Gairdner concluded that sloppy relativistic thinking was permeating society, so he wrote this book as a critique of relativism, and a defence of universals. With oh, oh, canada and the book of absolutes, gairdner now adds two more tomes to an already impressive opus. Gairdner, 97807735341, available at book depository with free delivery worldwide. He was awarded a silver medal in decathlon event at the 1963 pan american games in brazil gairdner attended appleby college in oakville, and is now. Hands down, this is the best book written in defense of absolutes. A critique of relativism and a defence of universals kindle edition by gairdner, william d download it once and read it on your kindle device, pc, phones or tablets.
The book of absolutes a critique of relativism and a defence of universals by william d. Consequently, this is not a typical math book in that it does not provide a stepbystep development of some branch of the subject nor does it stress the applicability of mathematics in determining planetary orbits. This book is brought to you for free and open access by byu scholarsarchive. Absolute value definition, the magnitude of a quantity, irrespective of sign. Young is a professor of renaissance literature and literary criticism at north carolina state university and editor of modern age there is one thing a professor can be. Geometrically, the absolute value represents absolute displacement from the origin or zero and is therefore always nonnegative. In the book of absolutes, gairdner trains his sights on the philosophy of relativism, the intellectual more accurately, antiintellectual matrix out of which many of the most odorous orthodoxies of the day have arisen. Online shopping from a great selection at books store. For many of the most important branches of mathematics. This text can be used in standard lecture or selfpaced classes. William kingdon clifford frs 4 may 1845 3 march 1879 was an english mathematician and philosopher. A critique of relativism and a defence of universals 9780773536197. A critique of relativism and a defence of universals by william d.
Not since allan bloom s the closing of the american mind has a book come along that furnishes so many insights into the morbid mentality of a civilization that has lost confidence in its certainties and itself, or that more clearly points the way up from despair. A critique of relativism and a defence of universals william d. Not since allan blooms the closing of the american mind has a book come along that furnishes so many insights into the morbid mentality of a civilization that has lost confidence in its certainties and itself, or that more clearly points the way up from despair. Ive been reading an amazing philosophy book called the book of absolutes by william gairdner, a guy described as a bestselling author, businessman, and independent scholar. Within this page, youll find an extensive list of math books that have sincerely earned the reputation that precedes them. William gairdner william gairdner has had a busy life as. William gairdner is a bestselling author, businessman, and independent scholar. The book of absolutes is probably gairdners most important work to date, not that this former olympic decathlete shows any signs of slowing down. In the words of political philosopher william gairdner, author of the book of absolutes, the great divide, and the trouble with canada, canada has just crossed the red line between softsocialism and softtotalitarianism. On the heels of this he published the trouble with. A critique of relativism and a defense of universals. William douglas bill gairdner born october 19, 1940 in oakville, ontario is a retired track and field athlete who represented canada in the mens 400 m hurdles and the mens decathlon at the 1964 summer olympics in tokyo, japan. Gairdner provides a potent weapon for the struggle against todays sophistical reductionism that threatens intellectual clarity and moral certainty. Gairdner refutes the popular belief in cultural relativism by showing that there are hundreds of wellestablished cross.
A critique of relativism and a defense of universals by william d. He then discusses the many universals found in physics as well as einsteins personal regret at. Therein is fascinating material on the universals of anthropology, physics, biology, language, morality, law, and much, much more. If you want to know whether theres an absolute morality, then first come up with an operational definition, then test every person in the world against it, and if you find an interpretation of morality that everyone agrees with, thats as close as you can get to absolute, since if i understand the definition of absolute correctly, theres really no such.
