In the formulation of Kant, who wrote some of the most influential modern treatises on the subject, the great achievement of reason (German: Vernunft) is that it is able to exercise a kind of universal law-making.
Ifølge Kant, som skrev nogle af de mest indflydelsesrige moderne afhandlinger om emnet, var fornuftens store dåd at den er i stand til at udøve en form for universel lovgivning.