--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The relativists’ stance is extremely…" description: "\"“The relativists’ stance is extremely condescending: it treats a complex society as a monolith, obscures the conflicts within it, and takes its most ob..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/30c/alan-sokal-44922_condescending_the-relativists-stance-is-extremely-cond_841483.png" --- # The relativists’ stance is extremely condescending: it… ![“The relativists’ stance is extremely condescending: it treats a complex society as a monolith, obscures the conflicts within it, and takes its most obscurantist factions as spokespeople for the whole.” quote by Alan Sokal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/30c/alan-sokal-44922_condescending_the-relativists-stance-is-extremely-cond_841483.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/30c/alan-sokal-44922_condescending_the-relativists-stance-is-extremely-cond_841483.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/30c/alan-sokal-44922_condescending_the-relativists-stance-is-extremely-cond_841483.png) > ““The relativists’ stance is extremely condescending: it treats a complex society as a monolith, obscures the conflicts within it, and takes its most obscurantist factions as spokespeople for the whole.”” [Alan Sokal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-sokal/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Treating society as a single entity hides internal conflicts and misrepresents minority voices. **In simple terms:** Seeing society as one block ignores its complexity. Key Takeaway Recognize and engage with internal diversity. Themes critical thinking representation political discourse Mood analytical critical Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - policy analysis - academic research - public debates - media criticism Key Concepts philosophy sociology media studies Questions to Reflect On - What internal conflicts are overlooked in broad statements? - How can we give voice to marginalized groups? 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This attitude…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cal-thomas/republicans-should-save-the-clip-of-jonathan-gruber-and-run-it-over/) [Cal Thomas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cal-thomas/) > [Generation after generation, there is this never-ending, contemptuous, condescending attitude to the next generation or the next way of thinking: music, art, politics, whatever.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-michel-jarre/generation-after-generation-there-is-this-never-ending-contemptuous/) [Jean-Michel Jarre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-michel-jarre/) [Browse all 125 Condescending quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/condescending/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“The relativists’ stance is extremely condescending: it treats a complex society as a monolith, obscures the conflicts within it, and takes its most obscurantist factions as spokespeople for the whole.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Alan Sokal" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-sokal/the-relativists-stance-is-extremely-condescending-it-treats-a-complex/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Condescending" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-sokal/the-relativists-stance-is-extremely-condescending-it-treats-a-complex/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/30c/alan-sokal-44922_condescending_the-relativists-stance-is-extremely-cond_841483.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/30c/alan-sokal-44922_condescending_the-relativists-stance-is-extremely-cond_841483.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/30c/alan-sokal-44922_condescending_the-relativists-stance-is-extremely-cond_841483.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The relativists’ stance is extremely condescending: it treats a complex society as a monolith, obscures the…” — Alan Sokal", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Alan Sokal", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-sokal/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“The relativists’ stance is extremely condescending:...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-sokal/the-relativists-stance-is-extremely-condescending-it-treats-a-complex/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-sokal/the-relativists-stance-is-extremely-condescending-it-treats-a-complex/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```