The Quest for a Moral Compass: A Global History of Ethics

This is a fabulous book and written with a graceful and occasionally humorous style, with reference to some current events to nicely balance the two thousand years or more of moral philosophy covered. If you want to appreciate the really long term history of humans grappling with the question of what is right and wrong and on whose authority, you will find an authoritative yet accessible narrative here. Highly recommended.

I don't recall how I stumbled across Malik's The Quest for a Moral Compass: A Global History of Ethics*, but it has been for me an outstanding presentation of essentially all ethical thinkers of recorded history (and he does it in just 344 pages) on the search for the font of ethics: Socrates, Plato, Aristotle, Moses, Jesus, Augustine, Hindu texts, Buddha, Confucius, Mohammad, Aquinas, Dante, Luther, Descartes, Spinoza, Hobbes, Hume, Kant, Bentham, Mill (John Stuart), Hegel, Rousseau, Marx, Nietzsche, Kierkegaard, Sartre, Spencer, Darwin, Dewey, and others of whom we've not always (or never) heard or have forgotten. Malik translates into easily intelligible prose the sometimes (or often) abstruse original philosophical propositions.Malik addresses questions such as the Euthyphro dilemma (is it good because the gods love it, or do the gods love it because it is good?) and Foot's trolley problem (do you pull the switch to divert a runaway trolley from killing five strangers to killing just one, but what if that one person is your beloved?). If you don't like thinking about these sorts of questions, then The Quest is definitely not for you. As for me, it's a keeper, and I will be rereading it.Spoiler alert: Malik concludes ethics derive from social norms, id est, natural law, not divine precepts, though a culture may justify its morals theologically.

A book that charts thousands of years of philosophy has no right to be this accessible. That is not to suggest Kenan Malik speaks down to the reader, only that his mastery of the subject, allows him to connect to those who come to this book, without having done a Degree level amount of preparation. If you have even the remotest interest in how our species derives its values, then this book is a wonderful place to begin.

I am a sociologist, not a philosopher. But I've always been interested in morality a land ethics. About a year ago, I started reading up on these things, looking into philosophy, evolutionary psychology, etc. This book is a true gem. Extremely accessible, brilliantly thoughtful, so thorough, so sound. I learned so much. One of the best books I've read in a long, long time

A remarkably clear and comprehensive survey of the history of Ethics, which adopts a multicultural approach that truly transforms the study of ethics into a global enterprise. I look forward to using this as the secondary text in my Honors course in the Fall.

A wonderful book covering the history of ethical thought. Recommended for anyone going into graduate school, anyone in the human sciences for which philosophy tends to be covert but present none the less, or the general high end reader.

BORING

It also made great tinder for our wood stove when winter came around...

In this book Malik sets himself a daunting task. He offers a Cooks tour through the history of ethics, taking the reader from ancient Greece to the present day by way of Islamic and Chinese thought. In a book of such width it is perhaps inevitable that depth is sacrificed. The author perhaps fails to do justice to the complexity, or inconsistency, of Aquinas' or Augustine's ideas. Similarly the profundity of other thinkers may also be glossed over in a few paragraphs. The summary of Nietzsche, however, is both concise and accurate.Malik highlights the question as to whether morality can be understood in universal terms or whether it must necessarily always be defined in relation to a local cultural context? He attempts to show how considerations about "goodness" emerge from wider social factors, illustrating tensions between ways of thinking that place the individual agent at the centre and those emphasising the primacy of the society or community where individuals actually live. The analysis points out that although society may inform thinking about what is moral, thinking about morality also informs visions of how society should itself be changed.The book succeeds in demonstrating the commonalities and parallels in ethical thought across different cultures and historical periods. Malik argues convincingly that the capacity toquestion issues of right and wrong, good and bad, is a defining characteristic of what it is to be human. Ultimately in the quest for a moral compass the search is more important than any final destination.In summary, this tour around ethics doesn't stop long in any one place or reach any firm destination, it nevertheless takes the reader on a journey that is informative and worthwhile.

This is really a layperson's introduction to moral philosophy, through the aspect of its history. In particular that of civilised, urbanised always male and always privileged thinkers as practised down the age. Some attention is given early on to Eastern thinkers usual suspects - Confucious, Lao Tzu, Mencius in China, the Vedas and Upanishads in India. But the main focus of the narrative is morality as discussed, and to some tantalising extent, as able to be conceptualised, in the historical contexts of the Western philosophical mainstream; from classical to Church, to humanist, and eventually to 'we' 'moderns'.I realised some way through that what i was hoping for, from the author of Man, Beast and Zombie was a more anthropological discussion of natural morality as practiced by human communities in the multitude of their environmental contexts. For instance, how are we, as inheritors of the civilised morality of the 'do as you would be done by' golden mean, able to engage with the the numerous warrior cultures of history in which the primary virtue was effectiveness at violence? Are they just very bad people simply lacking morals? Have they anything to tell us about ourselves and our modern cultures? To what extent do the misunderstandings between modern Liberal 'Western' democracies and the authoritarian systems of present-day Russia and China, say, arise from a mismatch between their systems of morality? Can the differences be usefully quantified?Historical moral philosophy doesn't seem to to give us useful tools with which to approach these questions. I believe we need to return to the source of human biology as situated in its ecological contexts and ask these ancient questions in new ways if we are to find answers as to how moral thought can assist in solving critical issues of the present day.A good introductory text for a person wanting to understand the history of what it has meant to be 'good'. But not much help in orientating ourselves within our own 'strange days.

A very frustrating yet satisfying read. As soon as I got excited thinking that now maybe now I had understood the nature of morality, the author promptly presented caveats in the definition, leaving me high and dry. The definition for morality it seems is pretty much work in progress and it seems it is destined to remain so, with so many great minds failing to nail it across thousands of years.Kenan does do a very commendable job explaining the difficult philosophical concepts with stories and analogies which made the book very readable indeed. Not only is this book a great read for any student of philosophy but also for all fans of the subject.

A superbly written and argued comprehensive survey of Moral philosophy. The author’s detailed account of Western moral philosophy is lucidly discussed but he brings in as well the unfamiliar Indian, Chinese and Islamic views to enrich our perspective. The message to take is that moral thinking doesn't happen in a void or a rarefied intellectual atmosphere. It can only be understood within the context of the prevalent social, economic and political conditions of the various historical societies. Moral thinking seems to thrive with identity belief crises or periods of social upheaval. The search for an anchor to legitimise our moral ideas be it Reason , Religion or Society and to ground them on irrefutable principles be it duty , utility , justice or evolutionary advantage will remain a thankless task dividing moral philosophers for centuries. There is often overlapping moral and cultural issues which are not easy to disentangle as exemplified by the "Charlie " debate in relation to defining injury / insult and the right to free expression.As long as social institutions , scientific techniques and human interactions keep changing , moral questions will continue to perplex us, but this is no excuse for amorality.Undoubtedly the scientific background of the author is a great asset that ensures a methodical approach, clarity of analysis and pithy conclusions, that is unfortunately often lacking in works by authors with a " human sciences" background.This is a book for all seasons that will remain on the shelf for regular inspection and consultation.

I’ve read a number of books on ethics over the years and I can only say that this is the clearest treatment of the subject I have come across. Much is covered in this book and it reads like a history of the subject covering all of the essential thinkers. It is beautifully written and easy to follow, which is a first when it comes to what can be usually be a very difficult subject to simplify. The author does a wonderful and I fully recommend this book.I hope you find my review helpful.