Relativism refers to a theory or philosophy which argues that abstract values like truth, beauty, and morality are not absolute, but rather that they are dependent on the culture in which they exist. A relativistic view of the world would see one culture's notion of "truth" as being valid only relative to that culture; a second culture's notion of "truth" could be quite different, and yet still be valid relative to that second culture. An important element of relativistic theory is its argument that abstract conceptions like truth, beauty and morality do not exist in the absence of human cultures; instead, they are created by cultures and are negotiated and changed through cultural processes.
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