Why Be Good?: Seeking Our Best Selves in a Challenging World

Sherwin (Crafting the Soul, etc.), who is a rabbi, brings his extensive background in religious studies (he's vice-president of the Spetus Institute of Jewish Studies, in Chicago) to the question of ethics. This slim, readable volume of essays begins with four chapters providing an excellent overview of ethical principles and the most common moral codes: utilitarianism, relativism and ""rule-based morality,"" or moral absolutism. The subsequent essays are uneven, however. Some pontificate on evils such as greed, while others tell long stories on topics such as friendship and seem to have little to do with the question of ethics. Some answers to Sherwin's title query are buried within the text here and there, however, as the author asserts that people should be good in order to fulfill our ""mission as a human being,"" to nurture ""our spiritual development,"" to balance and correct ""the destructive ravages of moral vices,"" to ""create one's life as a work of art"" and to be happy. Claiming that America is currently in ""a state of moral emergency"" for which we are all responsible, Sherwin promotes religion as the ultimate solution and answer to the problem, and to the titular question. Unfortunately, he ends on a largely negative note (""Ours has become a pathological society""), missing the opportunity to leave readers feeling positive and encouraged to follow his advice and ""make virtuous living a habit."" Author tour. (Nov.)