writing 2 philosphy
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Arizona State University *
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Philosophy
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Apr 3, 2024
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docx
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Uploaded by KidAtom12099
Kayla Simons
30 April 2022
Short Writing Assignment
Question 2
Pl
ato Against Absolute Relativism
Absolute relativism is the idea that the truth about something depends on what a person or culture believes. Everything is relative and all claims are true to some people but not true relative
to other people. Protagorous was a sophist who claimed that man is the measure of all things and whatever a person believes is what forms them (Stanford). Plato was against absolute relativism. He argues that it is based on wisdom and expertise. Wisdom, in the eyes of Plato, has two premises. One being that there are topics that some people have wisdom and others are ignorant, premise two is if it is possible to have wisdom and ignorance about a topic, then there must be some truth beyond opinion. The conclusion that he makes is that there are topics where not everything a person believes is true, some are true and others are false. The second argument that Plato has is reductio ad absurdum. This argument says that if x is true then y is true (premise 1) but y or y together with x is absurd (premise two). So therefore x must be true (conclusion). He also says that if absolute relativism is true, then the belief that absolute relativism is false is a true belief for anyone who has it (premise 1), and it is absurd for absolute relativism to be true when the belief that absolute relativism is false if a true belief for anyone who has it (premise 2). So we can conclude that absolute relativism is false. He says that anyone who accepts absolute relativism must admit that those who regret absolute relativism are equally correct. I think that everyone has their own beliefs, whether that be cultural or individual beliefs. My beliefs are different from yours, and yours differ from the next. Everyone has their own moral or immoral beliefs. One example I can think of is religion. There are people who believe
in God, Buddha, Allah, and so on. Each of these religions have their own beliefs that differ from each other. I think that Plato’s ideas should be rejected. He wants people to think that some things are true while others are false. But I think that it becomes different for all subjects. Just because one person thinks something is true doesn’t mean someone else has to but that doesn’t mean it isn't relative to that person. Another example I think about is abortion. I believe that abortion is a womans choice. I am pro-choice, but many people are pro-life. Unfortunately, that can be true for any subject. Everyone's free to have their own thoughts and values.
Work Cited
Bonazzi, M. (2020, September 8). Protagoras
. Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy.
Retrieved April 30, 2022, from https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/protagoras/
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