For demonstrating anything which involves a matter of degree, the point is communicated most effectively by highlighting examples which are at an extreme end of the spectrum. It is true that something being a “crime” is arguably 100% socially determined and 0% “objectively” determined, but that doesn’t make it a bad example. It just demonstrates the extreme end of the spectrum, in the same way that a concept from say physics demonstrates the opposite end of the spectrum, where it’s arguably close to 100% objective whether something really has a mass of 23 kilograms or not.
The relevant question is where “lying” falls on that spectrum. To me it feels like it’s somewhere in between—neither entirely socially determined, nor entirely a fact of the matter.
For demonstrating anything which involves a matter of degree, the point is communicated most effectively by highlighting examples which are at an extreme end of the spectrum. It is true that something being a “crime” is arguably 100% socially determined and 0% “objectively” determined, but that doesn’t make it a bad example. It just demonstrates the extreme end of the spectrum, in the same way that a concept from say physics demonstrates the opposite end of the spectrum, where it’s arguably close to 100% objective whether something really has a mass of 23 kilograms or not.
The relevant question is where “lying” falls on that spectrum. To me it feels like it’s somewhere in between—neither entirely socially determined, nor entirely a fact of the matter.