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Why Can't We Be Good?
The widely respected social philosopher embarks on his most gripping and broadly appealing work, asking the ultimate question of human nature: Why do we repeatedly violate our most deeply held values and beliefs? For all our therapies, resolutions, self-help programs, and the vast religious and ethical literature available to men and women today, we return again and again to the same limiting and predictable behaviors, vowing to do better ""next time."" And far beyond the travails of our everyday existence-although sometimes intruding upon it with a ghastly shock-we witness a world twisted in conflict and warfare in which religious systems are continually used to justify slaughter. For sensitive people everywhere, the question resounds: Why can't we be good? After nearly forty years of weighing humanity's deepest dilemmas-working in settings ranging from university and high school classrooms to corporate offices and hospitals-bestselling author, philosopher, and religious scholar Jacob Needleman presents the most urgent, deeply felt, and widely accessible work of his career. In Why Can't We Be Good? Needleman identifies the core problem that therapists and social philosophers fail to see. He depicts the individual human as a being who knows what is good, yet who remains mysteriously helpless to innerly adopt the ethical, moral, and religious ideas that are bequeathed to him. In his jarring depiction of this most misunderstood of dilemmas, Needleman takes the reader through various settings and case studies: a college classroom, where students of all ages and backgrounds agonize to define goodness in an era marked by relativism and fundamentalism; a chilling psychological experiment from a generation earlier that reveals the capacity for brutality that lurks within us all-and our inability to see it; ancient stories from Rabbinic Judaism and mystical Christianity where, possibly, esoteric schools have left fragments of their own deep inner understanding of humanity's predicament and how to begin addressing it; and the words of Socrates, which lay bare the problems of the human psyche while hinting at a missing element that would serve to instruct us not merely on that which is good, but on how to commence our own efforts toward becoming the kind of men and women we are capable of being. Steely-eyed, yet hopeful, Needleman provides ideas, and even exercises, that can start to show us the largeness of this problem-the problem of our inability to be good-and the precious early steps toward struggling with it. Here is one of the great philosophical considerations of our era, crafted in a manner that speaks to the needs of every sensitive person.
304 pages, ebook
First published January 1, 2007
54 people are currently reading
308 people want to read
About the author
Jacob Needleman
87 books113 followersJacob Needleman is Professor of Philosophy at San Francisco State University, former Visiting Professor at Duxx Graduate School of Business Leadership in Monterrey, Mexico, and former Director of the Center for the study of New Religions at The Graduate Theological Union in Berkeley, California. He was educated in philosophy at Harvard, Yale and the University of Freiburg, Germany. He has also served as Research Associate at the Rockefeller Institute for Medical Research, as a Research Fellow at Union Theological Seminary, as Adjunct Professor of Medical Ethics at the University of California Medical School and as guest Professor of Religious Studies at the Sorbonne, Paris (1992).
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Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews
March 27, 2011
This book triggered an extreme emotional reaction for me, as though it was chemically changing me. I can't entirely rationally explain why it touched me and made sense to me. Part of may be that, in its constant reminder to be patient with oneself and to change the self to understand others, I was more patient with the book than I otherwise might have been, and this was a good thing. The book has gotten mixed reviews and I understand why -- it's anecdotal, rambling and repetitive. But it's also beautiful and there is something indefinably special about it.
Needleman doesn't diagram his point anywhere. It comes out slowly, in pieces, over the course of the book, and rather in backwards order. I'll try to encapsulate it.
