Relativism

Things are as they are, and each person interprets them in their own way, coming closer or further from reality. Even though Dumbo is a good film, elephants do not actually fly.

One can have an opinion about anything, but not all opinions are true. One can hold the opinion that men do not die or that Beijing does not exist, but these are mistaken ideas.

Relativism is the position or theory that rejects the existence of truths and maintains that everything is a matter of opinion, that everything depends on one's point of view. (But if there are no truths, then relativism itself is not true.)

The point of view may focus more on one aspect or another, and may be closer or further from reality. But reality is as it is, regardless of who is looking.

(Cultural relativism.) Each culture may come closer or further from reality. But reality does not depend on cultures. For example, the Pythagorean theorem is a universal truth, not only true for triangles in his village.

Relativism gives rise to serious difficulties:

• It hinders the search for truth: if one theory is as good as another, one stops investigating.
• Relativism gives rise to the most powerful dictatorships: if everything is a matter of opinion, nothing is more fitting, and whatever the strongest decides will be carried out.
• If everything is equally valid, the experience and advice of others is disregarded, and man is left alone.
• Taken to its extreme, relativism leads to a form of madness or mental confusion where nothing is real, or the imaginary is mixed up with and confused with the real.

No. All religions have good and correct aspects, but only one is completely true, since there is only one God.

Obviously murdering and stealing are not the same as comforting and serving. Pick the wallet from a relativist and you will see that in this particular case not every opinion is equally valid.

That is the problem. Truth is found through the intellect. But our understanding sometimes judges incorrectly — for example, by letting itself be influenced by the passions (feelings). So what then? The best way to seek truth follows three steps:

• Serious study of things, using one's own intellect well.
• Seeking advice from people of exemplary life, benefiting from their wisdom.
• Humbly asking God for his help. He is Truth itself.

Formation and an interest in truth. One may be relativistic about what one does not know or does not value, but it is not easy to be so if one knows the value of something and appreciates it. For example, no one is usually relativistic about the money in their wallet, and prefers that it stay there. It is not the same to them whether their banknotes end up in a thief's pocket. They know and appreciate money and do not consider it all the same whether it is taken from them. Similarly, whoever knows how to add asserts that 2+2=4 and says so with confidence; but whoever does not know numbers and how to add does not care whether the result is 4, 5, or 7 — any opinion seems valid to them. For this reason, the remedy against relativism is formation in that area. Whoever is relativistic about mathematics need only study it and will stop treating one result the same as another. Whoever is relativistic about religious matters need only learn more about religion... The remedy is to seek the truth. As it is found, the darkness of indifference disappears.

The correct approach is to accept with confidence truths that are reasonably certain, and to doubt to some degree opinions that are less clear. The difficulty lies in distinguishing the two.

Democracy is a good political system, but a poor scientific method, inadvisable for research. In the search for truth, opinions are heard, but what is most reasonable is accepted, regardless of whether many voices support it.

Whoever accepts truths relies on what is reasonable, and will change their position if they find something more reasonable. On the other hand, if everything is relative, nothing is decided or decisions are made without thinking, which is less human. In both cases, fanaticism is avoided if there is humility to acknowledge errors.

These are independent things: understanding and tolerance are facets linked to charity, and this virtue can be practiced whether one is relativistic or not, since it will depend on whether charity is included among one's valued principles. A relativist can say: each person should live according to their morality, and mine requires being violent and intolerant.

Both aspects operate in different fields. Confidence in one's affirmations is a consequence of the certainty of a fact. Whereas a willingness to dialogue operates in personal relations and is linked to charity. Therefore it is possible to maintain truth with charity. It is equally possible to doubt everything tyrannically, claiming to force everyone to doubt.

It depends on what one hopes to achieve through dialogue:

• If one is seeking to find a truth, then relativism is a great obstacle, since it asserts that there are no truths.
• If one wishes to learn or share knowledge, relativism is also a difficulty, since knowledge consists of acquired truths.
• If one is simply passing the time, then it makes no difference whether one is relativistic or not.
• If through dialogue one seeks only a pact, even one opposed to what is true and correct, then relativism is preferable, since, as nothing matters, one can yield in everything.