How to be Good: or How to Be Moral and Virtuous in a Wicked World

by Gary Cox, Matthew Lloyd Davies (Narrator)

What is goodness? Is goodness achievable, and if so, how? If being a good person is a matter of doing the right thing, then what is the right thing to do? Is it acting rationally, promoting happiness, exercising moderation in all things or respecting the freedom of others, or is it somehow a concoction of all these abilities, wisely adjusted to suit circumstances? In this instructive, entertaining and often humorous book, Gary Cox, best-selling author of How to Be an Existentialist and How to Be a Philosopher, investigates the phenomenon of goodness and what, if anything, it is to be a good person and a paragon of virtue. Part easygoing exploration of the age-old subject of moral philosophy, part personal development and improvement manual, How to be Good carefully leads the listener on a fascinating journey through the often strange and surprising world of ethics. This book covers issues from abortion to animal rights and delves into the meaning, achievability and reality of goodness through an examination of the work of major philosophical thinkers such as Aristotle, Ayer, Bentham, Gautama Buddha, Hare, Hobbes, Kant, Mill, Nietzsche, Moore, Plato, Sartre, Singer, Thomson, and Warnock.

Genres: Philosophy, Audiobook, Nonfiction

7 pages, MP3 CD

Published March 1, 2021

About the author

Gary Cox is a British philosopher and biographer and the author of several books on Jean-Paul Sartre, existentialism, general philosophy, ethics and philosophy of sport.

Reviews

[Siobhán · Rating 5 out of 5]

My favorite book on ethics and applied philosophy I’ve ever read. This book was a breezy read with heavy content that Cox expertly guides you through with the ease of that friend who just really knows a lot in this area and is sharing. The end caught me off guard simply because I hasn’t realized how much we’d covered that we’d already come to the end. Highlights for me include the existentialist section (as a huge fan of that philosophy), his two paragraph tangent in the conclusion about litter (tickled me for some reason), Cox’s casual tone working with the content (in one of his other books I found it worked against it), and that he choose the case examples to be abortion and animal rights. I cannot recommend this book enough.

[Claire Roper · Rating 4 out of 5]

quite interesting, but was definitely an effort to finish. cox kinda went off the deep end in chapter 4.

[Chris Boutté · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a surprisingly amazing book this was! I love books about moral philosophy, but Gary Cox was able to do it in a completely unique way. I've read multiple books on the subject, but I learned more from this book than I have many others. He was able to explain different aspects of moral subjectivism, meta-ethics and other topics in an easy-to-digest way that I loved. Then, at the end of the book, he brings it all together to get your wheels turning about some various debates we face in the world today when it comes to morality and ethics. I can't recommend this book enough, and I look forward to reading some of his other work.

[Kelly · Rating 5 out of 5]

A remarkably accessible overview of moral philosophy. I appreciated the systematic examination of different theories (along with the author's refutations), as well as the case studies on abortion and animal rights. I did take issue with the author's apparent promotion of Aristotle's "magnanimous man", as I think here Aristotle could be used to justify various characteristics of toxic masculinity. That said, I am still giving this 5 stars, because I believe it is nonetheless well worth the read, I thoroughly enjoyed it, and what good is a philosophy book that doesn't stir some argument? I listened to the audiobook, which I highly recommend.

[Will · Rating 3 out of 5]

Introduction to the philosophy of morality.

[Thegirlintheafternoon · Rating 3 out of 5]

Book: 3.5/5 stars. Audiobook performance: 4/5 stars.

[grace · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really loved the way that the ethical ramifications of the different schools of thought were broken down into really clear ideas and each built on the last. The way narration flowed was very enjoyable and I liked hearing the author's voice pop in and out. I took issue with the personal thoughts of the author eating meat because it seemed in defiance of the book itself and very hypocritical. Overall though, a fun read and good basic introduction to moral philsophy

[SWB · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fantastic read. This is the third book I've read in the "how to be" series. Although cannot beat HTBAE, this book was nonetheless excellent. Particularly enjoyed the sections on determinism, egoism and existentialism