I recently got into an argument with someone about truth because I believe that truth is absolute whereas they think that truth is relative. So what is the truth? By me saying that truth is absolute and them saying truth is relative I really began to formulate a well-constructed argument in order to discount the belief that truth is relative.
First off, the very statement that truth is relative is an absolute statement, so that would mean that by the truth being relative you think that that is the absolute truth. Who determines that the "truth" is that truth is relative? See? It makes no sense. You are trying to discount absolute truth by saying that it is absolutely true that truth is relative.
Second. Science and facts. You are discounting science by saying truth is relative. Take a baby's heartbeat for example. A baby's heart starts beating 3-5 weeks after fertilization. It is a fact. Just because you consider the baby living or you do not; that does not change the fact that the baby's heart is beating. Facts are not relative. Facts are truth. You cannot argue with fact. I mean, you can but it's not very logical.
Third. Beliefs and perspective. I think often time people confuse/interchange truth with perspective. There can be multiple perspectives, but at the end of the day, there is only one truth. Take religion for example. There are many perspectives for who God is, how you get to "heaven," who goes to "hell," if there is even a heaven or hell, or a God at all. If you believe there is a God or you believe there is not that does not change the fact of whether there is or is not a God. It does not make sense to say that truth is relative because these "truths" contradict each other. They cannot both be the truth because one blatantly states that the other is wrong. Your beliefs and your perspectives do not change what is or is not.
Think about this hypothetical situation. Someone is murdered in an alleyway. Someone is dead, but the right suspect swears in court that he did not kill the guy. There are no eyewitnesses and the victim is obviously dead, so does the only person at the scene determine the truth? The truth is that the suspect killed the victim. Without absolute truth there are no lies, no such thing as a pathological liar because if it is true for them then how can you say that it is not true at all. That is the problem with relative truth. If nothing is absolute, then there is no justice. No one is ever doing anything wrong because they might just be abiding by their truth. And if you believe in relative truth then how can you say that my belief in absolute truth is false because that is an absolute truth to you and then we are back to the very beginning of this argument.
You might not like the fact that truth is absolute, but truth cannot be relative because that in and of itself is absolute.
And finally, I want to talk about opinions for a second. OPINIONS ARE NOT TRUTH. People often use the word "truth" when expressing opinions. Opinions are relative. Your opinion is just that: your opinion. Such as, someone might say "blue is the best color," this is an opinion statement. Not a truth claim. They cannot prove that blue is the best color and that changes from person to person. Everyone has different favorite colors, political views, and ways of doing things. This is a difference of opinion, not truth. It is true that we are all different. Opinions are relative. Truth is absolute.
