Nicholson's political philosophy is distinctively grounded in history. The Play of Reason: From the Modern to the Postmodern argues that such “grounding” phys as much of the foundational role demanded of philosophy as can coherently be played by anything—and that such a foundation is, pragmatically, enough. I focus on two moves: (1) thinking historically as a model for thinking cross-culturally, and (2) historicizing “all the way down,” as a way of exorcising the demand for the ahistorical grounding of epistemology.