"Nothing is Absolute" - Or is it?
(Under Construction)
The statement "nothing is absolute," a favorite battle cry of moral relativists and 60's university professors, is known to philosophers and logicians as an example of a self-referential fallacy(1). That is, when the statement is applied to itself, it is found to be self-contradictory. The statement is illogical and therefore not true.
We can examine this by attempting to apply the logic inherent in the statement to itself:
1. Nothing is absolute. (Note that "nothing" is itself an absolute term, allowing no exceptions.)
2. If nothing is absolute, therefore this statement (that nothing is absolute) is not absolute.
3. If this statement is not absolute, that means there must be an exception (or exceptions) to it.
4. An exception to the rule "nothing is absolute" would be something that is an absolute.
5. But if an absolute did exist (and the rule "nothing is absolute" is an absolute rule) then the statement is untrue.
6. At this point the logic breaks down; either the statement "nothing is absolute" is absolute or it is not absolute. If one claims it is absolute, then it contradicts itself; if one acknowledges it is not absolute, then exceptions exist (which means there are absolutes); either way:
7. Therefore: an absolute, or absolutes, do exist.
Other statements reflecting the same fallacy:
(These are just
restatements of the "nothing is absolute" claim; each is
self-contradictory)
A. "Everything is relative."
B. "There are no absolutes."
C. "There is an exception to everything."
FOOTNOTE
1. "Fallacy (self-referential fallacy) A form of reasoning that violates a rule of valid argumentation. The self-referential fallacy is a special type of invalid reasoning, in which the principle that is asserted is wrong if applied to itself. (i.e. the statement "There are no absolutes" is itself an absolute statement, and thus commits the self-referential fallacy)." William A. Dembski, "The Fallacy of Contextualism, Part 2," Bible-Science News 32:1, p. 19.
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