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Ethical Wisdom: The Search for a Moral Life
From a bestselling author—“a riveting, fun, and insightful tour of life’s meaning and purpose, essential reading for anyone drawn to the query, ‘How ought we to live?'” (Daniel Goleman, author of Emotional Intelligence )
Contrary to what we’ve been taught in our reason-obsessed culture, argues Matousek, emotions are the bedrock of ethical life; without them, human beings cannot be empathic, moral, or good. But how do we make the judgment call between self-interest and caring for others? What does being good really mean? Which parts of morality are biological, which ethical? When should instinct be trusted and when does it lead us into trouble? How can we know ourselves to be good amidst the hypocrisy, fears, and sabotaging appetites that pervade our two-sided natures?
Drawing on the latest scientific research and interviews with social scientists, spiritual leaders, ex-cons, altruists, and philosophers, Matousek examines morality from all angles in this thoroughly entertaining and helpful guide to crossing one’s own murky moral terrain.
Contrary to what we’ve been taught in our reason-obsessed culture, argues Matousek, emotions are the bedrock of ethical life; without them, human beings cannot be empathic, moral, or good. But how do we make the judgment call between self-interest and caring for others? What does being good really mean? Which parts of morality are biological, which ethical? When should instinct be trusted and when does it lead us into trouble? How can we know ourselves to be good amidst the hypocrisy, fears, and sabotaging appetites that pervade our two-sided natures?
Drawing on the latest scientific research and interviews with social scientists, spiritual leaders, ex-cons, altruists, and philosophers, Matousek examines morality from all angles in this thoroughly entertaining and helpful guide to crossing one’s own murky moral terrain.
272 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2011
16 people are currently reading
102 people want to read
About the author
Mark Matousek
30 books87 followersMark is a bestselling author, teacher, and speaker whose work focuses on personal awakening and creative excellence through self-inquiry and life writing. He brings three decades of experience as a memoirist, editor, interviewer, survivor, activist, and spiritual seeker to his penetrating and thought provoking work with students. His workshops, classes, and mentoring have inspired thousands of people around the world to reach their artistic and personal goals.
He is currently working on a book about friendships and relationships that is set to be released in June 2013. Stay tuned!
He is currently working on a book about friendships and relationships that is set to be released in June 2013. Stay tuned!
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
April 3, 2021
Summary: Decent book that summarizes the thought process around whether much of wisdom is a function of norms in society versus some sort of fact based reason. The book is poorly titled and arguments for me are a bit disjointed.
What I mean by poorly titled is that when I think about “Ethical” and “Wisdom” I think more a book that will tell me some sort of framework to consider a la philosophy, spirituality, or something else. This book focuses far more on issues of neurology as describing certain emotional elements that loosely fit into ideas of ethical and wisdom. When I say loosely, I mean that it presents the research, but it falls a bit shorter than I would have liked on more absolute divisive conclusion in each chapter.
p. 13-15, 66-67he describes this rational theory and it’s basis with Dawkin’s the Selfish jean. He then talks about elation. This is the intro. It’s discussed further in the book. I’m sad he doesn’t fill with better stuff. His choices are all quite modern and anecdotal versus more meaty pieces that might really thwart the arguments that Dawkins presents and the inherent bias within it (see my review on the Selfish Gene).
P. 70 – In this chapter, building up on the previous he talks about the importance of emotion in the way people act. It’s weird the loose connectivity this has to wisdom and ethics. It’s more just the state of empowerment or disempowerment. I criticize the way he builds argument for sure. At the same time, I do like some of what he presents in the way of contagious mood and their impact on others. He weaves in the value system we have and why some are better at transmitting these types of feelings/emotions.
p. 90 – I like how he talks about the idea that the story you tell about yourself is nearly more important than what actually happened as relates to trauma. Similarly, he discusses a study that demonstrated that the story that parents tells gives great credence to how children then take that in and see themselves.
p. 107 - The Stanford experiments showed a 65% rate of people that commit cruel acts. I did not know the number was 65%.
p. 159 “ Resistance to group pressure comes at a higher neurological cost than conformity, he fMRI machine tells us. In an experiment measuring group pressure, it was found that subjects challenged to agree with incorrect information caved in to the majority, agreeing with wrong answers, a startling 41% of the time.”
What I mean by poorly titled is that when I think about “Ethical” and “Wisdom” I think more a book that will tell me some sort of framework to consider a la philosophy, spirituality, or something else. This book focuses far more on issues of neurology as describing certain emotional elements that loosely fit into ideas of ethical and wisdom. When I say loosely, I mean that it presents the research, but it falls a bit shorter than I would have liked on more absolute divisive conclusion in each chapter.
p. 13-15, 66-67he describes this rational theory and it’s basis with Dawkin’s the Selfish jean. He then talks about elation. This is the intro. It’s discussed further in the book. I’m sad he doesn’t fill with better stuff. His choices are all quite modern and anecdotal versus more meaty pieces that might really thwart the arguments that Dawkins presents and the inherent bias within it (see my review on the Selfish Gene).
