Chapter II: The Maniac Summary and Analysis

While many people value self-confidence and self-belief very highly, it is actually a grave fault. Taken to its extreme, self-confidence can turn into madness. The question that is considered in this book is "what is a person is to believe in if he does not believe in himself?" In previous periods, this discussion could begin with the assumption that man is himself intrinsically sinful—that men, by nature, do evil things. However, in the modern period it has become fashionable to deny the existence of sin, so one might start, instead, with the belief that even if man cannot lose his soul through sin, he can at least lose his mind, and that this is a bad thing.

If everyone can agree that remaining sane is a good goal, then it would seem that...