Ethics Books

this a special amazing book for all life.. we could read now.. and to 10 years over.. and when we are older.. this is a eterny book.. that teach us.. to understand and to know the virtues.. and how we could add them to our character..
of course that is not your power.. but God always can add virtues to our character if we beg him and if we want really sincerily.
that is just amazing and wonderfull
I have been readind and sharing with many friends..
and in my job also.. I m yoga and pilates teacher..
then.. you know...
bye
silvia garcia pinto

Andre Comte-Sponville examines 18 virtues, from the minor to the major, culminating in far and away his most important, love. One may argue around the edges whether his 18 form the right list, and the author admits his own challenge in making the final cuts. I may have tossed simplicity and purity, but that's not important, as even those chapters have solid insight.

The term "treatise" may imply a heavy, theoretical view of the virtues more suited for the famous philosophers. While the author incorporates centuries of ideas from the famous, and responds to them (e.g., Spinoza must appear 100 times), his style is much more informal and accessible, almost conversational at times. The philosophical survey is handy for readers not familiar with their ideas, but that was of secondary value compared to the personal.

Do not read this book if you expect virtues to be derived from or align with religion. Comte-Sponville, an atheist, instead identifies what he believes is moral and proper, independent of religion, although of course his conclusions often overlap with those of the religious. The personal touch includes the same tolerance seen in the author's "The Little Book of Atheist Spirituality", as he understands human weaknesses, including his own, and that religion can be a strong motive for virtuous behavior. His tolerance does not extend to evil, no matter how many other virtues the evil-doer exhibits. The Nazis serve repeatedly as counter-examples. A loyal and courageous killer is still a killer. Fidelity in the service of evil is no virtue.

I knew this was a book for me when the prologue included, "To think about the virtues is to take measure of the distance separating us from them. To think about their excellence is to think about our own inadequacies or wretchedness.... Thinking about the virtues will not make us virtuous, or, in any case, is not enough in itself to make us so. But there is one virtue it does develop, and that virtue is humility - intellectual humility in the face of the richness of the material and the tradition, and a properly moral humility as well, before the obvious fact that we are almost always deficient in nearly all the virtues and yet cannot resign ourselves to their absence or exonerate ourselves for their weakness, which is our own."

Thus we have a basis for a self-assessment of how we measure up. The author is no absolutist, recognizing gray areas in most virtues, as behavior falls in a continuum for each virtue, whether applied to others or to ourselves. I was surprised at the difficulty in contemplating how friends, family and co-workers did, even people I felt I knew fairly well. Is it the embodiment or certain virtues or their absence that forces our opinions of the people around us?

The sections are clear and well-written, with some exceptionally good, and the chapter on humility rather thin. The final virtue, love, occupies one fourth of the book. It's a long riff on the three types of love familiar to Catholics and others (eros, agape, philia), with a major theme being how the lack of love is what mandates virtuous behavior. The essay, while charming and serious, doesn't really fit, as it's not tightly focused on love as a virtue.

4.5 stars

The real beauty of this book is the way Comte-Sponville reminds us of philosphy's original purpose: to help us figure out the best way to live. His quotes--from Spinoza, Aristotle, Montaigne, Kant, Epicurus, Augustine, Descartes, Pascal, Plato, Acquinas, Rousseau, and Jankelevitch, among others--almost always surprise me and make me want to go back to the authors themselves. The text at times reads smoothly and at times requires us to slow down and reread. The more I read this, the more impressed I am. The ideas are brief, dense, and resonant. He has an eye for gnomic thoughts and has trained himself to write aphorisms with the best of them. The first chapter--on politeness--dazzles with its insight. It reminds me of Poe's purloined letter. Everything he says seems so obvious, but for some reason I failed to notice it until he pointed it out to me. The last chapter--on love--is a surprise, especially the way he uses it to raise questions about the nature of ethics. I keep finding myself reading this the way I read Montaigne or Aristotle--there's too much to keep in my head at one time, but I keep coming back to it, knowing that each half hour will make me pause and give me something to think about for the rest of the week.

This slim book holds several lovely stories of God's enduring grace. Highly recommended.

This is a nicely done inspirational book that's well worth reading!

