 Accordingly, there must be a system of absolute values from which the validity of judgments in epistemology, aesthetics, and ethic derives. Critical philosophy, then, is nothing other than the “science of necessary and universal values” (1882b: 26) that explicates this system and thus reveals the grounds of normative appraisal and valid judgment. Note that for Windelband, normativity and validity are closely linked, if not identical. Absolute values endow our judgments with a normative demand. Our judgments are valid if and only if they raise a normative demand, that is if they ought to be accepted universally and necessarily.