Pandemic of Lunacy

J. Budziszewski is a professor of government and philosophy at the University of Texas at Austin. Internationally recognized for his work on natural law, self-deception, happiness, and ultimate purpose, he is widely read on the unraveling and possible restoration of our common culture. Among his twenty previous books are What We Can’t Not Know, How to Stay Christian in College, How and How Not to Be Happy, On the Meaning of Sex, The Line Through the Heart, The Revenge of Conscience, and a series of line-by-line commentaries on Thomas Aquinas’s Summa Theologiae. Married for more than five decades, a teacher for more than four, Budziszewski has two grown children and a clutch of grandchildren. His website, The Underground Thomist, is at www.undergroundthomist.org. Professor Budziszewski lives in Austin, Texas.

"Pandemic of Lunacy is brilliant, the corrective we need to pull the nation back from the abyss of unreason. Too many elites and intellectuals are saturated with ideologized education that has left them withering in a drought of real knowledge and common sense. Caring guides like J. Budziszewski might bring the best of them back from the realm of false light."—Dean Koontz, bestselling author,“This book is simply the most complete, clear, and uncompromising account of ourdecaying culture's insanity that I have read yet.” —Peter Kreeft, professor of philosophy, Boston College“Philosophy and science go deeper than what common sense tells us, and sometimes correct it around the edges. But as thinkers like Aristotle and Aquinas knew, sound philosophy and science cannot coherently reject common sense altogether, especially in what it tells us about everyday human life. Modern thought has been plagued by one assault on common sense after another, typically grounded in simple but persistent fallacies. We need books that expose these fallacies and come to the defense of common sense. J. Budziszewski provides exactly that.”—Edward Feser, author, Five Proofs of the Existence of God"J. Budziszewski offers both a subtle and wide-ranging exposition of the various individual lunacies that make up our corporate social insanity. His is a sober and shrewd voice that offers answers to our malaise. This is a profoundly helpful book for those wanting clarity in our deeply chaotic times."—Carl Trueman, author, The Rise and Triumph of the Modern Self

• Introduction:Some Crazy Ideas Are Deadly SeriousPart I: DelusionsAbout Virtue and HappinessLunacy 1: Basic Right and Wrong Are Vague andEquivocalLunacy 2: Basic Right and Wrong Are Differentfor EveryoneLunacy 3: Sometimes We Just Have to Do the WrongThingLunacy 4: There Is No Such Thing as Good CharacterLunacy 5: Good Character Is Unnecessary for Well-BeingPart II:Delusions About Politics and GovernmentLunacy 6: There Is No Such Thing as the Common GoodLunacy 7: We Can Attain the Common Good WithoutVirtueLunacy 8: The Purpose of Government Is to TakeCare of All Our NeedsLunacy 9: Scientists, Scholars, and Experts AreNeutral AuthoritiesLunacy 10: Democracy Is the Literal Rule ofthe PeoplePartIII: Delusions About Family and SexualityLunacy 11: Uncoupling Sex from Its ConsequencesHas No ConsequencesLunacy 12: Both Sexes Must Make the Same ChoicesLunacy 13: Marriage Can Be Whatever We Want Itto BeLunacy 14: Manhood and Womanhood Can Take AnyShapes That We WishLunacy 15: Men and Women Don’t Need Each OtherPart IV:Delusions About What It Means to Be HumanLunacy 16: Each Human Being Has His Own NatureLunacy 17: Human Nature Is Merely AnimalLunacy 18: Everyone Is Evil—Or Deep Down, EveryoneIs GoodLunacy 19: Human Nature ChangesLunacy 20: We Can Transcend Human NaturePart V: DelusionsAbout What Is Real and UnrealLunacy 21: Reality Doesn’t Have to Be Logicalor Make SenseLunacy 22: Each Person Has His Own RealityLunacy 23: Things Are Whatever We Say They AreLunacy 24: All That Exists Is MaterialLunacy 25: Existence Has No Meaning Unless WeInvent OnePart VI:Delusions About God and ReligionLunacy 26: Religion Does Not Concern the TruthAbout GodLunacy 27: We Can’t Know the Truth About GodLunacy 28: The Truth Is That There Is No GodLunacy 29: Judging What Is True or False Is IntolerantLunacy 30: The Truth About God Doesn’t MatterConclusionAcknowledgmentsStandard DisclaimerNotes