Richard feynman, american physicist, 1965 nobel prize in physics, the character of physical law, cited in william d. Im no bestselling author, but i fashion myself a businessman of some type, and i attempt to be an independent scholar. Gairdner table of contents ix introduction xi 1 a brief history of relativism 3 2 the main types of relativism 22 3 objections to. Absolute value, measure of the magnitude of a real number, complex number, or vector. The book of absolutes and millions of other books are available for amazon kindle. Discussions of relativism in the 19th century had two sources see gardiner 1981. This free editionis made available in the hope that it will be useful as a textbook. William gairdner has had a busy life as an athlete, an academic, a businessman, and latterly, as a successful author. Gairdner challenges this modern dogma demonstrating not only that relativism is logically selfdefeating, but that progress in scientific and intellectual disciplines has actually strengthened the case for absolutes, universals, and constants of nature and human nature.
Writing with wit and erudition, william gairdner goes to the heart of the defining spiritual malaise of our time, showing among much else that relativism and tyranny, far from being opposing forces, actually collude to undermine genuine freedom. The absolute value of a number is symbolized by two vertical lines, as 3 or. Challenging this position, william gairdner argues that relativism is not only logically and morally selfdefeating but that progress in scientific and intellectual disciplines has actually strengthened the case for absolutes, universals. A critique of relativism and a defense of universals, william d. To those who do not know mathematics, it is difficult to get across a real feeling as to the beauty, the deepest beauty, of nature.
Gairdner, ebook format, from the dymocks online bookstore. Gairdner refutes the popular belief in cultural relativism by showing that there are hundreds of wellestablished crosscultural human universals. His work is a careful and comprehensive restatement of the position propounded in the abolition of man, which takes into. Current dogma holds that all cultures and moral values are conditional, nothing human is innate, and einstein proved that the whole universe is relative. For critical readers of canadian intellectual history william gairdner is to the late. T6672003 515dc21 2002032369 free hyperlinkededition2. He then discusses the many universals found in physics as well as einsteins personal regret at how his work was misinterpreted by the publics eagerness to promote relativism. He was then the managing editor of canadas founding debates an historical landmark. Search the worlds most comprehensive index of fulltext books.
The book of absolutes is probably gairdner s most important work to date, not that this former olympic decathlete shows any signs of slowing down. The book of absolutes is sure to emerge as a modern classic of political and moral maturity. Articles by david solway american thinker journalist. Read the book of absolutes a critique of relativism and a defence of universals by william d.
The relativist disdain for intelligence request pdf researchgate. The operations of geometric algebra have the effect of mirroring, rotating, translating, and mapping the geometric. Challenging this position, william gairdner argues that relativism is not only. These materials enable personalized practice alongside the new illustrative mathematics 6th grade curriculum. Gairdner challenges this modern dogma demonstrating not only that relativism is logically selfdefeating, but that progress in scientific and intellectual disciplines has actually strengthened the case for absolutes, universals, and. A critique of relativism and a defence of universals. His most recent books are canadas founding debates and. The present book offers an analogous approach to mathematics, where the creative unit is not the novel or symphony, but the theorem. Use features like bookmarks, note taking and highlighting while reading the book of absolutes. Full text of life of sir william tennant gairdner k.
Enough good books are written about money, investing, and the economy to keep an avid reader busy for a lifetime, but among them, there are some true standouts. An approach to the book of abraham byu scholarsarchive. In quick succession, he produced a string of bestselling books, including the trouble with canada, and the war against the family. Current dogma holds that all cultures and moral values are condition. Countless math books are published each year, however only a tiny percentage of these titles are destined to become the kind of classics that are loved the world over by students and mathematicians. In the words of political philosopher william gairdner, author of the book of absolutes, the great divide and the trouble with canada, canada has just crossed the red line between softsocialism and softtotalitarianism. Free shipping and pickup in store on eligible orders. Whether you agree or not does not really matter, since this book will, at the very least, present a thorough case for absolutes in nature and morality. If a real number a is positive or zero, its absolute. Everyday low prices and free delivery on eligible orders. Building on the work of hermann grassmann, he introduced what is now termed geometric algebra, a special case of the clifford algebra named in his honour. Gairdner 9781594037641 from boomerang books, australias online independent bookstore. Book of absolutes, the mcgillqueens university press.
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