisnecessarytounderstandh
5、owSteinerisusingthenotionof"theHolocaust."ISteinerisnotusingthephraseinitsaccepteddenotation,theexecu-Ition(Iwrite"execution"tobringoutthehorrible"legality"oftheproceeding,ascontrastedwithamere"slaughter")ofsixmillionJew-ishwomen,men,smallchildren,andeveninfa
6、nts.Instead,andverytellingly,heisusingthetermtocoverthekilling,bywar,genocide,andsoon,ofseventymillionpeopleinthethirty-sevenyearsbegin-ningwith1914.Heis,forexampleincludingtheslaughterofEurope'syouthinWorldWarI,itselfoneofthemostsuicidalactsbyanycivi-Pragmat
7、ismandRelativism183lizationinhistory,andalsothepurgesofStalin,thedeportationsofpeoples,theplannedstarvations,andsoon.Elsewhere,Steinerconnectstheself-destructiveproclivitiesofEuro-peancivilizationwithalossoftheconceptof"tragedy"andwithanalarminglossofwhatheca
8、lls"fle~ibilit~."~Puttingtheseremarks-Rawls'sandSteiner's-together,Ifindmyselfinthefollowing"bind":IfRawlsisright,ethicaltheoryseemstorequiretheframeworkofatraditiontogiveitsquestionssubs
