Moral Relativism and Einstein

SOURCE:  Saturday Evening Post, Nov/Dec 2015, p.98. "In Other Words," March 2021.

KEYWORDS:  Relativism, Right, Wrong, True, False, Truth, Einstein, Science, Scientist

Moral “relativity” is commonly accepted, but the concept is completely out of context.  Albert Einstein used “relativity” to explain advances in scientific understanding, but chaffed at the way his term was applied to philosophy and life.  

In a 1929 interview, 14 years after advancing his theory of relativity, Einstein said, “The meaning of relativity has been widely misunderstood.  Philosophers play with the word, like a child with a doll.”  He then talked about its specific application to the sphere of physics and mechanics and then declared, “It does not mean that everything in life is relative and that we have the right to turn the whole world mischievously topsy-turvy.”