Joseph Raz is one of the world's leading philosophers of law, and in his Seeley Lectures he reflects critically on one of the central tenets of ethical thought, the view that values are universal. How can the latter be so, when evaluative properties are historically or socially dependent? Professor Raz concludes that we should try to understand what is and what is not entailed by the universality of values, with such a proper understanding central to the future hopes of mankind, rather than abandoning the belief altogether. This is a concise, pithy and attractively humane account of some fundamental questions of social existence, enlivened by examples drawn from a wide range of sources, including The Little Prince of Saint-Exupery. It will appeal to students and practitioners of law, philosophy and politics.
