The principle that evidence operates in two modes: absolute evidence (facts that are evidence regardless of perspective, context, or interpretation) and relative evidence (facts that serve as evidence only within particular frameworks, for particular purposes, to particular audiences). The law acknowledges that some evidence is universally compelling—a video of a crime, a DNA match, a document with a signature. Other evidence is context-dependent—statistics that prove one point to one audience and the opposite to another, testimony that's credible in one culture and suspect in another. The law of absolute and relative evidence reconciles the intuition that evidence should be objective with the reality that its force depends on who's judging. Good arguments use both kinds, building on undeniable facts while understanding that interpretation is always relative.
Example: "They argued about whether the data was evidence of climate change. Absolute evidence: the temperature readings were real, measurable, undeniable. Relative evidence: whether those readings proved catastrophic warming depended on models, interpretations, and assumptions. The law of absolute and relative evidence said: the data was absolute; its meaning was relative. They stopped arguing about the data and started arguing about interpretation."
by Abzugal Nammugal Enkigal February 16, 2026
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