Beyond Morality

"Morality and religion have failed because they are based on duplicity and fantasy. We need something new..." With this startling statement, Richard Garner begins to define a system of behavior that will nurture our capabilities for love and language, for creation and cooperation. The satisfying personal and social strategy for living Garner proposes is "informed, compassionate amoralism." To do without morality, he argues, is to reject the idea that there are intrinsic values, objective duties, and natural rights. Leaving illusions behind us and learning to listen to others and to ourselves may be what we need to lead us out of the darkness. Garner builds his case on a survey of moral definitions and arguments from ancient Greece forward. "Beyond Morality" revisits the tenets of Christianity and Eastern religious, providing readers with a meaningful overview of the history of moral thought. Quotations illuminate and illustrate the text, adding to the value of "Beyond Morality" as a textbook for ethics courses. Richard Garner is Professor of Philosophy at The Ohio State University.