The Danger of Relativity

I thought taking philosophy during my last semester was going to be a fun and "eye-opening" class that would be great to end college with. But early in the semester I am realizing that it wasn't exactly what I expected.

Fun at times, but often frustrating, this class has opened my eyes. Everything is relative in this class. Everyone's beliefs belong to them, and there is neither truth nor falsehood. These class discussions were going nowhere because the barrier of relative truth stands in the way.

Like everyone it seems these days, at first it seemed there was no better forum to spew out my annoyance and opinions than Facebook and I posted this:

"Philosophy - the art of asking questions without ever having the intention of answering them, and rejecting all notions of truth to avoid the feeling of needing to change ourselves or our society"

I removed it quickly because I realized that it wasn't completely true, and that it shouldn't be true. We can look at philosophy and find the answers to our questions. Sometimes the truth doesn't feel so good, and that's where this class has been stopping. What's the point of searching for an answer if we shy away from anything that might say we were initially wrong?


We were discussing Ralph Waldo Emerson's work entitled "Circles."

His argument is that because nature is constantly evolving and because our actions seek to "outdo" previous actions that there can be no universal truth, because the truth of reality is consistently changing. That for every circle drawn, every horizon we see, we are able to draw another circle outside of it or go beyond that horizon. We are essentially limitless.

His discussion of growth and development is clearly a part of life, and it is engrained into every aspect of the world. We live in a world that has a story to it. It is progressing. It has a plot line. So I agree with his idea of pursuing excellence and development but there are two problems I find in his conclusion.

 

1. Just because the world is changing does not mean that there is no existence of an overarching truth.

 

2. And just because growth is not limited in certain aspects of our life, does not mean that we have no limitations.

Here's an illustration of that first point. A doctor is diagnosing a patient. Given the symptoms, the doctor is able to bring down the possible source or cause of illness down to 10 possibilities. Even though the doctor is not completely sure at first which of these 10 are in fact the true source of sickness, we cannot conclude that nothing is causing an illness. We can't state that because we don't know, that nobody knows or that there isn't a true illness causing it. Our perception and knowledge have no influence on truth.

Or take this example. One thousand years ago, if I had two rocks and a friend gave me two more rocks, I would have four rocks. The same would be true today, ten thousand years ago, and ten thousand years in the future.

And if someone were to state that I in fact had five rocks and not four, would we conclude that because we can't agree that therefore to me it is four rocks and to him it is five? Would we say the number of rocks is relative? Or would we say that it is impossible to know the truth because there are conflicting perspectives?

There are laws and facts that do in fact stay true throughout time and so to say everything is relative is to not address the point that there is some storyline that is existent in this universe. Whether or not it is a good or bad story is another discussion.

And despite the fact that everyone's carrying cell phones, driving cars, flying across the globe, and are more immersed in a technology-driven world, have we really changed over time?

Have we changed? Shootings and wars still occur. People steal and people lie just like they did centuries ago. We stab the backs of others, we look out for number one despite the small internal urge that throughout time has told us to care for others and to be above these temptations and poor moral decisions.

To answer the second point, the shortcomings of man's ability to abide its own moral code is a circle we can't break out of and that we clearly have limitations on.

Until we acknowledge our own boundaries and limitations, we will continue to accept the notion that truth is relative. And as long as we believe this statement, that essentially states that you don't have to and shouldn't align yourself with anything that may suggest that we change. And the big danger of relativity is that we may just be missing out on hearing the truth.

The Chief Good

Inspired by Ethics by Aristotle.

It still hasn't hit that I'm about to start my final semester here at Penn State. And the crazy thing is that there is still an unsettled feeling about the next step. But do we ever feel completely comfortable about what life brings next? Going from middle school to high school. The transition to college. Taking on a first full-time job. Switching jobs or moving. Marrying and having kids. I haven't personally gone through all of these, but I believe I can say that at each turn in life, there are questions to be answered, doors to be opened, and big decisions to be made.

And as I look back, these past four years are culminating with this next step in life; leaving the "bubble" that is State College, to go into the "real world". All of the classwork, internships, and research has been directed toward this next step. Upon reflection, I can say that my life these past several years has primarily revolved around this pursuit of a career I desire. But how much of my life should revolve around this? What am I striving for? And should I go through life simply taking it year by year with the end goal being the desired next step?

It's officially 2013. And many take time at the beginning of each year to make resolutions or changes to themselves to make a stride toward a better future. But how deep are they typically? Usually they rarely get past the level of "I plan to remove Twinkies from diet" or "I plan to run a half marathon this year as a goal for getting in shape". My point is not to diminish the importance of these changes but to suggest there are potential changes with very great importance.

Have you ever sat back and thought about what it was you were working towards in life? What would make you life complete? What would make your life worthwhile? Is it happiness? Is it success? Money? A relationship? A nice house?

Why does the pursuit of this deserve the investment of your life?


The Chief Good; an idea proposed by Aristotle, is the focal point of all of our effort, energy, time, and resources. That our entire lives revolve around this one thing that we are striving for. The Chief Good has to be the root of our pursuit. Therefore "happiness" cannot be a Chief Good because it relies on something(s) to provide happiness. The Chief Good is not vague but very specific.

Personally, I believe my Chief Good has been security. Risk rarely could be justified in my life, and taking chances was never something I was comfortable with. I wanted a job that would produce financial stability so that I wouldn't have to worry about my level of comfort. I didn't want to have to worry or be reliant on anyone else. Simply put, I wanted a smooth-sailing life. During these past couple years, I realized just how self-centered that was and that that's not how life is meant to be lived.

And I'm making a conscious effort to try to change it. After much thought and reflection, I personally could find only one Chief Good in life that was a clear direction for me, and would provide pure completeness. I've realized that God is the center of everything and that I want to glorify Him in response to the the mercy He's demonstrated for me. And other chapters of life fit into this greater storyline. At the end of my life, "completeness" will come from investing myself in ways that aligns with God's plan for this earth and my life.

So what's your Chief Good? What resolution have you made or are you going to make in 2013 and the rest of your years beyond? In the rush of life, sometimes a step back to see where we are going is needed. I hope you find that break early this year. Happy New Year everyone! I wish you all a very fulfilling 2013.