Dear Sen,
RE:
> Since we cannot judge among views because all our views are relative
> to our own time, place and ourselves, we have no neutral ground or
> Archimedean standpoint from which to judge among views. Since we have
> no neutral Archimedean standpoint, we cannot make definitive judgments
> about which views are wrong - but only about which views are *wrong
> for us*, and *right for us."
You write,
"By George, he's got it!"
Too bad you don't get it yourself.
Then you would realise that the crux of the entire debate about relativism
is - as I have repeatedly pointed out - relativism's inability to judge
among various views.
The problems with relativism are its consequences if it is true - but wait -
how could it be true? - - there is no truth. There are only preferences.
First, the inability to differentiate truth from error - which means that
error is impossible; second, the impossibility of knowledge - scientific
knowledge or otherwise - which is simply reduced to varying expressions of
opinion which leads to scepticism a la Carneades "Nothing can be known, not
even this."; fourth, the equal validity of all views and the impossibility
of error since each view is true from its own point of view; fifth, the
problems with formulating relativist views coherently without falling into
self-refutation and self-undermining; sixth, the inability to differentiate
moral views, i.e. Mother Teresa from Mengele, i.e. the moral equivalence of
all ethical positions - or governmental systems; seventh, since there is no
way of discovering truth, we are left in the end, as Nietzsche realized with
nothing but preferences - and the will to power, the only remaining way to
decide about anything. (Rorty tries, unsuccessfully, to avoid this
conclusion by 'liberal consensus'.)
Thus relativism fails in regards to logic, epistemology, common sense (is
error really impossible?)ethics, political/legal/social philosophy (as
Foucault realized towards the end of his life), metaphysics/ontology . .
You write,
"Not only is there no such ground that we can find: if it were found,
we are not the absolute beings to go stand on it. The search for
absolute truths is doomed both by the lack of a more absolute
standard by which we could recognise an absolute truth, and by our
own conditionality as knowers."
The claim that there is no Archimedean standpoint is, of course, the crux of
the debate as I indicated above and in other posts. See below.
Of course, there are absolute truths both at the philosophical and more
mundane level. See below.
RE:
> Here's another one of those self-undermining statements. If this
> statement ["The truths we can communicate and apprehend are relative
> to particular fields and contexts." ] is true, it is true only in its
> particular context and ...
You write
"Precisely."
I'm glad you recognise your statement is self-refuting, i.e. says nothing,
i.e. has no "cash value" because it cancels itself out. Relativist
statements of this kind are pseudo-statements which have no logical meaning.
You write,
"Because postmodern society is structurally different to a tribal,
feudal or even modern society, the way we see truths is different --
not just abstractly, when doing philosophy or theology, but also
practically in everyday life. A person of the medieval or classical
age might in practice apply different logics and hold different
truths in church and when doing politics, but I doubt they would have
accepted it as normal, if they saw it at all. What marks
postmodernity is both the far greater extent of differentiation
between more different fields and contexts, and the willingness to
accept this as normal and inevitable, in everyday life. Part of that
is letting go of the illusion that one has any absolute truths"
There are lots of other truths which hold across all of these cultural
changes - Shoghi Effendi calls some of them the "eternal verities" which are
true at all times and in all places.
The Baha'i Faith expounds no end of absolute truths in its teachings - which
is why it is not relativist: God exists and has certain attributes such as
omniscience, omnipotence; only God has self-subsistence, all other beings
are contingent; God guides humankind by sending Manifestations through a
process of progressive revelation; the human soul is immortal; the human
soul is not a material substance; essences can only be known by their
qualities; absolute nothingness does not exist; the Universal House of
Justice is the divinely designated instrument for administering the Baha'i
Faith in this world, etc. etc.
Not only are there absolute truths at the philosophical level - try denying
your own existence, or escape from the concept of 'being' two very simple
but powerful absolute truths which can carry us a long, long way as the
history of philosophy shows.
There are millions of absolute truths at the mundane level. The sun appears
to rise in the east every morning; fire is hotter than ice; Queen Elizabeth
of England and Canada is not the queen of France; without food people
starve; water does not rise above its source; no one can live with out a
heart (or its replacement).
These are simple, but important because we can build on these simple,
absolute truths.
A willingness to accept a wide latitude of ideas, behaviors etc in life do
not make an idea or person relativist. Nor need one be a relativist to do
so.
Best wishes,
Ian Kluge
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