Includes bibliographical references and index.

A brief history of relativism -- The main types of relativism -- Objections to relativism -- The universals of human life and culture -- The constants of nature -- The war over biology: setting the stage -- Hardwired: the universal of human biology, sex, and brain sex -- Universals of law: the natural law and the moral law -- The natural law and the moral law at work in the world -- How language theory changed the (post) modern world -- German philosophy and the relativist revolt against Western civilization -- The sacred text: the French Nietzsche and the French Heidegger -- Po-mo and the return to absolutes -- The universals of language -- A postscript, with a word about universals of literature, myth, and symbol -- Appendix: some universals and constants of nature and human nature.

Electronic reproduction. Palo Alto, Calif. : ebrary, 2013. Available via World Wide Web. Access may be limited to ebrary affiliated libraries.