A sobering, useful compendium of questionable deeds most of us know about but would rather not discuss.
A survey of the everyday breakdown of ethical behavior and a strong case for a new emphasis on moral education in America.
Enumerating the modern accumulation of lies, tricks, cheats, and scams by Americans in all walks of life—not just the corporate officers of Enron, Worldcom, and their ilk, but test-cheating students, serial adulterers, tax evaders, plagiarizing journalists, and academics who fake research results—Allen (Law and Philosophy/Univ. of Pennsylvania) also purges herself. She’s haunted by an affair she had with a friend’s husband and by the time she won a prestigious school award by overstating her grades to a teacher she knew would trust her word. Once purged, however, Allen brings to bear on this subject the unusual perspective of an African-American woman who has a Ph.D. but grew up with addicts, alcoholics, and petty criminals in her extended family. Thus her analysis, for example, of why people cheat is informed by both life experience and academic rigor. Try these on: “I cheated because I deserved it; I only cheated because I got cheated first; I’m not wrong, the rule’s a stupid one; nobody got hurt”—and, of course, the ever-popular “everybody does it.” But there’s cheating and there’s, well, what about a padded bra? Cosmetic surgery? Allen gives readers who want to decide for themselves hefty ethical chapter and verse, but fundamentally she finds unethical behavior both “normal and avoidable.” The bad news is that willpower is still the principal answer. Allen does, however, offer solid advice on how to avoid oversimplifying when dealing with the inevitable struggles of children to find and employ an ethical compass. Moral education, even training, she cautions, must extend beyond college and into adulthood.
A sobering, useful compendium of questionable deeds most of us know about but would rather not discuss.Pub Date: July 1, 2004
ISBN: 0-7868-6897-X
Page Count: 336
Publisher: N/A
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 15, 2004
Worthwhile reference stuffed with facts and illustrations.
A compendium of charts, time lines, lists and illustrations to accompany study of the Bible.
This visually appealing resource provides a wide array of illustrative and textually concise references, beginning with three sets of charts covering the Bible as a whole, the Old Testament and the New Testament. These charts cover such topics as biblical weights and measures, feasts and holidays and the 12 disciples. Most of the charts use a variety of illustrative techniques to convey lessons and provide visual interest. A worthwhile example is “How We Got the Bible,” which provides a time line of translation history, comparisons of canons among faiths and portraits of important figures in biblical translation, such as Jerome and John Wycliffe. The book then presents a section of maps, followed by diagrams to conceptualize such structures as Noah’s Ark and Solomon’s Temple. Finally, a section on Christianity, cults and other religions describes key aspects of history and doctrine for certain Christian sects and other faith traditions. Overall, the authors take a traditionalist, conservative approach. For instance, they list Moses as the author of the Pentateuch (the first five books of the Hebrew Bible) without making mention of claims to the contrary. When comparing various Christian sects and world religions, the emphasis is on doctrine and orthodox theology. Some chapters, however, may not completely align with the needs of Catholic and Orthodox churches. But the authors’ leanings are muted enough and do not detract from the work’s usefulness. As a resource, it’s well organized, inviting and visually stimulating. Even the most seasoned reader will learn something while browsing.
Worthwhile reference stuffed with facts and illustrations.Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2005
ISBN: 978-1-5963-6022-8
Page Count: -
Publisher: N/A
Review Posted Online: May 23, 2010
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
This a book of earlier, philosophical essays concerned with the essential "absurdity" of life and the concept that- to overcome the strong tendency to suicide in every thoughtful man-one must accept life on its own terms with its values of revolt, liberty and passion. A dreary thesis- derived from and distorting the beliefs of the founders of existentialism, Jaspers, Heldegger and Kierkegaard, etc., the point of view seems peculiarly outmoded. It is based on the experience of war and the resistance, liberally laced with Andre Gide's excessive intellectualism. The younger existentialists such as Sartre and Camus, with their gift for the terse novel or intense drama, seem to have omitted from their philosophy all the deep religiosity which permeates the work of the great existentialist thinkers. This contributes to a basic lack of vitality in themselves, in these essays, and ten years after the war Camus seems unaware that the life force has healed old wounds... Largely for avant garde aesthetes and his special coterie.
Pub Date: Sept. 26, 1955
ISBN: 0679733736
Page Count: 228
Publisher: Knopf
Review Posted Online: Sept. 19, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 1955
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