The Book of Absolutes: A Critique of Relativism and a Defence of Universals

by William D. Gairdner

Overview

A lively challenge to postmodern opinion that reveals satisfying and reliable certainties.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780773578326
Publisher:	McGill-Queens University Press
Publication date:	08/21/2008
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	416
File size:	3 MB

About the Author

William D. Gairdner is a best-selling author, businessman, and independent scholar . His most recent books are Canada's Founding Debates and The Trouble with Democracy.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments ix Introduction xi
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 335 Index 381