Absolutely Relative

Absolutely Relative

 Everything we hear is an opinion, not a fact. Everything we see is a perspective, not the truth. Marcus Aurelius[1]

Long ago I was taught that absolute zero – the coldest possible temperature – was 0° Kelvin, which is about -273° Celsius or -460° Fahrenheit. Likewise, the fastest possible speed any object could travel was the speed of light, or roughly 186,000 miles/second. I wondered how anyone could make such statements with absolute certainty. My inclination is to say, “Within the limits of our current ability to determine…”, which would make for a relative instead of an absolute statement. Weather scientists relativize humidity by distinguishing between absolute humidity, which measures the total amount of moisture in the air, and relative humidity, which measures the percentage of moisture in the air relative to its holding capacity under current conditions. Being a skeptical person, I question anything labeled as absolute, except perhaps my absolute certainty that we cannot be absolutely certain about anything – which I also question.

The term absolute implies that something is unchanging and predictable regardless of the circumstances. When someone says the Bible is absolute truth, they convey their belief that God is unchanging and scripture is reliable (which assumes the words of the Bible are the actual, literal, and final words of God). Alternatively, the term relative conveys that degrees of stability and predictability appear to be present within a particular context, like relative humidity being contextual to the temperature. For some, only the pursuit of absolute truth is worthwhile. And yet, relative humidity is the more practical and accurate measure of comfort for us. Regardless, there is increasing distrust of anything short of absolute certainty, as if we are capable of recognizing absolute truth if it bit us in the (relative) backside.

Not that many centuries ago, the greatest minds considered a flat earth to be absolute truth. With advances in technology, most now believe the earth is round. The term flat-earther has become a derogatory label for stupidity, aimed at those with a mistrust of scientific evidence. Even for those who believe the earth is absolutely round, however, our relative experience of it is flat. From our daily perceptual experience, we do not notice the earth’s roundness. So what is absolute truth – the earth’s roundness, as observed with the aid of technology, or earth’s flatness, as experienced in one’s daily life? I argue that both are absolutely relative and truthful understandings of the nature of the earth, depending on the context of the observer. Which is a layman’s application of Albert Einstein’s Theory of Relativity, which states that the characteristics of whatever one observes are influenced and changed by the characteristics and situation of the observer. This makes the answer to any question about absolute truth, “It depends.” We see this blatantly on display in politics, where people observe the same situation but describe it and the appropriate actions to take in diametrically opposed ways.

Elsewhere in this series I have illustrated how our observations and understandings are always relative, given the limits of our physical and technical abilities to measure, receive, and process information. Most scientists admit that their findings are relative to the current evolution of their field of study and are subject to change. We know our eyes detect only a fraction of the light spectrum, as do our ears with the audio spectrum. Various innovations allow us to detect and utilize certain light and sound frequency ranges beyond our innate abilities to detect, like x-ray, infrared, and ultraviolet spectra, but infinite ranges of undetected frequencies remain. It is generally agreed that we utilize only a fraction of our mental capacity. Ninety percent or more of our behaviors are motivated by sources outside our conscious awareness. Many physicists theorize that 95% of the universe is made up of dark matter and dark energy, meaning they do not know what it is, except that it has measurable impacts on the known parts of the universe. How arrogant of us to claim an absolute grasp of anything with such limited abilities.

We live a mysterious life, and demanding absolutes will not bring the certainty we demand. Absolutism mocks our proclamations of certainty. Much, by design, is veiled from us. Regardless, we continue to draw sharp distinctions between what we consider subjective and objective, factual and allegorical, permanent and impermanent, or historical and mythical. We discard open-ended explorations for the false certainty of quick, pithy, black-and-white answers. Our quest for absolute truth, certainty, and knowledge leads to a downward spiral of exclusionary thinking because we must shrink our world-view to ridiculous proportions to comply with the artificially restrictive parameters we set. It is a way of molding God into our image. The absolute nature of the universe is dynamic, evolving, and ever-changing. Our quest for absolutes will always lead us deeper into uncertainty, as it must. As limited beings imprisoned in a 3-dimensional time and space perspective, our most profound understandings are and always will be absolutely relative.

This is the 35^th in a series of Life Notes on Time and Eternity. The opinions expressed are mine. To engage with me or to explore contemplative spiritual direction, contact me at ghildenbrand@sunflower.com.

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[1] https://www.azquotes.com/quote/13029?ref=truth, accessed January 9, 2024.