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A Decent Life: Morality for the Rest of Us, by Todd May
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Review
"May has a knack for presenting philosophical concepts in ways that are easily graspable, and his advice for living 'a life with a goal more modest than altruism, but better than moral mediocrity' makes such a goal seem attainable for a wide audience. Anyone interested in living a more morally conscious life will want to give this wise guide a look." (Publishers Weekly)"In the face of great injustice or radical indecency, it is tempting to give up our moral lives altogether. The challenges of being good seem impossibly daunting. Todd May has given us just a little bit of hope--a few practical suggestions for becoming just a little bit more decent. A Decent Life is the kind of book I will give to my students--or to my daughter: a humble, down-to-earth primer for living ethically in a world that seems intent on destroying itself. May has written a more-than-decent book. It is genuinely good." (John Kaag, author of Hiking with Nietzsche: On Becoming Who You Are)"Some philosophers have argued that morality requires us repeatedly to sacrifice our wealth and pleasure for the sake of others, including distant strangers and even animals. Recognizing that most people believe otherwise and are unwilling to live this way, Todd May offers an alternative, more realistic vision of the moral life that is neither saintly nor heroic but nonetheless decent. In writing that is lucid and enlivened by stories drawn from his own and other people's experiences, he reveals how, by showing appropriate respect for the fact that others (including animals) have lives of their own to live, we can satisfy the demands of morality while retaining our ability to have fulfilling and meaningful lives. Particularly in its discussion of our relations with political opponents, this book is a timely, illuminating, and inspiring work of moral philosophy." (Jeff McMahan, University of Oxford)"Moral philosophy often appears either as a very technical discipline or as a set of demands to be altruistic that few if any of us can realize. In this book, Todd May articulates the extremely appealing idea of a decent life as an alternative. He writes with the clarity of an analytical philosopher, but about existential themes that are usually addressed by continental thinkers. The book is almost completely without technical language, full of thought-provoking examples from everyday life, and it will be an edifying read for everyone who aspires to be a decent human being." (Svend Brinkman, author of Standpoints: Ten Old Ideas in a New World)
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About the Author
Todd May is the Class of 1941 Memorial Professor of the Humanities at Clemson University. He is the author of many books, including A Fragile Life and A Significant Life, both also published by the University of Chicago Press.
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Product details
Hardcover: 232 pages
Publisher: University of Chicago Press; First edition (March 22, 2019)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 022660974X
ISBN-13: 978-0226609744
Product Dimensions:
5.5 x 1.1 x 8.5 inches
Shipping Weight: 14.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
Average Customer Review:
5.0 out of 5 stars
1 customer review
Amazon Best Sellers Rank:
#102,701 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
Todd May is a professor of philosophy at Clemson University who has written books on subjects like poststructuralist anarchism. These books are not likely to show up on most people’s bookshelves or Kindles, but this book might and maybe even should.A number of philosophers throughout the ages have developed schools of ethical thought, and in the first chapter May discusses theories like consequentialism, deontology, and virtue ethics from thinkers like Immanuel Kant, Aristotle, and Peter Singer. The problem with most of these theories, in May’s opinion, is that they set the bar too high or too abstractly, and it would be difficult to live up to their requirements. So A Decent Life doesn’t try to define what it means to lead a “good life†at a level that most people could not attain, such as altruism. Instead it lays out how we might lead a “decent lifeâ€, an approach that recognizes our moral limits. It also avoids for the most part casting moral actions in terms of duties or obligations but instead emphasizes conducting ourselves to make other lives and “our often fraught world†a little better off because of our presence.May’s approach to morality has a simple framework, “the idea that decent moral action recognizes that there are others in the world who have lives to live.†The rest of the chapters describe the various aspects of a decent life within that framework. First, there are our relations with the people closest to us, those with whom we have personal contact. Then there are the other people with whom we share our world or who come before or after us in the world. Broadening our recognition of other lives a bit further, another chapter talks about being decent to nonhuman life (even if you are allergic to them, as May is to cats!). The final aspect of the moral life is political, which recognizes that we are all members of some organized society, a political entity. In the concluding chapter, May tells us how we can use the stories we tell about ourselves to help us recognize what our own values are.May’s writing is insightful, often in ways I had not expected. I was struck, for example, by his description of the impact of gazing directly into someone’s face and how it makes us recognize that other person as an entity, a living being. Most of the chapters lay out general frameworks that will fit people in very different environments and with many different values. In the chapter on Politics and Decency, though, he becomes very prescriptive and is likely to alienate if not actually offend many decent people. For example, he says, “In the United States,…we cannot think about our political situation without taking into account the history of racial oppression. To attempt to ask the question of acting in a politically decent manner without reflecting on race would be to miss a central defining aspect of that situationâ€. He rejects the value system that many non-racist people espouse that prefers more race-blind attitudes. Both of these should be respected as “decent†approaches to political discourse. In addition, his discussion of political action is almost entirely about protest and opposition. He does disapprove of lack of civility in protests or instances when liberal protestors attempt to keep a conservative speaker from appearing on a college campus (or vice versa). However, there is little or no reference to more positive and cooperative paths to political morality, like working in political campaigns, serving on board and commissions, testifying on legislation, or lobbying for programs. The overall message from this chapter is that a decent life politically must agree with the author’s political philosophy, and as a result, many readers may reject what is otherwise an excellent book.If you share Todd May’s commitment to poststructuralist anarchism, this is definitely the book for you. Even if your approach to being decent politically differs from his, if you can ignore your likely reaction to May’s recipe for living a decent life politically, there is a lot to like and a lot to learn in A Decent Life. As the subtitle says, it is about morality for the rest of us.My thanks to Netgalley for an advance review copy of this book.
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