This book review was written by Eugene Kernes
“A moraliser is a person who seeks to
impose upon others his view of how they should live and behave. Everyone is entitled to a view about what
counts as acceptable behaviour, and everyone is entitled to put it forwards as
eloquently and forcefully as he can. But
moralisers go much further. They want
others to conform to their views, and they seek to bring this about by coercion
– employing means which range from social disapproval to legal control, this
latter often being their preferred option.” – A. C. Grayling, Chapter:
Moralising, Page 3
“Civility is a matter of mores, etiquette, politeness, of
informal rituals that facilitate our interactions, and thereby give us ways to
treat each other with consideration. It
creates social and psychological space for people to live their own lives and
make their own choices.” – A. C. Grayling, Chapter: Civility, Page 12
“Ordinary life evokes more extraordinary courage than combat
or adventure because both the chances and inevitabilities of life – grief,
illness, disappointment, pain, struggle, poverty, loss, terror, heartache: all
of them common features of the human condition, and all of them experienced by
hundreds of thousands of people every day – demand kinds of endurance and
bravery that make clambering up Everest seem an easier alternative.” – A. C.
Grayling, Chapter: Courage, Pages 21-22
Is This An Overview?
This book is a composition of many
short essays on a diverse set of topics.
Provoking reflection on values, to consider different ways on how to
be. Some essays impart thoughts on how
to treat others, how to share values, how to compromise. Some essays impart thoughts on how to
thinking, how to reason, how to be honest.
Some essays impart thoughts on how to be part of society, how conflict
if created, how differences are handled.
Life is a composition of a diverse set of emotions, struggles, and
interactions. Each aspect of life has
limits, complexity, and consequences. By
learning and thinking about the aspects of life, can the individual improve
themselves and society.
Caveats?
Essay quality is mixed, as different
topics will interest different readers, and the essays are short. There is not much on each topic. The topics are provided a complex
understanding and provide valuable content, but for topics that interest the
reader, the reader would need to search for more information to understand the
different aspects and perspectives on the topic. A bias of the book is the treatment of topics
related to religion, as the topics are simplified and the references to them
are primarily the negative consequences.
