Ethical Wisdom: The Search for a Moral Life

Price: $15.95
(as of Sep 13, 2026 10:24:57 UTC – Details)


From a bestselling author—“a riveting, fun, and insightful tour of life’s meaning and purpose, essential reading for anyone drawn to the query, ‘How ought we to live?’” (Daniel Goleman, author of Emotional Intelligence)
Contrary to what we’ve been taught in our reason-obsessed culture, argues Matousek, emotions are the bedrock of ethical life; without them, human beings cannot be empathic, moral, or good. But how do we make the judgment call between self-interest and caring for others? What does being good really mean? Which parts of morality are biological, which ethical? When should instinct be trusted and when does it lead us into trouble? How can we know ourselves to be good amidst the hypocrisy, fears, and sabotaging appetites that pervade our two-sided natures?
Drawing on the latest scientific research and interviews with social scientists, spiritual leaders, ex-cons, altruists, and philosophers, Matousek examines morality from all angles in this thoroughly entertaining and helpful guide to crossing one’s own murky moral terrain.
Publisher ‏ : ‎ Anchor
Publication date ‏ : ‎ June 5, 2012
Edition ‏ : ‎ Reprint
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Print length ‏ : ‎ 272 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0767930681
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0767930680
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 10.2 ounces
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5.13 x 0.8 x 7.97 inches
Best Sellers Rank: #2,499,756 in Books (See Top 100 in Books) #791 in Philosophy of Good & Evil #5,234 in Popular Social Psychology & Interactions #5,476 in New Thought
Customer Reviews: 4.7 4.7 out of 5 stars (30) var dpAcrHasRegisteredArcLinkClickAction; P.when(‘A’, ‘ready’).execute(function(A) { if (dpAcrHasRegisteredArcLinkClickAction !== true) { dpAcrHasRegisteredArcLinkClickAction = true; A.declarative( ‘acrLink-click-metrics’, ‘click’, { “allowLinkDefault”: true }, function (event) { if (window.ue) { ue.count(“acrLinkClickCount”, (ue.count(“acrLinkClickCount”) || 0) + 1); } } ); } }); P.when(‘A’, ‘cf’).execute(function(A) { A.declarative(‘acrStarsLink-click-metrics’, ‘click’, { “allowLinkDefault” : true }, function(event){ if(window.ue) { ue.count(“acrStarsLinkWithPopoverClickCount”, (ue.count(“acrStarsLinkWithPopoverClickCount”) || 0) + 1); } }); });
Customers find the book’s content profoundly insightful, with one noting it’s a nice change from dry, analytic philosophy texts. They describe it as entirely engrossing, particularly enjoying the stories that each chapter covers.