New: "What We Can't Not Know: A Guide"

Now available from Ignatius Press, the revised and expanded edition of J. Budziszewski's wonderful introduction to the natural law tradition:

What We Can't Not Know: A Guide

by J. Budziszewski

Related Products:
What We Can't Not Know  - Electronic Book Download

 Revised and Expanded Edition 

In this new revised edition of his groundbreaking work, Professor J. Budziszewski questions the modern assumption that moral truths are unknowable. With clear and logical arguments he rehabilitates the natural law tradition and restores confidence in a moral code based upon human nature.

What We Can't Not Know explains the rational foundation of what we all really know to be right and wrong and shows how that foundation has been kicked out from under western society. Having gone through stages of atheism and nihilism in his own search for truth, Budziszewski understands the philosophical and personal roots of moral relativism. With wisdom born of both experience and rigorous intellectual inquiry, he offers a firm foothold to those who are attempting either to understand or to defend the reasonableness of traditional morality.

While natural law bridges the chasms that can be caused by religious and philosophical differences, Budziszewski believes that natural law theory has entered a new phase, in which theology will again have pride of place. While religious belief might appear to hamper the search for common ground, Budziszewski demonstrates that it is not an obstacle, but a pathway to apprehending universal norms of behavior.

J. Budziszewski is a professor of government and philosophy at the University of Texas at Austin. Among his several books are The Revenge of Conscience: Politics and the Fall of Man and The Line Through the Heart: Natural Law as Fact, Theory, and Sign of Contradiction.

Related on Ignatius Insight:
• The Scandal of Natural Law | An Interview with J. Budziszewski
• Objections, Obstacles, Acceptance | Interview with J. Budziszewski
• Pope Benedict XVI On Natural Law | Fr. James V. Schall, S.J.
• Why the Bewilderment? Benedict XVI on Natural Law | Fr. James V. Schall, S.J.
• Jacques Maritain and Dignitatis Humanae: Natural Law as the Common Language of Religious Freedom | Brian Jones, M.A.

Comments

[bill bannon]

I wonder if he deals with what both Aquinas and A.Ligouri mentioned fleetingly...that more complex levels of natural law are not as easy as questions of theft and murder with St. Alphonsus sarcastically asking in his Theologia Moralis (1748) that if saints disagreed on the more complex, were some of them damned thereby.....hence the birth of the sincere erroneous conscience. We have the last two Popes calling the death penalty "cruel" while most Popes from 1253 AD til Pius XII are in heaven scratching their head on that one. We had Pope Nicholas V in 1452-54 and 4 subsequent Popes endorse perpetual slavery on enemies of Christ found in the new world with Pope Paul III correcting all 5 in 1537 AD (" notwithstanding whatever may have been or may be said to the contrary...Sublimus Deus).
We had Dominicans at the throats of Franciscans condemning them for usury as to their pawn shop financial contracts centuries ago until a Pope and Council praised the Franciscan system. In short, I hope the author knows the historical record on discernment of the less obvious levels of natural law which Ligouri recognized in 1748.

[Brad]

"modern assumption that moral truths are unknowable": nothing but the oldest trick in the book by satan. He says to the soul on her knees: God doesn't exist. She feels deep within this isn't true. So he says: oh well, but He doesn't care about you and you can never get close to him nor know Him, so don't even try. That, she buys, because all her friends have. Thus she begins her own downward spiral away from God via gnosticism, arianism, manicheanism, all the legion of ancient heresies come back via new age pablum. There aren't enough swine in the world to banish them into. Thanks, Oprah!

[Mark Brumley]

Bill: Life can be hard and complicated, eh?
No pain, no gain, I suppose :).

But, as regards this: "In short, I hope the author knows the historical record on discernment of the less obvious levels of natural law which Ligouri recognized in 1748."

I don't recall mention of St. Alphonsus Ligouri. But I do recall that Dr. Budziszewski was clear that some issues are more complex than others.

[bill bannon]

Mark,
Then that is a good thing. The Stoics' comments on natural law as to sex so impressed Jerome that he copied extracts from Seneca and called Seneca "our Seneca" in "Against Jovinianus" (section 49/Bk I). Ironically perhaps unknown to Jerome at least at the time of writing AJ,... Seneca also affirmed infanticide....what we would call today an extremely clear case of the culture of death. Some Stoics saw the natural law as allowing the right of a father to execute his children (death penalty) to about the age of 14 years old which for them was the age of full rationality.

[Jeffrey L Miller]

I've been trying all day to download this book, I keep getting.

"Product not found, or inventory service offline, try again later"