The book of absolutes : a critique of relativism and a defence of universals / William D. Gairdner.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Gairdner, William D. (William Douglas), 1940-

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Cultural relativism.

Universals (Philosophy).

Physical Description:

xvi, 398 pages ; 24 cm

Place of Publication:

Montreal : McGill-Queen's University Press, [2008]

Summary:

Current dogma holds that all cultures and moral values are conditional, nothing human is innate, and Einstein proved that the whole universe is relative. Challenging this position, William Gairdner argues that relativism is not only logically and morally self-defeating but that progress in scientific and intellectual disciplines has actually strengthened the case for absolutes, universals, and constants of nature and human nature.

Gairdner refutes the popular belief in cultural relativism by showing that there are hundreds of well-established cross-cultural human universals. He then discusses the many universals found in physics - as well as Einstein's personal regret at how his work was misinterpreted in the public's eagerness to promote relativism. Gairdner also gives a lively account of the many universals of human biology, including the controversial topic of universal gender differences or "brain sex." He looks at universal concepts of both natural and international law, and ends by discussing language theory. Gairdner shows how philosophers from Nietzsche to Derrida have misused linguistic concepts to justify their relativism, even though a sustained and successful effort by serious scientists and philosophers of language has revealed myriad universals of human language, ranging from language acquisition, to word-order, to Universal Grammar.

Contents:

1 A Brief History of Relativism 3

2 The Main Types of Relativism 22

3 Objections to Relativism 31

4 The Universals of Human Life and Culture 44

5 The Constants of Nature 69

6 The War over Biology: Setting the Stage 105

7 Hardwired: The Universals of Human Biology, Sex, and Brain Sex 120

8 Universals of Law: The Natural Law and the Moral Law 163

9 The Natural Law and the Moral Law at Work in the World 194

10 How Language Theory Changed the (Post) Modern World 217

11 German Philosophy and the Relativist Revolt against Western Civilization 236

12 The Sacred Text: The French Nietzsche and the French Heidegger 249

13 Po-Mo and the Return to Absolutes 266

14 The Universals of Language 278

15 A Postscript, with a Word about the Universals of Literature, Myth, and Symbol 300

Appendix Some Universals and Constants of Nature and Human Nature 309.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN:

9780773534131

077353413X

OCLC:

213525885