Taking stock : The data reported above is inconsistent with relativist predictions concerning retraction in the target scenarios ( the Yes / No cases ) . What is more , even in cases where a claim is , and was , uncontroversially false ( the No / No cases ) , people do not think that speakers are required to take back their claims when prompted to do so . Assertion is not subject to a retraction norm and the extensive machinery the relativist builds atop the alleged norm is devoid of any empirical foundation . 25