P. 70 – In this chapter, building up on the previous he talks about the importance of emotion in the way people act. It’s weird the loose connectivity this has to wisdom and ethics. It’s more just the state of empowerment or disempowerment. I criticize the way he builds argument for sure. At the same time, I do like some of what he presents in the way of contagious mood and their impact on others. He weaves in the value system we have and why some are better at transmitting these types of feelings/emotions.
p. 90 – I like how he talks about the idea that the story you tell about yourself is nearly more important than what actually happened as relates to trauma. Similarly, he discusses a study that demonstrated that the story that parents tells gives great credence to how children then take that in and see themselves.
p. 107 - The Stanford experiments showed a 65% rate of people that commit cruel acts. I did not know the number was 65%.
p. 159 “ Resistance to group pressure comes at a higher neurological cost than conformity, he fMRI machine tells us. In an experiment measuring group pressure, it was found that subjects challenged to agree with incorrect information caved in to the majority, agreeing with wrong answers, a startling 41% of the time.”
December 22, 2010
Ethical Wisdom: What Makes Us Good
Mark Matousek, Doubleday, $25.95 (272p) ISBN 978-0-385-52789-7
Matousek (Sex Death Enlightenment) makes a case for why human beings are inherently ethical creatures in a provocative book that suffers from uneven execution. Wired from birth with "mirror neurons" that function involuntarily, and cause us, for instance, to tear up when others cry: "Emotions, not reason," Matousek asserts, "are the bedrock of ethical life." Drawing on philosophy, neurological and psychiatric research, anthropology, pop psychology, and mysticism, he debunks the belief that organized religion is a necessary framework for an ethical sense, and demonstrates that moral behavior evolves out of a complex interaction between our built-in empathy for those we identify as like ourselves, and the way we respond (or don't respond) to the supposedly abstract suffering of those we deem as "other." In the hands of an Oliver Sacks, this braiding of the scientific, moral, and anecdotal could be revelatory; Matousek, however, repeatedly substitutes opinions and inferences for fact, sapping his argument's credibility and his reader's patience.
November 24, 2024
This is one of those books that does not quite find what it is searching for - there is no real path nor conclusion - just chapters on different parts where "ethical wisdom" may be discussed. The author promises not to be religious or favor religion, pointing out to his use of "sin", but he fails. The book is favorable towards Buddhism, and it shines through - and falls in line with the many modern books that tries to disguise Buddhist thought within modern science, especially that that touches human minds and, as here, ethics. So, I'm not impressed. But, even if I see past that, this book is more of a rehash of other scientists' work - like Jonathan Haidth, that is much better to read yourself than getting it from a secondary source that takes it through another subjective and biased filter.
Much of the book here may be true, or at least sound true, but there is no clear-cut search for answers or any set structure of thought present - so I don't find the message too coherent or even much of the author's own thoughts clearly and visibly stated. It is not an original book, or not as much as I hoped.
Much of the book here may be true, or at least sound true, but there is no clear-cut search for answers or any set structure of thought present - so I don't find the message too coherent or even much of the author's own thoughts clearly and visibly stated. It is not an original book, or not as much as I hoped.
October 3, 2017
It gives bit by bit idea that wr rarely find in other self development books. I personally like how he put surpression can bring to greater happiness & contentment despite high quality lives we live in.
October 21, 2014
Asks good questions and covers important ground, but relies too heavily on dubious evidence from evolutionary psychology and fMRIs. More problematically, the book offers no answer to the question it poses itself - 'what makes us good?' - because it offers no theory of what 'good' is. On the one hand, Matousek insists there is no morality in nature, good/bad is a social construction and varies with culture and circumstance, but at other times talks as if this doesn't measure up against *real* good and evil, but says nothing about what this could mean. As a result, the book's argument never gets out of the starting blocks. As a meandering sightseeing trip through a motley collection of authors and ideas, the book has some interest, especially for those new to the subject. But, lacking in overall rationale, these authors and ideas do not talk much to each other, and ultimately, despite its promise, the book has little to say about an important topic. Disappointing.
April 30, 2015
Ethical Wisdom was an excellent book about compassion (not judgment) toward your neighbor and yourself. The author explored many topics pertaining to Ethical Wisdom. It seems that he explored everything from birth to psychiatric problems. EW rings true that you can only change the world by taking a look at yourself/inside. The author provided good reasoning for his beliefs throughout the text. If you read this book with the intention to question your beliefs (as opposed to confirming your beliefs) you will really enjoy this book. I also appreciate the references the author gave me for further education.
April 30, 2015
Ethical Wisdom was an excellent book about compassion (not judgment) toward your neighbor and yourself. The author explored many topics pertaining to Ethical Wisdom. It seems that he explored everything from birth to psychiatric problems. EW rings true that you can only change the world by taking a look at yourself/inside. The author provided good reasoning for his beliefs throughout the text. If you read this book with the intention to question your beliefs (as opposed to confirming your beliefs) you will really enjoy this book. I also appreciate the references the author gave me for further education.
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews