Universalize

Universalize is a verb meaning to make universal or to apply universally; to generalize from particular instances; or to convert a proposition, rule, or practice so that it applies to everyone or all situations. The noun form is universalization (British English: universalisation). The adjective form is universalizable.

Etymology: from Latin universalis “of the whole” related to universus “whole, entire.”

In policy, law, and ethics, to universalize means to extend rights, resources, or rules to all members of a group or society, for example, universal healthcare or universal education; in everyday language it can mean applying a rule to everyone in a given setting.

In philosophy and logic, universalization has specific senses: in ethics, the principle of universalizability, advanced by Immanuel Kant, holds that a proposed action is morally acceptable only if the rule governing it could be willed as a universal law; in logic, universalization refers to using universal quantification, as in statements of the form “for all x.”

Critique: universalization can risk suppressing cultural variation or local particularities; debates center on what can or should be universal and how to translate universal principles into workable policy across diverse contexts.

See also: universality, universalism, universal quantification, generalization.