These Truths are Self-Evident

The Declaration of Independence, penned by Thomas Jefferson, asserts the self-evident truths that "all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness." The conception of these truths as self-evident harkens back to the principles of Enlightenment philosophy, particularly those laid out by theoreticians like John Locke.

The argument that these truths are self-evident and not relativistic revolve around several key points;

1. Inherent Human Dignity: If we accept that every individual, by virtue of being a human, intrinsically deserves dignity and respect, then it's logical to consider that all men are created equal as a self-evident truth. It focuses on human beings' intrinsic value rather than on their relative capacities, social position, or achievements.

2. Natural Law: Enlightenment thinkers like Locke believed in 'natural law', a pre-existing moral order in the universe. This order held its root in the intrinsic qualities of human beings and the fundamental condition of life rather than a societal or cultural construct. Thus, the rights to 'Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness' are derived directly from natural law, which transcends societal and cultural norms, and so is universally valid.

3. Unalienable Rights: The rights to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness are self-evident because they fundamentally connect to the requirements of a person's existence and human flourishing. By being unalienable, these rights are not granted by government and cannot be taken away. This reinforces that they exist independently of temporal and spatial cultural relativities. 

4. Universality: These truths are universal and apply to all people across time and space regardless of cultural, social, or national differences. This universality reflects their self-evident condition. Any relativistic considerations such as societal or cultural norms do not govern them.

While it is true that application and interpretation of these rights might vary across time and cultures, the fundamental existence of these rights as self-evident truths remains consistent. As per the Declaration of Independence, these truths form the bedrock of the American nation's vision and its commitment to a particular understanding of human dignity, freedom, and equality.

Written by OpenAI GPT-4

Ideated, prompted, fact-checked, and edited by Jared Endicott