A friend gave this book to my mom after my dad died. What an inspirational collection of short but true stories about God's providential care for us! Over & over the different author's (e.g., Corrie Ten Boom, Franklin Graham, Bruce Olson, John and Elizabeth Sherrill, Ernest Borgnine & others) relate their experiences of how God supplied their needs, offered protection, and directed their paths. You will read it again and again for that quiet reassurance that God is indeed in control and loves you very much.

People of any religious background will find value in these suggestions for carrying out the Jewish tradition of leaving, in addition to a will that bequeaths material possessions, "a letter or will that attempts to sum up what parents have learned, what they want most for, and from, their loved ones."

The examples are from a wide range of people in various times - immigrants to America, Holocaust victims, novelists, rabbis, ordinary men and women. They are poems, letters, legal-sounding documents, rambling notes often amended - some examples eloquent, some prosaic.

Some parents give them as children are growing up, at marriage, or some other milestone in the life of the parents or the children, and then again at the parent's death. Some were written on a battlefield or in a concentration camp, with death imminent and little likelihood that the writing would get to the person addressed. The value of writing this kind of will is probably as much in the thought that goes into it and the changes that makes to one's life as in the benefit to those who read later.

The Bible study group to which I talked about this idea were struck by the rabbi's saying that some people are reluctant to put these things on paper because thinking about the values they want to "bequeath" makes people aware of how far they have fallen short of what they wanted to be. How distressing it would be to have the children say, "I didn't realize that was important to him..." instead of "That's what I would have expected, since he said it all his life and we saw him live it." It's worthwhile, if painful, to think about this while there is time to do something about it.

Many of the examples quoted scriptural reasons for the writing, such as David's charge to Solomon: "I go the way of all the earth; be thou strong therefore, and show thyself a man; and keep the charge of the Lord thy God, to walk in his ways, to keep His statutes...." Then the writer gives his own charge to his children.

Their suggestions for topics are useful: formative events, background, important lessons I've learned, people who influenced me, stories behind possessions I value, Scriptural passages, causes that mean most to me, my definition of success, what I regret, how much I love you.

Although the book would be most meaningful to someone with a Jewish background, it has value for anyone who is serious about passing one's values to the next generation, and is probably most useful for people to consider before a time of crisis arises.

Another good book with similar intent is "Put Your Heart on Paper; Staying Connected in a Loose-Ends World" by Henriette Anne Klauser.

A more interesting book than I expected, mainly because of the diversity of perspectives exemplified by the wills.

Some wills (mostly pre-modern wills) sought to micromanage their children's lives; for example, one 19th-century will proposed a 24-hour-schedule for sons. Others are quite vague.

Older wills focused on the intracicies of Jewish law; more recent wills focused more broadly on nonsectarian principles of ethics, or on vague exhortations to observe Shabbat and keep kosher.

Older wills focused on burial details; more recent wills have rarely done so.

The most inspirational, in my view, was David De Sola Pool's (pp. 109-11). And if you read it you'll understand why.

After losing my mother to Alzheimer's disease and watching how it slowly destroyed her mind and prevented her from communicating even her most basic needs, I found myself desperate to begin preparing some type of testament wherein my final wishes could be stated. I ended up purchasing several books to help me with this task, and "So That Your Values Live On" was one of the most helpful. The authors have written a marvelous text for those of us searching for such information.

If you find this book to be helpful you may be interested in another new publication by Renata Marie Vestevich called "Grant Me My Final Wish:A personal journal to simplify life's inevitable journey." This beautifully soft padded journal is the perfect place to begin working on your ethical will. Ms. Vestevich covers all of the most important topics such as: medical, financial and legal matters, organ donation, religious wishes, important people to contact, as well as who will care for your minor children, dependent adults, and beloved pets once you are gone and much more. There are beautiful photo sleeves to place treasured photos in as well as plenty of space to write your cherished memories.

I urge all of you to start getting your final wishes in order now before it is too late! These two wonderful books can make this task much easier and less difficult for you to do.

Bravo to these authors for helping all of us deal with a very very painful subject.

I came across Deb's book while waiting to get a massage in Great Barrington and as soon as I picked it up I felt like it was speaking directly to me. It is disarmingly simple with it's whimsical "cartoon" drawings, yet deeply profound -- speaking of simple basic truths about being human that all one has to do to verify is look inside one's self. Flipping through Deb's book put me back in touch with my childlike innocense. I highly recommend it!!!

