According to the modernist view of truth, there is a set of indubitable truths universally accessible by the reason of any human being which can provide the foundation for certain knowledge. Upon this foundation, we can then build our other beliefs, secure in the knowledge that our beliefs are certain and reasonable. In this way, faith in authority and tradition can be replaced by a universal Reason.
Postmodernists challenge this foundationalist understanding of truth. They point out that there simply is no such set of indubitable, universally accessible truths. There is no universal Reason that can give us a completely objective perspective on reality. Rather, we are always viewing reality from a subjective viewpoint. We are always operating based on assumptions that are accepted by faith. All “facts” which we believe have already been placed within an interpretive framework. There is no neutral, abstract, universal Reason.
This postmodernist critique of foundationalism demands that we abandon modernism’s naive realism in favor of a critical realism. Human reason does not give us direct access to objective knowledge of reality as it is in and of itself. We do have knowledge of reality, but it is imperfect, mediated through our subjective perceptions of reality, and the theories which we use to make sense of these perceptions. As we seek to understand the truth about reality, we cannot view reality from a standpoint of neutral Reason, but only from particular perspectives, theories, and worldviews. This does not mean that truth is merely subjective, however, since it is possible for us to become convinced that another theory or worldview has greater explanatory power than our current perspective, and to undergo a paradigm shift, changing our perspective to that of this other theory or worldview. By doing so, we can arrive at a more truthful understanding of reality, even as our understanding will always be to some extent imperfect.
Postmodern relativism, however, goes a step farther. It claims that we have no access to objective reality at all. According to postmodern relativism, there is no truth “out there” for us to discover. Rather, “truth” is relative to the perspective of the person making the truth claim. Each person, then, can have their own “truth.”
Along with this rejection of a realist understanding of truth, there is frequently an assertion that truth claims are nothing but an attempt to control or to gain power over others. If discussions about truth cannot serve the function of having our beliefs better correspond to objective truth, then they must serve some other, social function. According to many postmodern relativists, that function is to try to manipulate others by asserting our subjective “truth” over against their subjective “truth.” Truth claims, then, are nothing but expressions of the will to power.
The problem with this postmodern relativist understanding of truth is that it is self-referentially incoherent. Relativism’s claim about the nature of truth is itself a truth claim. If truth is merely subjective and relative, then all claims about relativism being the correct understanding of the nature of truth must themselves be merely subjective and relative. But if they are merely subjective and relative, if they do not tell us anything about actual reality, then there can be no reason for anyone to accept them as true. Similarly, if all truth claims are nothing but expressions of the will to power, then relativism’s claim about the nature of truth must itself be nothing but an expression of the will to power. But if it is merely an expression of the will to power, an attempt to control and to gain power over others, then, again, there can be no reason for anyone to accept it as true.
Despite the clear incoherence of postmodern relativism, it is quite alive and well in our society today. It is very common for people to claim that truth is relative and that there is no absolute truth. People will even speak of “your truth” and “my truth.”
Now, one might assume that this postmodern relativist understanding of truth would lead to greater tolerance and intellectual humility. However, nothing could be further from the truth. Instead, freed from the need to justify their truth claims as actually being objectively true, relativists feel justified in being as intolerant as they want towards anyone who disagrees with them.
The relativist assertion that truth claims are merely expressions of the will to power presents itself as a virtuous attempt to unmask the truth claims of the powerful as merely attempts to maintain control over the oppressed. However, what it actually reveals is the relativists’ own attitude towards truth and power. Having abandoned any attempt to actually discover the truth about reality, their own truth claims have become nothing but an attempt to control and dominate others.
One can see this play out very clearly in the political realm, where the Constitution is blatantly “interpreted” to mean things that the original authors could not possibly have meant. This “interpretation” is then imposed by force by the government on the entire nation. If truth is relative, then a text (such as the Constitution) can have no objective meaning, so this makes perfect sense. But it is an enormous threat to our freedom, since, if the Constitution means whatever those in power want it to mean, then there is no limit on what those in positions of government power can do.
Postmodern relativists frequently attempt to destroy traditional moral or social norms they personally dislike by claiming that they are merely social constructs, even when this is quite obviously not true (e.g., the biological difference between men and women). But since they have abandoned making truth claims about objective reality, this means that all of their own moral values must be merely social constructs as well. Relativism is thus inherently morally and socially destructive. Relativists selectively “deconstruct” norms which they dislike, but, since they cannot offer any objective moral truths to take their place, there is nothing to prevent this deconstruction from eventually undermining any and all moral and social norms.
Postmodern relativism effectively abandons the pursuit of truth (in any meaningful sense) in favor of a naked power struggle. This is a degrading view of society, of morality, and of humanity. While postmodern relativism is right to reject modernist foundationalism, it is wrong to reject the pursuit of truth about objective reality. We must turn away from relativism and towards a critical realist understanding of truth, which balances a recognition of human subjectivity with a commitment to the genuine pursuit of truth. For it is only if we are engaged in a joint effort to pursue a truth independent of ourselves that humility and genuine tolerance can be sustained. This is the only way to preserve genuine freedom and civility in our society.