ABSTRACT
One important aspect of the matter could be framed as follows: are the claims of reason universal? Or perhaps: in what degree are the claims of reason universal? This opens a door onto the question of relativism. Where we ask if the claims of reason are universal, we are likely enquiring whether we can rely upon reason, whether it is not more temptress than friend, and indeed whether there is really any such thing as truth. There is so much dispute among us about ‘truth’ and ‘justice’ that we seem forced to ask whether this-and, if the two are ultimately distinct, whether these-can ever be more than an illusion. Can we show that there is such a ‘thing’ as truth, or justice? And how can we possibly persist in thinking we might make such a demonstration-in the dank, vaporous mist of dispute that shrouds these matters?
