Lecture 4 -Relativism

Can You Have Ethics Without God?

Relativism is rampant in western culture. About two-thirds of people in the USA believe that there are no absolutes. About half of “born again” believers agree and only one-tenth of those under 20 years old believe in absolutes. This lecture makes the case against relativism, drawing on some of the leaders of the opposition; Sartre, Wittgenstein, Russell, Derrida, and Rorty, who do a great service by showing us the logical conclusion of their views. There is also a critique of the attempt to create an ethic without God by Kant, John Rawls, and others.