Everyday Ethics: Inspired Solutions to Real-Life Dilemmas

by Joshua Halberstam

“The perfect handbook for understanding what constitutes moral relations with friends, enemies, and one’s own self.”
— Booklist In an age when most of us spend more time thinking about what movie we’ll see than about how we want to lead our lives, nothing could be more timely and helpful than Everyday Ethics . In this refreshingly original book, Joshua Halberstam shows us how to develop a moral imagination—and have fun while doing it. Halberstam demolishes the clichés of both religion and psychotherapy and entices us into looking at the small actions that make up the big picture of our character and values. Should we really refrain from making judgments? Should we let our conscience be our guide even if it urges us not to pay our taxes? Halberstam has something intriguing to say about these and many other issues. Witty and entertaining, Everyday Ethics is the moral equivalent of an aerobic dance session, as exhilarating as it is instructive.

Genres: Philosophy, Nonfiction

224 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1993

Reviews

[Shannon · Rating 5 out of 5]

I just finished reading this as part of my Masters program coursework. Wow. I can see why this book is still in print after 28 years. References to Yuppies aside, the information and application guidance the author covers on morality and ethics in our day to day life still works in today's world. Maybe even more so with social media's presence all around us.

[Tori · Rating 5 out of 5]

Well worth reading--not because one should agree with his answers (what few he provides) but because one should be thinking about the questions he raises. Also the writing is entertaining, keeping the subject from getting dry. Thought provoking.

[Mike Jesse · Rating 4 out of 5]

Would like to give this book 3.5 stars, as I believe it deserves better than just three. Published in the early nineties, this book uses philosophy to look as everyday areas of our lives in order to try and give us answers (friendships, romance, judging, values, morals, etc.).

For the most part, the book does a great job of making these philosophical points easy to digest by breaking it down. There are only certain areas where the author dives deeper into the philosophical and technical sides that are harder to follow.

Taking into account how the book is older, this book is a great read with a lot of interesting points to the way we live our lives and some helpful observations and tips to keep in mind.

[Algernon · Rating 3 out of 5]

Written for readers who are not students of philosophy or ethics, this introduces some practical problems and questions and offers ways to think creatively about values and judgment, and it holds up rather well decades after publication.

It’s an argumentative book with a distinct personality. Amusingly, one chapter is devoted to exhorting the reader not to be misled by clichés, although the book opens by inviting us to entertain stereotypes about people to make some superficial points about how we interact and argue.

[Billy Kid · Rating 1 out of 5]

Joshua Halberstam is the king of strawmanning. Every chapter involves him describing these absurd caricatures of human beings and then using them to try to say to something interesting (keyword: try).

What is presented here is not "inspired solutions to real-life dilemmas" but "thoughts and comments on fabricated dilemmas the author came up with".

It's not all drivel but there's so much of it that it was hard for me to care about the rest.

[Stephanny Flores · Rating 5 out of 5]

Had to read this book for my class, it was very insightful and i actually loved it. It offers a new way of seeing life, while giving you the opportunity to formulate your own opinions, especially because it is fairly old.

[Delbert Yip · Rating 3 out of 5]

Clearly written. Not what I was looking for. More examples would have been useful. Some interesting quips and memorable quotes.

[Thomas Harding · Rating 5 out of 5]

Exceptional book. There were only a few paragraphs I found to be unhelpful. The rest is gold and worth the read for anyone trying to dip their toes into moral philosophy.

[Juan Valencia · Rating 3 out of 5]

¿Cuándo fue la última vez que nos preguntamos qué es lo que verdaderamente importa y qué es lo vale la pena en la vida? El libro incentiva este tipo de pensamiento, la auto evaluación y el ejercicio filosófico. Cada aspecto de nuestra vida debe ser analizado constantemente. Dedicamos más tiempo en pensar en cosas triviales que en los aspectos realmente trascendentales de nuestra vida. Uno de los aspectos más afortunados del libros es el rescate del racionalismo crítico (principio de falsabilidad) de Kark Popper: cuando hagamos un juicio, o demos una opinión, hay que considerar nosotros mismos cuál sería su contraparte, qué argumento podría refutarlo, en qué podríamos estar equivocados; considerar la posibilidad de equivocación. El compromiso con la actitud crítica y la verdad.

[Eric · Rating 5 out of 5]

Active listening skills mean paraphrasing and it is possible to control emotions to some extent. I read this a few years ago and it changed my outlook on dealing with my emotions. I had never developed the skill of managing negative emotions and working in spite of them. Still getting better at it.

[Megan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Read in college.

[Erika Ordonez · Rating 2 out of 5]

Easy to read. Didn't do much for me, kind of obvious, and some topics do not offer any "solutions" as per the title...

[Kjerstin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Awesome, easy to read book with practical guidance for everyday situations

[Belle Meade School]

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