Is Relativism Absolutely True?
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Why “Your Truth/My Truth” Thinking is Inconsistent, Selective, & Unlivable
Paul Copan, PhD
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In bringing clarity to hard-to-pin-down concepts like truth, reality, knowledge, and morality, Paul Copan shows relativism to be—fundamentally— a problem of authority.
The relativist doesn’t accept any external authority or any authority statements about truth, morality, or God, but the relativist acts as her own authority. As it turns out, taking an authoritative stance on truth, morality, and God is inescapable. The question is: who turns out to be the most reliable source of authority?
At the 2018 Golden Globe awards, former talk show host Oprah Winfrey said that “speaking your truth is the most powerful tool we all have.” She was chiming in about the “Me Too” movement and the importance of believing women who claim they have been sexually assaulted. While we should take such claims seriously, we have to ask: “What does ‘your truth’ even mean?”
What happens when “your truth” differs from “my truth”? Why should we believe one over the other? Is truth just a matter of perspective or opinion or preference or feeling? And why should we favor one person’s perspective over against another’s? How do we decide?