There are three areas of moral concern. One kind is "lesser" but primary: it is the focus on oneself, taming emotion through quiet attention and meditation, finding God inside the self if one wishes to use religious language. People are notoriously bad at this kind of self-improvement as it involves labor and patience. We tend to forget our spiritual exercises. (p. 125) But life without such attention is not "real life," it is rather "life on the surface of ourselves." (p. 142) There is no way to be permanently good except to confront ourselves anew, repeatedly. (p. 233) Only in the continuous presence of such self-attention are we primed to tackle the second kind of morality, the "greater" morality that is action-based and other-directed. However, we cannot leap from Self to Other, from Thought to Action, so easily. A third kind of morality is needed. This is the work that is never done. He variously calls it "intermediate morality" (p. 51), "the ethics of the threshold" (p. 109), or "hidden ethics" (p. 190). It involves enhancing the intellect through philosophical dialogue with others that is sensitive enough to assume the others' question as one's own (p. 46), repeat the other's opinion aloud before speaking one's own opinion (pp. 59-60), perceive the inquiry as a joint effort, and so on. This kind of ethics leads to real ethical behavior in the world. It bridges moral capacity and moral action. (p. 206) This intermediate space between our being and our action is, in fact, our conscience, suffering with life's Big Questions (p. 252)
He spends some time reviewing the implications of Stanley Milgram's famous experiment where students complied with researchers' orders to deliver electric shocks to other people who were screaming in pain. (The shocks were fake, but the students did not know this.) Needleman observes how, after the experiment, some of the students rationalized their choices almost to the point of denying what they actually did, thus avoiding examining themselves and the demands of their consciences. (pp. 159-160) "Perhaps he meant [Socrates, in saying 'no one does wrong intentionally'] that even the greatest villain is still a human being who has two natures--one part that seeks the good and another that is drawn to obey impulses of personal fear or craving or violence--and that, like the tormented Mr. Prozi, an evil man is one who is utterly incapable of ever seeing the contradiction between his two natures, in whom there never has and never can exist a channel for the voice of conscience." (p. 261) They will be good only insofar as their environments support them. They do not have the strength to be good independently of social pressure. If they lived in Nazi Germany, they would have been ordered to pull a real switch, and they would have done it. Needleman muses on people who have actually killed: "Did not all these murderers and the millions of obedient murderers they lead--didn't they too have mothers and mentors who taught them what was good or bad? Didn't they too make moral vows; didn't they think they were doing the good? What awesome hypnotic force of self-deception enables us, compels us, to adopt our moral principles in the belief that we will be able to live them, or even to try to live them in our actual lives?" (pp. 86-87) He does not wish to study evil purely academically nor to treat it as something separate from ourselves. Instead, he wishes to recognize the capacity for evil in all of us, based in part on a failure to be honest with ourselves. But if evil is the unexamined life, then how, he asks, can we cultivate a desire to examine ourselves?
One answer is simply to realize that our true happiness lies in examining ourselves (lesser morality) and successfully recognizing the best way to act (intermediate morality). "In most cases, the freedoms we have won in the modern world are purely and simply freedoms from the distortions of the moral law; they are freedoms from toxic misunderstandings of duty and obligation. But having escaped from prison, what are we to do? Where are we to go?" In other words, we should not be oppressed by moral absolutism, but neither should we be led astray by moral relativism. (He provides his own definitions of absolutism and relativism in this book.) Instead, "we may say quite clearly what the freedom we cherish is for and not only what it is freedom from. The freedom we wish for is strictly speaking the freedom to obey the pure, undistorted moral law handed down to man from 'above,' and since 'time beyond time.'" This is the mature freedom to love each other and treat each other well, which is joyous. (p. 246)
Needleman says the "One Question" is what we are (p. 264) and what our lives will be like if we strive toward greater morality despite being aware of our personal limitations that will prevent us from being perfect. (p. 204)
Needleman doesn't diagram his point anywhere. It comes out slowly, in pieces, over the course of the book, and rather in backwards order. I'll try to encapsulate it.
