Arguments Against Relativism

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According to the Oxford English Dictionary, relativism can be defined as a “any theory or doctrine asserting the knowledge, truth, morality, etc., are relative to situations, rather than absolute” (“relativism”). However, this raises the idea that two opposing views can both be true, or both false, depending on the beliefs of society. Therefore, relativism is against the idea of a universal, and absolute truth. This paper will explore arguments for and against relativism in regards to truth claims. I will argue against relativism, in that there can be a universal truth, but there may also be external factors that could influence an individual’s beliefs or claims to truth, therefore, still having a certain degree of relativity. The truth is …show more content…
One’s beliefs are influenced by various non-rational factors, such as background, upbringing, and education; each individual has their own differing experiences. One example of this may be in a historical war between two different parties (party A and B), one party has conquered the other. The truth of the outcome of the war may differ for different societies and individuals. For this example, the parties that are referred to as the “winning party” and “losing party” will merely be hypothetical in a general context as viewed from an external observer. It might be the case where the “winning party” holds the belief that they won the war because they had a strong army. However, the “losing party” may believe that they did not get attacked, instead, they chose to surrender and let the other party “win”. It can be seen that these two opposing parties will interpret the outcome, and their position in the war differently depending on which side (“winning” or “losing”) they were on. Therefore, the truth of the outcome of the war can only be judged by the individual or society that had participated. Moreover, we, as external observers, may assume that one party won and the other one lost. However, the “losing” party may not view themselves as the losing party; their claim to surrender may be seen as a correct and smart decision at the time. Consequently, their belief about the outcome of the war …show more content…
This is because, if a society believes something to be true, and then changes their mind to an opposing view, how are we to judge what is actually true or certain. In this sense, there will be no truth. For example, if an entire society believed that the tooth fairy existed, this would become their truth, as it is relative to the society. But then the society changes their mind and now says the tooth fairy does not exist, this will now be a new truth claim. However, the question this poses is whether this would make the previous belief of the tooth fairy existing, which was once considered a truth, false. As both views in regards to the tooth fairy’s existence are polar opposites, both statements cannot be true, and both statements cannot be false, at the same time. One would have to be true, and the other false. There would be no actual way to judge what is true or false. Additionally, if the society were to change their minds again, would this then make all their previous beliefs now false, therefore, refuting all previous claims to truth, and making all statements false? With that in mind, the truth or falsity of a claim cannot be based on its relativity to an individual or society as it tells us nothing about the actual truth of a situation (i.e. the existence of a tooth fairy). It merely expresses the opinions of an individual or society, and what they believe to be true or

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