The Dilemma of Context

This study of contextuality, which aims to assess the opposing claims of the relative and the absolute, illustrates the importance of context with reference to its use in the exploration of culture with diverse groups, such as American Indians and Hindus. Scharfstein illustrates how the context of a group or culture, and how that context is interpreted, creates problems and tensions concerning cultural comparison. He draws upon the ideas of philosophers such as Chuang-tzu, Montaigne, Nietzsche and Derrida to argue against the two-valued logic that demands a choice between absolutism and relativism and declares that a practical solution of the dilemma is necessary if we hope to arrive at a world in which the different peoples show one another something approaching mutual tolerance.