Thursday, September 26, 2013

Everything Is Relative – Or Not

There is a branch of philosophy known as Relativism, and many of the most respected thinkers of the last century have embraced at least some portion of the theory some of the time. 

They have, for the most part, done so while denying Relativism’s  veracity.  To say “Everything is relative” is demonstrably self-contradictory.

Relativism holds that certain things – definitions of beauty or moral behavior, for example - are valid, but only for certain cultures at certain times in history and only within the framework of their specific language.  Relativism would deny the existence of absolutes.  To a relativist, empirical truth does not exist.

My personal opinion – which to a relativist would be just as valid as any other – is that objective truth does exist although it may be beyond our ability to comprehend.

I do know from experience that those people who are most sure that they are right seem to be the most likely to hold opinions that are demonstrably wrong.

No comments:

Post a Comment