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

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 by 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 then looks at universal concepts of both natural and international law, and ends by discussing language theory. He 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'. From ethics to Einstein, culture to biology, law to language, "The Book of Absolutes" makes complex topics accessible to a broad audience and demonstrates that there are plenty of certainties, even in our postmodern world.

Politics & Social Sciences

Gairdner, William D.

Philosophy

Carleton University Press

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 by 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 then looks at universal concepts of both natural and international law, and ends by discussing language theory. He 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'. From ethics to Einstein, culture to biology, law to language, "The Book of Absolutes" makes complex topics accessible to a broad audience and demonstrates that there are plenty of certainties, even in our postmodern world.

McGill-Queen's University Press

The Trouble With Canada

History

Americas

General Pub Co Ltd

Hardcover Collectible Title Autographed by Author

The trouble with Canada

Anthropology

Stoddart

A parent speaks out on the political, economic, and social policies that threaten us all

War Against the Family: A Parent Speaks Out

Social Sciences

On Higher Ground: Reclaiming a Civil Society

Stoddart Pub.

The Trouble with Democracy shows that the ancient as well as American and Canadian democracies were established on practical social and political grounds vastly different from the strange modern dream of a democracy of autonomous individuals that is now venerated everywhere. Gairdner explains clearly how, in this time of heretofore unimagined wealth and the tax harvesting that it makes possible, warring utopian impulses from deep within our history have combined to produce a form of "hyperdemocracy" never before imagined in all of human history. The result is a comfortable illusion of increased personal freedom that camouflages the reality of pervasive state control in every aspect of modern life. We now live, says Gairdner, under a regime of "libertarian socialism" in which citizens imagine they have all the rights and their governments all the duties. This masterpiece of vigorous, compelling, even prophetic writing represents an exciting turning point in social thought. It challenges citizens to reconsider standard interpretations of democracy and to think much more deeply about the nature, subtlety, and complexity of our actual situation, all the while offering a new and refreshing understanding of the proper nature of a free and civil society. William D. Gairdner, Ph.D., is a former Olympic athlete and professor of English, and the bestselling author of seven books, including The Trouble with Canada and The War Against the Family. Most recently he was the managing editor of Canada's Founding Debates.

The Trouble With Democracy: A Citizen Speaks Out

Politics & Government

The War Against the Family: A Parent Speaks Out

Constitutional crack-up: Canada and the coming showdown with Quebec

Widely recognized as the most powerful and complete critique of the war against the family presently taking place in Western democracies "(Gairdner is) the voice of the silent majority ." -- Edmonton Journal Inspired by his own passionate experience as a son, husband, and father, Gairdner offers in this book a forum for a long-overdue debate about the future of the family in Western civilization. Gairdner traces the war against the family to an egalitarian ideology that begins with Plato and survives today as a utopian liberalism that has become a caricature of itself, everywhere promoting the equality and rights of individuals, but ignoring their duties and obligations. Driven by its devotion to egalitarianism and the promise of what can only be a morally and socially irresponsible form of "freedom," the modern state effectively weakens all of society, of which the traditional the family unit is the most important element. So constituted, the modern democratic state is driven to target the family unit as a bastion of privacy, privilege, and moral authority at odds with the state's own secular and egalitarian motives. Hence, the war against the family. All those who are concerned about the direction of modern life and the country they are leaving for future generations are sure to benefit from this cri de coeur written by a man of deep experience and searing insight. William D. Gairdner, Ph.D., is a former Olympic athlete and professor of English, and the bestselling author of seven books, including The Trouble with Canada and The Trouble with Democracy. Most recently he was the managing editor of Canada's Founding Debates.

The War Against the Family: A Parent Speaks Out on the Political, Economic, and Social Policies That Threaten Us All

Sociology

BPS Books

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