F 9/17 Nicholas Rescher, “The Primacy of our own Standards of Rationality”

Topic: Is it possible to conceive of people radically different from ourselves?

1. What is Rescher’s claim about our evaluation of our own standards of rationality in comparison to alternative standards, and how does it support universalism?

2. Although he is critical of the relativist claim that all standards of rationality are equivalent in value, Rescher is in agreement with relativism in a significant way. How?

3. How does Rescher respond to the objection that one’s own standards of rationality lack sufficient justification? Do you think he is successful?