Relativism

Relativism argues that truth, reasoning, and morality are relative to societal, cultural, or historical contexts. This meaning implies that all systems of morality and beliefs are equally valid and that we cannot establish a “universal standard” to judge which system is better. Relativism has been highly controversial as a philosophical doctrine, and it has been challenging to come together with an agreed definition of relativism, as how coherent the different forms of relativism may be will vary according to what is being relativized and the extent to which it is. The co-variance definition generally outlines relativism as the claim that variable x (e.g., values, experiences, epistemology, aesthetics, ethics, judgements, etc.) depends on the independent variable y (e.g., culture, language, historical epoch). This way, the different forms of relativism can be described as functions of the relativization of objects (x) and domains (y). Relativism can also be defined by what relativists deny. Traditionally, relativism is contrasted with absolutism, objectivism, monism, and realism. The various forms of relativism are also bonded by the hidden parameter definition, in which claims of truth, knowledge, or justification have an underlying relation to a domain. For example, in ethics, according to this definition, moral relativism is the claim that the reason behind the beliefs of morality is relative to specific moral codes. So the claim, for example, that “It is wrong to steal the money of other people” can also mean “It is wrong to steal the money of other people relative to the moral code of…”. Suppose Country A and Country B. In Country A, stealing other people’s money is a punishable crime by their law, while in Country B, it is not. Therefore, if the claim that stealing other people’s money is wrong is applied to Country A, this claim would be valid relative to the laws of Country A. However, this claim would be false relative to Country B. Overall, relativism may be considered as the claim that there is no absolute truth and objectivity within a particular domain.