Universality (philosophy)

In philosophy, universality or absolutism is the idea that universal facts exist and can be progressively discovered, as opposed to relativism, which asserts that all facts are relative to one's perspective. Absolutism and relativism have been explored at length in contemporary analytic philosophy.

Also see Kantian and Platonist notions of "universal", which are considered by most philosophers to be separate notions.

Universality in ethics
When used in the context of ethics, the meaning of universal refers to that which is true for "all similarly situated individuals". Rights, for example in natural rights, or in the 1789 Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen, for those heavily influenced by the philosophy of the Enlightenment and its conception of a human nature, could be considered universal. The 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights is inspired by such principles.

Universal moralities contrast with moral relativisms, which seek to account for differing ethical positions between people and cultural norms.

Universality about truth
In logic, or the consideration of valid arguments, a proposition is said to have universality if it can be conceived as being true in all possible contexts without creating a contradiction. A universalist conception of truth accepts one or more universals, whereas a relativist conception of truth denies the existence of some or all universals.

Universals in metaphysics
In metaphysics, a universal is a proposed type, property, or relation which can be instantiated by many different particulars. While universals are related to the concept of universality, the concept is importantly distinct; see the main page on universals for a full treatment of the topic.