Ethical ambition isn’t an oxymoron, says Bell, but a winding road that likely feeds the spirit more than the pocketbook.
In a quietly energizing treatise, Bell (Constitutional Law/NYU School of Law; Confronting Authority, 1994, etc.) addresses the question of living ethically and with fulfillment.
The author speaks from experience about how to maintain integrity while seeking success, how to square ambition and dreams in a competitive marketplace while holding true to a sense of right. He gave up tenure at Harvard in protest over the lack of minority women faculty, and for the same reasons a deanship at the University of Oregon. It must be understood that what Bell means by ambition is accomplishment, not power or money (“We live in a system that espouses merit, equality, and a level playing field, but exalts those with wealth, power, and celebrity, however gained”). He throws his lot with the ethical route: “. . . a good job well done, giving credit to others, standing up for what you believe in, voluntarily returning lost valuables, choosing what feels right over what might feel good right now.” This means social justice, a respect for humanity, for speaking out to honor oneself and one’s convictions to achieve a self-sustaining dignity that no amount of money can buy. Bell concedes that it isn’t simple knowing when to take risks or how to appreciate “the potentially dangerous and destructive consequences of words and actions intended to do good,” but he also knows that mistakes and failures are inevitable and must be learned from. Nor does he claim to be a paragon of righteousness, admitting to inertia and attempts to avoid confrontation. Yet he tries “to live the life I sing about in my song”: accepting compromise only to a point, keeping a steady passion for integrity, doing good works of faith, taking cues from role models—including Charlie Chaplin and Medgar Evers—and staying wary for the practical reason that when income is endangered, so are ethics.
Ethical ambition isn’t an oxymoron, says Bell, but a winding road that likely feeds the spirit more than the pocketbook.Pub Date: Oct. 1, 2002
ISBN: 1-58234-205-9
Page Count: 176
Publisher: Bloomsbury
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2002
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Worthwhile reference stuffed with facts and illustrations.
A compendium of charts, time lines, lists and illustrations to accompany study of the Bible.
This visually appealing resource provides a wide array of illustrative and textually concise references, beginning with three sets of charts covering the Bible as a whole, the Old Testament and the New Testament. These charts cover such topics as biblical weights and measures, feasts and holidays and the 12 disciples. Most of the charts use a variety of illustrative techniques to convey lessons and provide visual interest. A worthwhile example is “How We Got the Bible,” which provides a time line of translation history, comparisons of canons among faiths and portraits of important figures in biblical translation, such as Jerome and John Wycliffe. The book then presents a section of maps, followed by diagrams to conceptualize such structures as Noah’s Ark and Solomon’s Temple. Finally, a section on Christianity, cults and other religions describes key aspects of history and doctrine for certain Christian sects and other faith traditions. Overall, the authors take a traditionalist, conservative approach. For instance, they list Moses as the author of the Pentateuch (the first five books of the Hebrew Bible) without making mention of claims to the contrary. When comparing various Christian sects and world religions, the emphasis is on doctrine and orthodox theology. Some chapters, however, may not completely align with the needs of Catholic and Orthodox churches. But the authors’ leanings are muted enough and do not detract from the work’s usefulness. As a resource, it’s well organized, inviting and visually stimulating. Even the most seasoned reader will learn something while browsing.
Worthwhile reference stuffed with facts and illustrations.Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2005
ISBN: 978-1-5963-6022-8
Page Count: -
Publisher: N/A
Review Posted Online: May 23, 2010
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
A very welcome instance of philosophy that can help readers live a good life.
A teacher and scholar of Buddhism offers a formally varied account of the available rewards of solitude.
“As Mother Ayahuasca takes me in her arms, I realize that last night I vomited up my attachment to Buddhism. In passing out, I died. In coming to, I was, so to speak, reborn. I no longer have to fight these battles, I repeat to myself. I am no longer a combatant in the dharma wars. It feels as if the course of my life has shifted onto another vector, like a train shunted off its familiar track onto a new trajectory.” Readers of Batchelor’s previous books (Secular Buddhism: Imagining the Dharma in an Uncertain World, 2017, etc.) will recognize in this passage the culmination of his decadeslong shift away from the religious commitments of Buddhism toward an ecumenical and homegrown philosophy of life. Writing in a variety of modes—memoir, history, collage, essay, biography, and meditation instruction—the author doesn’t argue for his approach to solitude as much as offer it for contemplation. Essentially, Batchelor implies that if you read what Buddha said here and what Montaigne said there, and if you consider something the author has noticed, and if you reflect on your own experience, you have the possibility to improve the quality of your life. For introspective readers, it’s easy to hear in this approach a direct response to Pascal’s claim that “all of humanity's problems stem from man's inability to sit quietly in a room alone.” Batchelor wants to relieve us of this inability by offering his example of how to do just that. “Solitude is an art. Mental training is needed to refine and stabilize it,” he writes. “When you practice solitude, you dedicate yourself to the care of the soul.” Whatever a soul is, the author goes a long way toward soothing it.
A very welcome instance of philosophy that can help readers live a good life.Pub Date: Feb. 18, 2020
ISBN: 978-0-300-25093-0
Page Count: 200
Publisher: Yale Univ.
Review Posted Online: Nov. 24, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 15, 2019
BOOK REVIEW
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