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Roger Wengert, a philosophy professor at the University of Illinois, often begins his introductory ethics classes by asking how many of the students believe that truth is relative. A show of hands usually reveals that two-thirds to three-fourths of the class thinks in this manner. After discussing the syllabus, testing dates, papers and content of the course, Wengert informs the class that they will be graded according to height. When the smart-alecky tall kid loudly agrees with this system, the professor adds, "Short students get A's; tall students flunk."
Inevitably a students' hand is raised: "Your grading system is not fair." "I am the professor," retorts Wengert. "I can grade however I wish." The student insists, "But what you ought to do is grade us according to how well we learn the material. You should look at our papers and exams to see how well we have understood the content of the course and grade us on that." The class nods in affirmation (especially the tall students).
Professor Wengert then replies, "By using words like should and ought, you betray your alleged conviction that truth is relative. If you were a true relativist, you would realize that there is no external standard to which my grading should conform. If my truth and my ethic lead me to an alternate grading system that you deem inappropriate, c'est la vie! I will grade however I wish."
The fact that modern education promotes and teaches that truth is relative is absurd. If relativism is defined as accepting and giving equal value to all views and options, than education has just cornered itself into ignorance. It has become the very thing it was fighting against. Why? Because it robs the very foundation of any kind of teaching and educating. By teaching all truth is relative and varying beliefs are all true they teach that there is no absolute truth. But that statement can only be established if it is absolutely true, which, for the relativist, can never be the case. So education has no foundation by which to educate anyone. If there is no absolute truth in education, than why listen and learn, why be motivated to grow? There is no reason, and no authority that can shed light on reason because authority means "higher than" and nothing relative can be "higher than". Education, without a foundation on truth, and an authority established by that truth is ignorance.
*story taken from Absolute Truth? by Mark Ashton
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