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Knowledge
Truth

John Carey has written a book called "What good are the arts?" His central idea is that our evaluation of the visual arts and music is completely subjective and relativistic. Art and art creation are seen as an important part of being human but no one can make a case for a work being of higher value because this is just opinion. Fine. However, he goes on to argue the case for the higher value of literature. Predicting the obvious objections one might have after his previous relativist argument he says: "let me emphasize that all the judgements made in this part including the judgment of what 'literature' is are inevitably subjective". Here and in live debates he has stated this as a means of getting himself off his own hook. So my question is, surely there is some contradiction involved in arguing a position while at the same time stating that it is just subjective? Aren't we trying to lay claim to some objective truth as soon as we begin arguing?

History
Truth

I have often wondered how proponents of the doctrine of "historical relativity" manage to avoid an inherent contradiction. For example, if one asserts "all truths are relative" (to an historical epoch or weltenschaung, e.g.), must one not also apply that observation to the "truth" that "all truths are relative?" Which means, of course, that the relativist's position is untenable, because it is itself merely relative and, hence, untrue in a trans-historical sense, at least based upon the relatavist's own assertion. If the only truth that is NOT relative is the relativist's supposed insight, one must ask on what grounds it is exempted. I suppose it might relate to the fact that the relativist stands at the end of Hegelian history, but still, it smacks of inconsistency. Thank you for your time. Sincerely, Charles M. Lansing, MI

I think you raise one of the strongest objections possible to relativism, one so strong that it renders relativism impossible to formulate in that way (i.e., "All truths are relative"). But I do warn you that things get stickier as your get into relativistic theories. What makes them compelling? Here are a couple of general strategies that I've run across. 1. Negative Proof : Negatively, non-relativistic theories of truth seem, at least in the view of many, to have irresolveable problems of their own, arguably greater problems. So, if non-relativistic theories can't be right, some kind of relativism must be correct. 2. Positive Proof : Positively but indirectly, relativism seems (1) to answer serveral questions about the way the meaning of language and the designation "true" is determined and correlatively (2) it seems to be the consequence of investigations into matters concerning topics like whether a body of evidence can determine only one conclusion (answer: no), whether a word can...