|
The Line Through the Heart: Natural Law as Fact, Theory, and Sign of Contradiction
|
| List Price: | $25.00 |
| Price: | $16.50 & eligible for FREE Super Saver Shipping on orders over $25. Details |
Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours
Ships from and sold by Amazon.com
23 new or used available from $16.35
Average customer review:
Product Description
The suicidal proclivity of our time, writes the acclaimed philosopher J. Budziszewski, is to deny the obvious. Our hearts are riddled with desires that oppose their deepest longings, because we demand to have happiness on terms that make happiness impossible. Why? And what can we do about it?
Budziszewski addresses these vital questions in his brilliantly persuasive new book, The Line Through the Heart. The answers can be discovered in an exploration of natural law—a venture that, with Budziszewski as our expert guide, takes us through politics, religion, ethics, law, philosophy, and more.
Natural law, the author states plainly but provocatively, is a fact about human beings; as surely as we have hands and feet, we have the foundational principles of good and evil woven into the fabric of our minds. From this elemental fact emerges a natural law theory that unfolds as part of a careful study of the human person. Thus, Budziszewski shows, natural law forms a common ground for humanity.
But this common ground is slippery. While natural law is truly an observable part of human nature, human beings are hell-bent—quite literally—on ignoring it. The mere mention of the obligations imposed on man by his nature will send him into a rage. In this sense, The Line Through the Heart explores natural law as not simply a fact and a theory but also a sign of contradiction.
While investigating the natural law and its implications, Budziszewski boldly confronts—and offers a newly integrated view of—a wide range of contemporary issues, including abortion, evolution, euthanasia, capital punishment, the courts, and the ersatz state religion being built in the name of religious toleration.
Written in Budziszewski’s usual crystalline style, The Line Through the Heart makes clear that natural law is a matter of concern not merely to scholars; it touches how each of us lives, and how all of us live together. His profoundly important examination of this subject helps us make sense of why habits that run against our nature have become second nature, and why our world seems to be going mad.
Product Details
- Amazon Sales Rank: #102998 in Books
- Published on: 2009-05-15
- Original language: English
- Number of items: 1
- Binding: Hardcover
- 270 pages
Features
- ISBN13: 9781935191179
- Condition: NEW
- Notes: Brand New from Publisher. No Remainder Mark.
- Click here to view our Condition Guide and Shipping Prices
Editorial Reviews
About the Author
Customer Reviews
A Must-Read For Natural Law Thinkers
I am in Christian ministry and where I work, a fellow co-worker gave me this book to read over the weekend. I have been a reader of Budziszewski starting with "How To Stay Christian in College." I have read several of "Theophilus's" dialogues at Boundless.org as well as the other books he has on Natural Law. That would be "Written on the Heart", "The Revenge of Conscience", and "What You Can't Not Know."
If you offered me those three books vs. this one now, I would prefer to have this one. It's that good.
Throughout this book the reader will constantly be saying "Why didn't I think of that?" and any objection you have or didn't have Budziszewski sees coming and addresses. I regularly debate on these issues and found myself using his arguments immediately. He argues with you saying "I can't believe I didn't see that earlier." He deals with homosexual marriage quite easily and the chapter especially on capital punishment is excellent.
This is a book no thinker on Natural Law can afford to not know. Natural Law consists of moral truths you can't not know. If you want to be influential in thinking on Natural Law, this is a book you can't not know.
Another five star1
Another great book by Budziszewski! He has a real gift to clearly expalin the deep and significant truths of life. I wish he had been my logic professor in college.
Natural Law?
I'm an academic type and I've heard of natural law all my life, but I don't really know what it is. The author of this book drops clues along the way but he assumes you know and he never provides a basic explanation or description. I read the book for a discussion group and I can't say that I enjoyed it. If you are patient, however, you will find that the author does have some interesting things to say about the contemporary world. He doesn't dwell on specific political events but rather on the philosophical and moral implications of some current beliefs and practices. The book is not polemical but the author does not hide the fact that he stands a little to the right of center.
