ˈreləd.ə̇ˌvizəm, -ətə̇ˌ- noun
( -s )
Etymology: International Scientific Vocabulary relative (II) + -ism
1. : a doctrine of relationism or of relativity: as
a. : a theory that knowledge is relative to the limited nature of the mind and the conditions of knowing and hence not true to the nature of independent reality and that holds that absolutely true knowledge is impossible because of the limitations and variability of sense perceptions or that reality as it is in itself cannot be known by mind whose modes of thinking and perception are essentially subjective or that thinking and perception seize relations of one thing to another only and not the intrinsic nature of an object and hence are merely symbolic — called also epistemological relativism
b. : a view that theories of what is right and good are relative in that ethical truths depend upon the individuals and groups holding them so that what is considered right and good by one person or group may be considered wrong and bad by another — called also ethical relativism
2. : relativity