Most people have a intrinsic desire to do good rather than evil, yet
\t\t all humans fail in perplexing ways to do good. Needleman's titular question has
\t\t haunted philosophers and religious thinkers since Socrates. Needleman,
\t\t professor of philosophy at San Francisco State and popular author of
\t\t Lost Christianity, offers his eloquent and
\t\t entertaining thoughts about why humans are such flops at goodness. He draws on
\t\t a wide range of philosophers, religious thinkers and psychologists—from
\t\t Socrates to Buddha to Rabbi Hillel—and discovers that our inability to be
\t\t good is simple: humans are creatures of choice, and our freedom allows us to
\t\t make bad choices as well as good ones. This freedom, however, is also "the
\t\t freedom to love and act justly toward man." Using exercises from his own
\t\t classes, Needleman suggests that the practice of attending to the
\t\t other—listening carefully, repeating what the other person has said to ensure
\t\t an accurate hearing—moves us a long way toward achieving the good. Though
\t\t Needleman's answer to this age-old question about goodness is no more
\t\t satisfying or original than any other, his lively prose, storytelling skills
\t\t and lucid insights draw us into an animated conversation with a brilliant
\t\t teacher. (Feb.)