There are three areas of moral concern. One kind is "lesser" but primary: it is the focus on oneself, taming emotion through quiet attention and meditation, finding God inside the self if one wishes to use religious language. People are notoriously bad at this kind of self-improvement as it involves labor and patience. We tend to forget our spiritual exercises. (p. 125) But life without such attention is not "real life," it is rather "life on the surface of ourselves." (p. 142) There is no way to be permanently good except to confront ourselves anew, repeatedly. (p. 233) Only in the continuous presence of such self-attention are we primed to tackle the second kind of morality, the "greater" morality that is action-based and other-directed. However, we cannot leap from Self to Other, from Thought to Action, so easily. A third kind of morality is needed. This is the work that is never done. He variously calls it "intermediate morality" (p. 51), "the ethics of the threshold" (p. 109), or "hidden ethics" (p. 190). It involves enhancing the intellect through philosophical dialogue with others that is sensitive enough to assume the others' question as one's own (p. 46), repeat the other's opinion aloud before speaking one's own opinion (pp. 59-60), perceive the inquiry as a joint effort, and so on. This kind of ethics leads to real ethical behavior in the world. It bridges moral capacity and moral action. (p. 206) This intermediate space between our being and our action is, in fact, our conscience, suffering with life's Big Questions (p. 252)
He spends some time reviewing the implications of Stanley Milgram's famous experiment where students complied with researchers' orders to deliver electric shocks to other people who were screaming in pain. (The shocks were fake, but the students did not know this.) Needleman observes how, after the experiment, some of the students rationalized their choices almost to the point of denying what they actually did, thus avoiding examining themselves and the demands of their consciences. (pp. 159-160) "Perhaps he meant [Socrates, in saying 'no one does wrong intentionally'] that even the greatest villain is still a human being who has two natures--one part that seeks the good and another that is drawn to obey impulses of personal fear or craving or violence--and that, like the tormented Mr. Prozi, an evil man is one who is utterly incapable of ever seeing the contradiction between his two natures, in whom there never has and never can exist a channel for the voice of conscience." (p. 261) They will be good only insofar as their environments support them. They do not have the strength to be good independently of social pressure. If they lived in Nazi Germany, they would have been ordered to pull a real switch, and they would have done it. Needleman muses on people who have actually killed: "Did not all these murderers and the millions of obedient murderers they lead--didn't they too have mothers and mentors who taught them what was good or bad? Didn't they too make moral vows; didn't they think they were doing the good? What awesome hypnotic force of self-deception enables us, compels us, to adopt our moral principles in the belief that we will be able to live them, or even to try to live them in our actual lives?" (pp. 86-87) He does not wish to study evil purely academically nor to treat it as something separate from ourselves. Instead, he wishes to recognize the capacity for evil in all of us, based in part on a failure to be honest with ourselves. But if evil is the unexamined life, then how, he asks, can we cultivate a desire to examine ourselves?
One answer is simply to realize that our true happiness lies in examining ourselves (lesser morality) and successfully recognizing the best way to act (intermediate morality). "In most cases, the freedoms we have won in the modern world are purely and simply freedoms from the distortions of the moral law; they are freedoms from toxic misunderstandings of duty and obligation. But having escaped from prison, what are we to do? Where are we to go?" In other words, we should not be oppressed by moral absolutism, but neither should we be led astray by moral relativism. (He provides his own definitions of absolutism and relativism in this book.) Instead, "we may say quite clearly what the freedom we cherish is for and not only what it is freedom from. The freedom we wish for is strictly speaking the freedom to obey the pure, undistorted moral law handed down to man from 'above,' and since 'time beyond time.'" This is the mature freedom to love each other and treat each other well, which is joyous. (p. 246)
Needleman says the "One Question" is what we are (p. 264) and what our lives will be like if we strive toward greater morality despite being aware of our personal limitations that will prevent us from being perfect. (p. 204)
April 3, 2016
Dear Readers,
I must write that this is a spellbinding book. Jacob takes us on a journey into his spiritual life and draws superb insights into the nature of humanity and its incapacity to do the things that matter most to us; that is becoming moral and doing what is Good. His thesis crescendos with the maxim that our sole aim in life is to overcome this 'moral incapacity' and become moral, thus being able to love ourselves, despite our incapacity to obtain Good, and to love our neighbour also.
The book is a superb tour-de-force of books, compelling conversations across all ages that cut deep into the issues in life that matter. I was particularly touched by the moral sensitivity of the youngsters he visited in San Francisco. It is here I felt that Jacob's deep reverence for human affection and love of truth shone forth in seeing 'human essence' in these teenagers. I feel we can each impart wisdom to people if we have the hope and the expectation that they can become fully men. It is in this sense that we are truly intertwined with each others lives.
Some highlights include:
"In most cases, the freedoms we have won in the modern world are purely and simply freedoms from the distortions of the moral law; they are freedoms from toxic misunderstandings of duty and obligation. But having escaped from prison, what are we to do? Where are we to go?"
Jacob also deals with the topics of moral relativism and moral absolutism. He reasons that they are more alike than they, prima facie, appear.
