“The Mirror Test”: A Way to Assess Philosophies?

Is “The Mirror Test” a new tool by which to evaluate philosophies?

Relativism is romanticized in many corners these days. It has mutated into several unique strains, each of which condemns claims of objective truth with respect to a particular domain. Cultural relativists argue that there is no criterion by which we may judge cultural practices. Epistemological relativists (also called subjectivists, to whom we shall return) argue that there is no method by which we may distinguish truth from falsehood. And so on.

The allure of these doctrines is understandable. On the face of it, claims of objective truth, or aesthetic judgment, or moral superiority, seem arrogant, especially in light of the overflowing dustbin of errors that burdens history. Thought leaders of yesteryear had declared certain races inferior. Others had invoked angels to explain the motion of celestial bodies. Many had ostracized iconoclasts whose ideas we now take for granted. Looking back with our contemporary perspective, we recoil at our ancestors’ mistakes. So when proponents of relativism declare the inevitability of errors in purportedly objective claims, they have a point. But diagnosis is not the same as prognosis. By asserting that there is no such thing as objectivity, relativists drive straight off a philosophical cliff.

But it’s not obvious why. After all, can we not avoid errors entirely by declaring all truth claims to be on par with one another? Wouldn’t this cease those humiliating and often violent mistakes of the past?

We can’t, and it wouldn’t.