The Rise of Relativism: The Future of Theory and Knowledge Development in Social Work

Abstract

This paper explores a range of paradigms evident in recent debates about social work theory and epistemology, including the positivist, post-positivist, interpretivist, critical, ecological, feminist, poststructural and creative positions. While applauding the openness generated by these competing approaches, concerns are raised about the emergence of a meta-paradigm of relativism. After identifying the evidence of this move towards relativism in various paradigms, the potential problems and limitations of this trend for social work are explored. Relativism has, however, played an important role in undermining dogmatic attachments to certain positions and the paper attempts to rescue this useful quality of relativism while combining it with a constructive commitment to creative action.