Editorial August 28, 1965 Issue

The Rebellion Against Absolutes

William Milford Correll

In the contemporary thinking on many college campuses, there is a rebellion against anything that smacks of absolutism. That is, to the majority of students there are no absolutes. This rebellion has resulted in a drifting or an unanchored feeling among some students and has subjected them to many currents of thought such as nihilism and existentialism. It has challenged their former standards of thought and morals and has made them question the existence and nature of God.

This trend is due to the breakdown of many accepted postulates in the realm of human thought and conduct and the political instability of the times. There has been an overturning. Many students, either through material observation or through instruction have leaned toward skepticism. In general, they have come to the conclusion that nothing is absolute but that all is relative.

We can see why this may result in a challenge to morality; if all is relative, then one may be governed by whatever is the modern trend of thought, the convenient, or whatever seems appropriate.

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