'The moral, humanistic deconstructionist relativism of our time is itself the work of young eyes seeing the contradictions and hypocrisy of the world of fixed values, fixed canons of interpretation. Relativism is at root the moral impulse of a mind and heart that sees the hypocrisy of absolutism - but without deeply recognizing that it is the low state of the being of man and onself that is being seen' (p.200)
'What is right, not about fundamentalism, but about the striving for commitment to absolute, fundamental moral principles - is the belief that the source of the morality is deeper and higher than our own all too human reasoning and judgements. What is false about fundamentalism is the assumption that this higher source, whether it is taken as inside our outside ourselves, is accessible to us and is ours simply for the asking without the great inner struggle to become fully human selves' (p.201)
And in continuation of Jacob's words, we only fully become ourselves when we love another person wholeheartedly. This is the bridge that we ourselves are not ourselves capable of constructing but involves a deep in-working of faith and commitment to another. It both requires all of us and yet more. Who said building physical bridges was easy? You must consider the surrounding terrain and even possibly summit fallow lands to bridge the two ends. In this sense, building such bridges is challenging work. Jacob suggests that this is difficult because as we encounter the 'worldview' of another, we must hold the possibility of throwing some of our assumptions overboard. In this attitude of 'volitional suspension,' we can then, and only then, see the other person's position as it truly is. A moving insight is provided over the typical debates had between parties for and against a motion. On many occasions, the individuals are neither swayed in the depths of their convictions for the other parties' position. They have yet to relinquish their hold over their stance. They consider that they have the 'higher ground.' However, one must, figurately, leave one's dry perch and seek out other sources of sustenance that are potentially better than the current one. Jacob emphasises this desire for Truth and Knowledge as something which opens a vast wealth of understanding and love for others. This is indeed a beautiful life. It is not without challenges. And, I sense, certainly not for the faint of heart.
I feel that Jacob and his words have made a deep impression upon my understanding of my walk as a Christian. I relish digging deeper into some of the works that have shaped this person's mind. In the words of Hillel the Elder, 'Now, go and study!'
In summary,
'Man is the being who can love and who can do what love demands, be it sharp or tender, full of thunder or enwombed in silence.'
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
I must write that this is a spellbinding book. Jacob takes us on a journey into his spiritual life and draws superb insights into the nature of humanity and its incapacity to do the things that matter most to us; that is becoming moral and doing what is Good. His thesis crescendos with the maxim that our sole aim in life is to overcome this 'moral incapacity' and become moral, thus being able to love ourselves, despite our incapacity to obtain Good, and to love our neighbour also.
The book is a superb tour-de-force of books, compelling conversations across all ages that cut deep into the issues in life that matter. I was particularly touched by the moral sensitivity of the youngsters he visited in San Francisco. It is here I felt that Jacob's deep reverence for human affection and love of truth shone forth in seeing 'human essence' in these teenagers. I feel we can each impart wisdom to people if we have the hope and the expectation that they can become fully men. It is in this sense that we are truly intertwined with each others lives.
Some highlights include:
"In most cases, the freedoms we have won in the modern world are purely and simply freedoms from the distortions of the moral law; they are freedoms from toxic misunderstandings of duty and obligation. But having escaped from prison, what are we to do? Where are we to go?"
Jacob also deals with the topics of moral relativism and moral absolutism. He reasons that they are more alike than they, prima facie, appear.
