Relativist fallacy

{{logicnav}}{{cquote|'''O{{'}}Reilly:''' I'm sticking with [[Judeo-Christian]] [[philosophy]] and my [[religion]] of [[Roman Catholicism]], because it helps me as a person.<br />'''Dawkins:''' Ah, that's different. If it helps you, that's great. That doesn't mean it's true.<br />'''O{{'}}Reilly:''' Well, it's true for me. You see, I believe —<br />'''Dawkins:''' You mean true for you is different from true for anybody else?|||[[Bill O'Reilly]] interviews [[Richard Dawkins]]<ref>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2FARDDcdFaQ</ref>}}
The '''relativist fallacy''' (or '''subjectivist fallacy''') is a [[logical fallacy]] that occurs when it is asserted that some fact may be true for some people but not true for others.

Epistemic relativism, [[moral relativism]], or [[cultural relativism]] are not necessarily relativistic fallacies. Relativistic fallacies only occur when someone uses a mid-argument, [[ad hoc]] switch to a relativistic view of [[truth]] in order to defend some position, which they had previously asserted was objective. It is commonly used to defend beliefs that are based on subjective experiences (such as the efficacy of [[prayer]] or [[homeopathy]]).

The fallacy is an [[informal fallacy]].

==Form==
At heart, the relativist fallacy adopts a purely subjective view of truth, in that only what someone thinks is true can be said to be true, and it is impossible to prove otherwise (i.e., is [[unfalsifiable]]). This leads to the [[syllogism]]:
{{syl
|2=Person '''A''' rejects '''X'''.
|4=([[enthymeme|unstated]]) If anyone [[Fallacy of opposition|rejects a viewpoint]], then they are justified in doing so.
|5=C|6=Person '''A''' is justified in rejecting '''X'''.
}}

Or in conversation:
{{ab
|1='''X''' is true.
|2='''X''' may be true for others, but it is not true for me.
|3=*facepalm*
}}

==Explanation==
If someone said that "the world is round", and someone else said that "that might be true for you, but [[Flat Earth|not for me]]", then the second person would appear to be living on a different world than the rest of the [[human]] race (perhaps literally). The second person appears to be ignoring all evidence for a round world, and thus holding a fallacious position.

More commonly, this tactic is used to defend beliefs when someone realizes that there is a critical problem with their position, but doesn't want to recognize it.

==Demarcation==
When people say "X is true for me", they often truly mean "X is true about me". For example: if Ann, a 4-foot-tall [[dwarf]] miner, weighs 200 pounds, she is overweight. If Bob, an 8-foot-tall ogre lord, weighs the same, then he is underweight. Because these facts are subjective, it is not fallacious to consider them as such.

==See also==
*[[Not even wrong]]
*[[Wronger than wrong]]

==External links==
*[http://www.nizkor.org/features/fallacies/relativist-fallacy.html Relativist Fallacy], [[Nizkor Project]]
*[http://www.iep.utm.edu/fallacy/#Subjectivist Subjectivist], IEP
*[http://wiki.ironchariots.org/index.php?title=That_might_be_true_for_you,_but_it%27s_not_true_for_me That might be true for you, but it's not true for me], [[Iron Chariots]]
*[http://personal.bellevuecollege.edu/wpayne/why_you_might_not_want_to_say.htm That might be true for you, but it's not true for me], W. Russ Payne

==References==
{{reflist|1|80%}}

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[[Category:Informal fallacies]]

Categories: Informal fallacies