Are You a Moral Relativist? Take This Test to Find Out

With simple puzzles, experimental philosophy can tell if you view the world as an absolutist or lean toward relativism

Join Our Community of Science Lovers!

Philosophical leanings might seem impossible to pin town with exacting word problems. But recent work by Geoffrey Goodwin and John Darley shows that it might be possible to employ a simple mental puzzle to assess a person's perspective on moral questions. This quiz can help you find out whether someone is a relativist, who believes that no one single answer exists to a particular moral problem, or whether that person is an absolutist, who embraces only one "true" answer to these weighty conundrums.

This short word problem has proven remarkably successful in assessing people's tendency to look at multiple possibilities, an indication of a relativist moral sensibility. Try the test and see in which camp you belong.

The green blocks problem
There are five blocks in a stack. In this stack, the second block from the top is green, and the fourth is not green. Is a green block definitely on top of a non-green block?

On supporting science journalism

If you're enjoying this article, consider supporting our award-winning journalism by subscribing. By purchasing a subscription you are helping to ensure the future of impactful stories about the discoveries and ideas shaping our world today.

A) Yes
B) No
C) Cannot be determined

Continue to the next page to find the answer.

Relativist or absolutist?
Let's work through the possibilities. It may seem at first that the answer cannot be determined, but consider the possible colors of the third block. If it is green, there is a green block on top of a non-green block.

The other possibility is that it is non-green, but then there also has to be a green block on top of a non-green block.

So the correct answer is actually A. Participants who carefully go through all of the possibilities and arrive at this answer turn out to also be more likely to endorse a "relativist" view in which moral questions do not necessarily have a single objectively true answer. This result suggests that moral relativism might be especially appealing to people who have a tendency to vividly imagine alternative possibilities. Read more about experimental philosophy in Knobe's article in the November 2011 issue of Scientific American: "Thought Experiments."

It’s Time to Stand Up for Science

If you enjoyed this article, I’d like to ask for your support. Scientific American has served as an advocate for science and industry for 180 years, and right now may be the most critical moment in that two-century history.

I’ve been a Scientific American subscriber since I was 12 years old, and it helped shape the way I look at the world. SciAm always educates and delights me, and inspires a sense of awe for our vast, beautiful universe. I hope it does that for you, too.

If you subscribe to Scientific American, you help ensure that our coverage is centered on meaningful research and discovery; that we have the resources to report on the decisions that threaten labs across the U.S.; and that we support both budding and working scientists at a time when the value of science itself too often goes unrecognized.

In return, you get essential news, captivating podcasts, brilliant infographics, can't-miss newsletters, must-watch videos, challenging games, and the science world's best writing and reporting. You can even gift someone a subscription.

There has never been a more important time for us to stand up and show why science matters. I hope you’ll support us in that mission.

Thank you,

David M. Ewalt, Editor in Chief, Scientific American