Excerpt:
It's practically the refrain of modern life: "Everything's relative." The claim that nothing can be known for sure or in common--that truth is a construct or a fiction--is an idea that contributes to many of our contemporary discontents, from debates sparked by multiculturalism to disagreements over the state of the environment. It's also the idea behind the postmodern doctrines that now hold sway in many parts of the intellectual and academic worlds. Might it also be wrong? This special WQ debate takes that question as its starting point.