Daniel Meyer-Dinkgrafe, University of Wales, Aberystywth
(Cultural) relativism suggests that there cannot be anything universal: everything is necessarily culture-specific, especially anything expressed through or in language. In the paper I want to present an argument for universality, claiming that universality is precisely beyond culture, beyond language. We have to look for, and we can 'locate' a universal field, variously called samadhi, or pure consciousness in Vedanta philosophy and western consciousness studies respectively, including empirical approaches. I conclude, with reference to a number of contemporary dramatists, including Athol Fugard, Peter Shaffer, Christopher Hampton and David Mamet, by identifying this universal field of consciousness as both the source of creative inspiration, and ultimately the goal of artistic creation. [D.M-D.]