Consider the claim that “morality is subjective”. It’s commonly said, but what does it mean? One possibility is that it amounts to an expression of some form of relativism. The most radical form of relativism is relativism about the truth, itself. According to this form of relativism, all truth claims are relative: there is no objective truth about anything, just different (and often competing) perspectives and opinions. The ancient Greek sophist, Protagoras, is sometimes identified as a proponent of relativism about truth. Arguably, it lives on in certain strains of postmodernist thought that cast doubt on the idea that there is any “way that things truly are” above and beyond the way in which things are perceived and conceptualized by individuals and groups.
On The Challenge of Relativism
On The Challenge of Relativism
On The Challenge of Relativism
Consider the claim that “morality is subjective”. It’s commonly said, but what does it mean? One possibility is that it amounts to an expression of some form of relativism. The most radical form of relativism is relativism about the truth, itself. According to this form of relativism, all truth claims are relative: there is no objective truth about anything, just different (and often competing) perspectives and opinions. The ancient Greek sophist, Protagoras, is sometimes identified as a proponent of relativism about truth. Arguably, it lives on in certain strains of postmodernist thought that cast doubt on the idea that there is any “way that things truly are” above and beyond the way in which things are perceived and conceptualized by individuals and groups.