Moral relativism challenged by acclaimed natural law scholar

Press Release about J. Budziszewski's book, What We Can't Not Know:

SAN FRANCISCO, March 17, 2011 – In a new and revised edition of his groundbreaking work, What We Can’t Not Know , Professor J. Budziszewski challenges the modern assumption that moral truth is obscure or even unattainable. With clear, logical arguments he rehabilitates the natural law tradition, restoring confidence in a moral code based upon human nature.

What We Can’t Not Know explains the rational foundation of precepts that are not only right for all, but at some level known to all. Budziszewski show how that foundation has been kicked out from under Western society, so that we deceive ourselves about what we actually know. Having passed through 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.

Budziszewski explains, “St. Paul said the most basic principles of right and wrong are ‘written on the heart.’ One might think that because they are written on the heart, we can never be confused about them. Or one might think that because we can be confused about them, they aren't really written on the heart. One of my reasons for writing this book was to explain how they really are written on the heart -- and we really can be confused.”

Budziszewski believes that natural law theory has entered a new phase, in which theology will again have pride of place. Many thinkers have held that religious conviction hampers the search for common ground. Budziszewski demonstrates that on the contrary, faith can be a pathway to apprehending universal norms of behavior.

Chuck Colson of Prison Fellowship Ministries, says, “What We Can’t Not Know is a must-read for those concerned about the state of American culture.”

“If you want to understand the law of nature and how we know it, this is the one book to read. I wish every college student could take a course in this subject from this teacher,” says Phillip E. Johnson, Professor of Law Emeritus at the University of California at Berkley.

Robert P. George, Professor of Jurisprudence at Princeton University, says, “In What We Can’t Not Know, J. Budziszewski shows that even the most sophisticated skeptics unwittingly reveal their moral knowledge in attempts to justify killing, lying, stealing, committing adultery, and other sins. In the very process of attacking Judaeo-Christian moral principles, they confirm them.”

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.

To request a review copy or an interview with author J. Budziszewski, please contact: Rose Trabbic, Publicist, Ignatius Press, (239)867-4180 or [email protected]

Related on Ignatius Insight:

• Natural Law and Bearing False Witness | J. Budziszewski | From What We Can't Not Know: A Guide
• The Scandal of Natural Law | Interview with J. Budziszewski
• Objections, Obstacles, Acceptance | Interview with J. Budziszewski