The thoughts - put down in brilliant colors and thought-provoking text will keep your mind delighted and carried away from the banal. Makes a great gift.

Deb reminds us in a most elegant and deeply witty way that the "essence" of all good things lies in our need and abitity to hope....then...change. I bet even her ex-husband loves and admires her work.

"Speaking to the Heart is a great encouragement to men who want to be better husbands and fathers. It is both a practical job description of fatherhood-showing how fathers build strength in their children-and an inspiring call to family leadership. Any father who takes this book to heart and puts its wisdom into action will be known to his children as a great man."

In "Speaking to the Heart: A Father's Guide to Growth in Virtue," Stephen Gabriel sets out a clear, disciplined program for spiritual growth. In 20 chapters, he covers 20 character traits that will help men make their homes happier, their lives more productive and their faith stronger.

Each chapter begins with a meditative essay on a virtue--faith, integrity, justice, order and so on--then proceeds to "Considerations for Growth" in that virtue. The latter portion is chock-full of practical applications for everyday life, presented as a probing examination of conscience.

There's a crisis of fatherhood in our culture today. It's a spiritual problem that challenges even the best homes. The only cure is within each dad. But this book goes a long way in developing the inner strength of individual dads. It's a great buy for yourself, your men's group or the men you know.

'Speaking to the Heart' is a most practical guide to the biggest work any man can take on: raising his children. But it is more than a practical book, it is very solid, for it outlines the virtues each man must acquire if he is to be a good father, if he is to develop the character he needs for the job. It is based on the three supernatural virtues of faith hope and charity, the four cardinal virtues of prudence (balancing the virtues), justice, fortitude/ courage and temperance (appropriate use of the means). Some other virtues special to fatherhood get extra attention: patience, integrity, cheerfulness, perseverance, friendship, and (few would think of this one): poverty or detachment. Each chapter is short enough to be read through in two or three minutes, but yields enough for hours of reflection and meditation, and leads to very practical resolutions to be put into practice that very day. Because there are twenty chapters, it can be worked through in four weeks, on the five work days. I plan to read a chapter each day on the way to work, and repeat this every few months. It is a very practical way to keep this most imporrtant part of my life in focus and on a steady incline of growth.

Patrick F. Fagan William H. G. FitzGerald Fellow in Family and Culture Studies The Heritage Foundation Washington DC

Dr. Greek has again put forth the most powerful, insightful, and rational reference work in the scope of human health issues. What entities control the way you approach disease and illness, its treatments, and the prevention of it? Here you will find overwhelmingly documented sources and information on how we can finally equip ourselves to understand why Americans have one of the world's worst health records while simultaneously spending more than any other country on 'treatment'. Where is so much of our money being wasted and whom is pocketing the rest? Can you really handle the truth? You can allocate many, many years researching and trying to uncover the answers on your own and still come up far short, or you can save several tens of thousands of dollars and invest less than [price] in an advanced compilation of documentation, which is written, by the way, in lay person's terms. Your co-workers or friends will never return this book to you if you lend it out though---it is that good, I'll attest to this, as I am on my third copy.

Finally, an antidote to the incessant and self-serving claims of the animal research industry!

Specious Science excels in at least three areas. First, it's a great primer in the fundamental tenets of sound science. Second, it shows how animal-modelled research fails to meet these basic requirements in theory and in practice. Third, it explains how human-focused medical research, which competes with animal experiments for funding, is superior in its scientific rigor, relevancy, and predictive value.

How many times have we heard that a mouse is the "best" model for studying human disease? One look at a mouse should make you skeptical. The Greeks probe deeper and investigate significant differences between humans and animals at the cellular, sub-cellular, and molecular levels - the arenas in which both the agents of and treatments for disease operate. They explain how small interspecies differences in genetic layout lead to substantial divergences in responses among species. In other words, Evolution 101! The animal model, no matter how strenuous or creatively its proponents argue otherwise, fails this lesson.