'The moral, humanistic deconstructionist relativism of our time is itself the work of young eyes seeing the contradictions and hypocrisy of the world of fixed values, fixed canons of interpretation. Relativism is at root the moral impulse of a mind and heart that sees the hypocrisy of absolutism - but without deeply recognizing that it is the low state of the being of man and onself that is being seen' (p.200)
'What is right, not about fundamentalism, but about the striving for commitment to absolute, fundamental moral principles - is the belief that the source of the morality is deeper and higher than our own all too human reasoning and judgements. What is false about fundamentalism is the assumption that this higher source, whether it is taken as inside our outside ourselves, is accessible to us and is ours simply for the asking without the great inner struggle to become fully human selves' (p.201)
And in continuation of Jacob's words, we only fully become ourselves when we love another person wholeheartedly. This is the bridge that we ourselves are not ourselves capable of constructing but involves a deep in-working of faith and commitment to another. It both requires all of us and yet more. Who said building physical bridges was easy? You must consider the surrounding terrain and even possibly summit fallow lands to bridge the two ends. In this sense, building such bridges is challenging work. Jacob suggests that this is difficult because as we encounter the 'worldview' of another, we must hold the possibility of throwing some of our assumptions overboard. In this attitude of 'volitional suspension,' we can then, and only then, see the other person's position as it truly is. A moving insight is provided over the typical debates had between parties for and against a motion. On many occasions, the individuals are neither swayed in the depths of their convictions for the other parties' position. They have yet to relinquish their hold over their stance. They consider that they have the 'higher ground.' However, one must, figurately, leave one's dry perch and seek out other sources of sustenance that are potentially better than the current one. Jacob emphasises this desire for Truth and Knowledge as something which opens a vast wealth of understanding and love for others. This is indeed a beautiful life. It is not without challenges. And, I sense, certainly not for the faint of heart.
I feel that Jacob and his words have made a deep impression upon my understanding of my walk as a Christian. I relish digging deeper into some of the works that have shaped this person's mind. In the words of Hillel the Elder, 'Now, go and study!'
In summary,
'Man is the being who can love and who can do what love demands, be it sharp or tender, full of thunder or enwombed in silence.'
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
February 7, 2018
I started this a couple years ago but only got a few pages. I knew I was not ready for this. A few days ago I thought I was prepared for the deeper effort this study requires, and will continue to require; so I started again and found the depth of practice I have been long seeking. If you are looking for a challenge, If you want real personal growth, you will find this helpful, not easy, but worth your effort. I will be spending more time with Dr. Needleman's book, as well has those in his awesome bibliography.
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November 10, 2009I find it quite interesting and not tiresome at all. I think one of his more interesting distinctions so far is the difference between guilt (societally ingrained feelings of wanting to correct oneself) and remorse (a coming back to yourself as a human, after having realized that you have failed your humanity). I also think that the question for me became much more vital when I realized that what comes naturally and thoughtlessly that is good, isn't necessarily the 'good' that Needleman is referring to.
October 2, 2010
I'm not a huge fan of philosophy...but I enjoyed this. It got a little dense at times, but one important lesson that I took away from the book is that we seem to think the most/hardest about ethics when we are presented with a dilemma. The author advocates that we practice our ethics in a very conscious and deliberate way so that we work on "being good" each day. It's a skill, like learning a language...take it or leave it, it's an interesting idea to consider.
October 11, 2010
I read this several years back, and it still resonates as a pondering experience, as Professor Needleman gently, but firmly guides his students to look within at our own conflictedness ethically, morally. Its a book that deserves to be re-read. Its exposes the human dilemma between what is loving vs human conditions of selfishness, greed, fear Many of his facts and examples are startling. Its a tough concept he presents most worthy of consideration.
October 10, 2013
This book brings together Socratic pedagogy, spirituality, wisdom studies, ancient philosophy and Judaism in a coherent inquiry into the theory and practice of living an ethical life and the kind of education that prompts it. I can't follow Needleman down his supernatural avenues, but I honor him as one of very few contemporary philosophers who still care about the "spiritual" meaning of philosophical and educational practices.
January 4, 2008
The Author is Philosophy professor at SFSU. I took a class of his which was ok. He wrote "American Soul", which I thought was excellent, but I'm not liking this book as much. All this nonsense about we know what's good, but don't act accordingly - of course we CAN do it. I think a better question would be "why don't we WANT to be good?
March 5, 2009
Needlman is the best in describing the difficult way to virtue. Reading this book gives me hope that the inner world is real, and movement to true integrity is possible!
April 2, 2012
The required text for a seminar on ethics and social responsibility. It's an engaging read. Thought provoking...
June 15, 2012
Stunning.
Read
June 7, 2013There are some great things here, however there is a tendency to disregard the spirit by labeling it mind. Good and relevant questions from a philosopher deeply concerned with contemporary morality.
December 5, 2014
A bit abstract for my own tastes (which of course may not be yours).
June 10, 2016
Wonderful, readable book by my favorite contemporary philosopher!
August 11, 2011
Oh, philosophy. Very comforting when asking that question, what *can* we do in the face of evil?
Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews