 Each of the positions below is usually combined with an assumption about pluralism or reasonable disagreement over a wide range of moral, ethical, and other philosophical matters. That is, virtually all proponents of public reason assume that there is deep and intractable disagreement amongst some people, and this disagreement is not simply the result of irrationality, prejudice, or self-interest, but rather arises as a result of the normal functioning of human reasoning under reasonably favorable conditions. This assumption about pluralism or disagreement is an essential part of the rationale for public reason since without it, it is difficult to understand why our moral or political principles ought to be justifiable or acceptable to others, as opposed to simply true or correct. The most influential conception of such pluralism or disagreement is Rawls’s account of the burdens of judgment and the subsequent fact of reasonable pluralism (Rawls 1996, 36–37, 55–57), though this account is controversial, and has been subject to extensive criticism (e.g. Galston 2002, 46–47; Gaus 1996, 131–136; Wenar 1995, 41–48).