"Best animal model" is a fairly meaningless term. Extrapolating from one species to another is fated to be inexact and misleading. Our "hit rate" for medical discoveries is higher in every other type of scientifically-grounded medical research, and for this reason, as the book points out, money squandered on the crude and antiquated animal model harms humans.

Specious Science should be required reading for any life science major, or anyone interested in how charities and the Federal Government spends their health research dollars.

Those with a vested interest frequently claim that biomedical research using animals is a necessary evil. Specious Science demonstrates that those who make such claims have wandered from the fact-based rationality that drives real science.

The Greeks use current knowledge of genetics and evolution to explain why animal-modeled science should be viewed with the same skepticism that most educated people view crystal therapy, pyramid power, and faith healing.

Once they have presented a theory for why members of other animal species are not productive models of human disease, the Greeks go on to examine the evidence and demonstrate that their theory is sound. Using the history of medical advancement as their test bed, the authors look at the record and debunk the claims we have all heard about animal research being the source of all cures - claims made by the vested interests that turn out to be spin-doctoring and myth.

With much scholarship and research, the Greeks have uncovered the roots and behind-the-scenes stories of the discoveries that have changed medicine through time into a science. They explain the lost chances and delays that a faith in the animal model has repeatedly caused. They expose the fatal catastrophes that have resulted when scientists have chosen to value animal data over human, and they have explained the surprising histories of the medical miracles that have arisen from doctors trying to help human patients.

The book also points out recent breakthroughs and advances in medicine that are stemming from human biology, genetics, epidemiology, chemistry, physics, and mathematics. We learn that computers are screening chemicals at astonishing rates and predicting their efficacy and toxicity as drugs at a rate and degree of accuracy that will embarrass everyone with a stake in the archaic practice of animal experimentation.

Together, Specious Science and their earlier work, Sacred Cows and Golden Geese, present a cogent and compelling argument that explains why animal experiments continue and why they continue to retard real medicine progress and result in continued human suffering.

Anyone wishing to understand the science of medicine and the debate surrounding the theory of animal models will find this book essential reading.

The collaboration of Danah Zohar and Ian Marshall, Spiritual Capital: Wealth We Can Live By offers a highly critical view of the business and ethical practices of capitalism as it is practiced today, with its amorality vested in short-term self-interest, reaping profits, obsession with shareholder value, isolationist thinking, and reckless disregard of long-term consquences. Arguing for the need for a radical new philosophy for corporate governance that adjusts the meaning and purpose of wealth creation, and using the principles of "spiritual capital" and "spiritual intelligence" to define the needs of humanity and human government, Spiritual Capital is a passionately presented charge for people to make a difference

