The Different Faces of Moral Relativism in Literature

by Shawn Hassen

In a few super short paragraphs, I want to highlight the different faces of moral relativism in literature. I want to cover these ideas separately from my previous articles on naturalism, feminism, and Marxism in order to differentiate this post and make it easy for readers to access it quickly by its own title.

Existentialism, Post-Christian Relativism, Nihilism, and New Spirituality are terms we need to briefly touch on in order for students to recognize the most significant indicators of these ideologies in both literature and culture. Existentialism and nihilism have a much longer history, but for our purposes in English class, highlighting the central ideas and common threads of these systems of thought will enrich our students’ understanding and discernment. So how do these ideologies interpret life’s origins, human value, human purpose, and human struggle?

Existentialism, Post-Christian Relativism, Nihilism

Existentialism is synonymous with atheism, so the beliefs about origins of the earth are those that secular scientists have posited (similar to naturalists, Marxists, and most feminists). Since there is no God or god-like figure—nor is there any unifying fabric to the universe—life is a temporal existence for humans to make of it what they will. Existentialists emphasize freedom to determine their own values, morals, and pleasures (hence the relationship often to materialism).

Post-Christian relativism is arguably the new name for an old existentialism. Holding personal freedom dear, just like historic existentialists, relativists emphasize the personal nature of values, morals, and truths. We commonly hear today, “My truth may not be your truth.” This is relativist thinking—values, morals, and truths are subjective, fluid, and dependent upon many factors. In keeping with their emphasis on personal freedom, existentialists/relativists view dogma as a significant contributor to life’s conflicts; therefore, the answer to reducing conflict and struggle in life is freedom from established morals and values. “I cannot and should not define truth for you; nor can you or should you define truth for me.”

Nihilism, with historic roots in existentialism, has sprouted a particularly pessimistic branch of modern relativism. Like existentialists and/or relativists, nihilists believe in the complete fluidity of morals and values, but instead of embracing personal freedom to carve meaning and purpose for oneself, nihilists see life as futile. Relativistic morals, social codes, and values not only lead to conflict, but they are ultimately meaningless and worthless as everyone hurtles toward death and the end of existence.  While post-Christianity is a fairly recent term, existentialism and nihilism have a more historic base, and certainly Ernest Hemingway is a solid example of a writer who vacillates between the two with many characters who, struggling to find meaning and purpose in life, console themselves with alcohol and sex.

New Spirituality

New spirituality is an umbrella term for many new age movements, but they are still solidly connected to relativism. The primary difference between new spirituality and existentialism is that it lacks the pure atheism component. New spiritualists may be pantheists, for instance, or envision a god-type figure(s). New spirituality may also present as a modern-day form of romanticism, humanism, or transcendentalism, where optimists believe in the triumph of the human spirit. They see humans as having the power to change themselves and achieve great heights through personal will. Dream it, be it. Or, follow your heart. Some of these ideas can be difficult for students to discern correctly. In American Lit class, for instance, we often study Ralph Waldo Emerson and Henry David Thorough, both of whom were transcendentalists. Students might read some of their works and assume that the references to God reflect a biblical worldview. By no means. Some transcendentalist ideas do parallel Scripture, but many more of their ideas—while pivotal to the historic pioneering American spirit—emphasize the inherent goodness of people, human perfectibility, and individualism (very unbiblical ideas).

In all of these systems, relativism is key, and everyone has personal choice of beliefs that they may define for themselves but not necessarily for others. Introducing students to these basic concepts and terms will provide them the tools for recognizing relativist worldviews in culture and much of the literature we will be studying.