Grappling With The Gray

Introduction

Seven Principles for Reclaiming Rationalism in An Age of Acrimony

Everyone is entitled to his own opinion, but not his own facts.

—Daniel Patrick Moynihan

I. The Steep Road Ahead

• How do members of a pluralistic, largely secular culture reach consensus on common values?

• What happens to the foundation on which civil society endures when universal truths cease to be self-evident?

• How can we the people, as ideologically diverse as we have become, articulate any ethical imperative for accepting a social contract defined not by laws but by collective ideals?

• How does it make sense to invoke a moral compass that may point in different directions for different groups and individuals?

Before attempting to answer those questions, we ...