This review is an adaptation of my review published in Personnel Psychology, Summer Issue, 2005.
Zohar is broadly trained and thus taps into diverse resources such as classical literature, physics, religion, and psychology. Marshall is a Jungian-oriented psychiatrist and psychotherapist. Married to each other, the authors would make, I think, engaging conversationalists at my imaginary dinner party, provided that at the table they didn't repeat from their book the following tale by Ovid.
The Greek poet's tale is about Erisychthon, pronounced Erisyathon for any name droppers, a mythological character who, because he was so greedy, was cursed to eat everything in sight including him self after all else had been consumed. He symbolizes, the authors believe, the essence of materialistic capitalism, an insatiable "monster devouring itself."
The authors' main theme is that a "critical mass" of individuals can make a positive difference. This theme seems to have been influenced by Jung's philosophy that "great transformations" in history are a summation of positive changes in individuals.
The authors argue that material capitalism, the kind that predominates in Corporate America and Wall Street, is unsustainable and thus "in a state of crisis." It's depleting our natural resources, creating political and social instability, eroding our moral standards, and degrading the very meaning of life in terms of its deepest values and aspirations. Rather than reject this conventional capitalism altogether, however, the authors advocate transforming it into a more positive, sustainable economic system that they call "spiritual capitalism" in the secular, non-religious sense.
It's defined as the amount of knowledge and expertise available about "meaning, values, and fundamental purposes." It produces not material wealth that ultimately consumes itself but a self-sustaining wealth "that enriches the deeper aspects of our lives." The authors list 12 qualities that companies "high in spiritual capital" would possess. For example, they would be "self-aware," "vision and value-led," and "compassionate" and would "have a sense of vocation."
Are there any companies high in spiritual capital? The authors don't cite any companies that possess all 12 qualities or even most of them, which is an opportunity missed because they developed a set of descriptors that could have been built into a good survey instrument.
The auhors argue that material capitalism is in a state of crisis, which they say is one of negative motivations, with the four primary ones being self assertion or competitiveness, anger, craving or greed, and fear. Most of the book, therefore, is devoted to explaining Marshall's "Scale of Motivations" and in speculating on how it, along with emotional and spiritual intelligence, can be used to raise motivation to a sufficient level among a sufficient number of business leaders to produce a "great transformation" first in their own companies and then for capitalism as a whole.
For his scale, which he has been using in his clinical practice for some 40 years, Marshall expanded Maslow's hierarchy of six needs to eight positive and eight negative motivations. The highest positive motivation is "enlightment," and the lowest negative one is "depersonalization." A person needs to be emotionally intelligent enough, the authors say, to be aware of their own motivational level. This is necessary in order to be able to raise motivations to a higher level. When two persons interact, the authors contend that if one is at a higher level on the scale, then that person can raise the level of the other person. The authors speculate that 2-5 percent of the leadership of any company need to be "knights" at Level 6 and an additional 10 percent need to be "masters" at Levels 4 and 5 in order for the company to start acquiring spiritual capital. It would be rare and impractical to expect anyone to reach the two highest levels, the authors say. This, I have just given you, is a small sample of the authors' very elaborate speculations.
There is much about this book that appeals to me. I agree with their view that the capitalism prevailing today is unsustainable and thus needs to be transformed, not totally dismantled. The authors are creative thinkers who forced me repeatedly to think outside my own relatively narrow paradigms. Some of their ideas are interesting enough to warrant further exploring their possible application throughout business. I've already mentioned the missed opportunity. Another possibility, for instance, would be to do more applied research on their measure of spiritual intelligence beyond a small pilot test that the authors conducted.
Now that I've read the book, I would like to learn more from the authors over a glass of wine and gourmet dinner.

Danah Zohar is still probably best known as an author for her 1990 book The Quantum Self. She is also very well-known as a speaker and is one of the select group of people who has driven forward our understanding of ourselves, our organizations and our society as complex adaptive systems. With her holistic view of the world, she is very sensitive to the connections or failures of connection that have such an impact on society and the lives of individuals. This book has as its primary focus the disconnection between the deepest needs and aspirations of humans and acceptance of the single-minded pursuit of profit as the sole imperative on business other than staying within the law.

She argues that maintenance of this disconnect is ultimately unsustainable both for society and for business. She sets out to show why, and how it is possible to move toward sustainability by accepting the creation of 'spiritual capital' as a parallel goal with building material capital.

The basic concepts on which the book rests include:

People, society and business form a system made up of interconnected sub-systems. For such a system to be sustainable requires that the elements cooperate in producing a balanced environment that nourishes the whole. They are holistic ... self-organizing, and exploratory.

Sustainable capitalism and a sustainable society depend on recognition and nurture of higher motivations:
* We need a sense of meaning and values and a sense of fundamental purpose (spiritual intelligence) in order to build the wealth that these can generate (spiritual capital).
* People, organizations and cultures that have spiritual capital will be more sustainable because they will have developed qualities that include wider, values-based vision, global concern and compassion, long-term thinking, spontaneity (and hence flexibility), an ability to act from their own deepest convictions, an ability to thrive on diversity, and an ability to learn from and make positive use of adversity.

She identifies three forms of wealth and three kinds of associated intelligence:

* Material capital, associated with thinking and rational intelligence, the wealth expressed in money;

* Social capital, associated with feeling and emotional intelligence, the wealth that makes our communities and organizations function effectively for the common good;

* Spiritual capital, associated with being and spiritual intelligence, the wealth contained in our shared meanings, values and ultimate purposes.

Much of the book is concerned with identifying the states of being in which a person or an organization can find itself and the principles required for transformation to a state in which higher values can be met and higher needs satisfied and the system remains sustainable. The principles are based on observation of the behavior of (non-human) complex adaptive systems plus principles for human sustainability taken from spiritual thought through the ages.

The qualities that the author identifies as central to a sustainable organization will be familiar to most readers - self aware, vision and value led, holistic, celebrating diversity and similar qualities. She argues that these are the qualities necessary to maintain a system in the dynamic but self-sustaining state we describe as a complex adaptive system - neither stuck in steady-state inflexibility nor falling over the edge into chaos.

Maintenance of this state requires particular behaviors on the part of enough individuals acting as leaders to induce the organization as a whole to behave in that way. Her belief is that, in spite of the system pressures (such as those from the financial markets) to behave otherwise, a sufficient minority of aware people can bring about the necessary changes.

Although the terms "Spiritual" and "Capitalism" don't sound like they belong in the same sentence, the author shows through example how the two are inextricably linked to create phenomenal results. As a business owner, I've read numerous books about sales, management, and entrepreneurship. This book is written by someone with a billion-dollar track record who has walked the talk. I recommend Spiritual Capitalism for innovative business or sales professionals who want to create life-changing results in themselves, others, and their companies.

Who said nice guys finish last? Not Michael Hendren - his SPIRITUAL CAPITALISM book will help everyone who reads it realize the power of love even in the business world. Nice guys and gals can have quantum performance if they follow his "Ten Commandments of Spirital Capitalism" and realize the greatest of these is love. Easy read, very inspiring, a way of life for those who dare to follow!!

I worked for the author for 5 years, and knew he was working on this book. When I saw the title and its sub-titles my first reaction was "[...], he blew it..." - sounds like something I would expect to see on some 2am infomercial. However, nothing could be further from the truth - the book contains exactly what it should have, a great view of how to cut through the [..] most people deal with daily in corporate life and extract great performance from people.

Those who know Mike would all agree, he's one of a kind. His ability to cut through non-productive BS, extract performance, develop a sense of team, and have fun while you're doing it is unique. The book is full of practical examples of exactly what to do, and how to do it.

Despite his emotional style, his advice is plain speaking, practical, and makes total sense. For those who have seen it in action it will make even more sense. It's a quick read, but something - if you're smart - you'll come back to for advice regularly.

I must admit that I never write reviews, however, after reading John Andrews' book, Spread some Love, I just had to! A very interesting perspective on Love and Relationships from a very intriguing man of miracles. I am honored he shared the spark of light of his divine voice indeed! A quick and easy read, but memorable for a lifetime!

John Andrews has done an outstanding job capturing the essence of love and friendship in this must read book.

Be good to others and they will be good to you.

This book is amazing from page one. While most relationship books have a very "BE STRONG" or "YOU'll SURVIVE" undertone, this book is the only I have read thus far which is truly from the heart.

John Andrews has blessed us with his obvious experience in loving and caring and brings us hope and truth without bitterness or being a "know-it-all". It is clear that he really wants the world to love and is not just writing a book just to write. This book is a MUST READ for everyone, young, old, boy, girl, man or woman.

So enjoy and go spread some love!

--Melodee Eva-Zacchara

I use this as my 'bible' to remind me about what is truly important in this hectic world we live in. It is the best book I have on the topic of 'Living Simply' that gives a clear, principled philosophy from someone who obviously lives the life of which he writes.

I recommend it highly to anyone who would like information and motivation to pursue this topic further in their lives.

This book is a great introduction to the voluntary simplicity movement, why it evolved, why it is spreading so fast and why yo should live a simpler and more "mindful" life. It does not have specific step-by-step advice, but intelligent arguments and lots of facts on the current state of civilization and the simplicity movement. It is a very enjoyable read and very thoughtprovoking. Thank you Mr Burch!

If you want great practical advice to complement this book, get The Simple Living Guide by Janet Luhrs.

In Stepping Lightly: Simplicity For People And The Planet, Mark Burch writes in an engaging and "reader friendly" style about the meaning, purpose, and necessity of voluntary simplicity in one's life personal lifestyle and the value of simplicity for individual and collective efforts to create a more sustainable planet and society. Burch persuasively argues for a thoughtful corse of living which requires "cultivating mindfulness" and personal authenticity, as well as balancing livelihood with an intentional and conscious approach to daily life. Stepping Lightly is informative and inspiring reading for anyone seeking a personal, more ecologically friendly, and satisfying lifestyle for themselves, their families, and their communities.