Synopses & Reviews
Why did a group of teenagers watch a friend die instead of putting their own reputations at risk? Why did a top White House official decide to come clean and accept a prison sentence during Watergate? Why did a finance executive turn down millions out of respect for her employer? Why are some willing to risk their futures to uphold principles? What gives us the strength to stand up for what we believe?
As these questions suggest, the topic of moral courage is front and center in today's culture. Enron, Arthur Andersen, the U.S. Olympic Committee, abusive priests, cheating students, domestic violence -- all these remind us that taking ethical stands should be a higher priority in our culture. Why, when people discern wrongdoing, are they sometimes unready, unable, or unwilling to act?
In a book rich with examples, Rushworth Kidder reveals that moral courage is the bridge between talking ethics and doing ethics. Defining it as a readiness to endure danger for the sake of principle, he explains that the courage to act is found at the intersection of three elements: action based on core values, awareness of the risks, and a willingness to endure necessary hardship. By exploring how moral courage spurs us to strive for core values, he demonstrates the benefits of ethical action to the individual and to society -- and the severe consequences that can result from remaining morally dormant.
Moral Courage puts indispensable concepts and tools into our hands, equipping us to respond to the increasingly complicated moral challenges we face at work, at home, and in our communities. It enables us to make clear, confident decisions by exploring some litmus-test questions:
- Is the benefit worth the risk?
- Am I motivated by my desire to uphold my beliefs or just to impose them on others?
- Will my actions create collateral damage among those with no stake in the outcome?
While physical courage may no longer be a necessary survival skill or an essential rite of passage out of childhood, few would dispute the growing need for moral courage as the true gauge of maturity. Treating this subject not as an esoteric branch of philosophy but as a practical necessity for modern life, Kidder deftly leads us to a clear understanding of what moral courage is, what it does, and how to get it.
Review
“Rush Kidder brilliantly deals with the perilous pathways where moral courage is absolutely required.” --David M. Abshire, president of the Center for the Study of the Presidency, former U.S. Ambassador to NATO, and cofounder of the Center for Strategic and International Studies
Review
This book, like one candle in the darkness, belongs in every place of learning-and every library. Library Journal (starred review*)
Review
“Moral Courage is a wonderful book--lively, thoughtful, and practical.” --Bob Abernethy, executive editor and host of Religion & Ethics Newsweekly on PBS
Synopsis
What gives us the strength to stand up for what we believe?
The topic of moral courage is front and center in today's culture. Corporate corruption, abusive priests, cheating students, domestic violence -- all these remind us that taking ethical stands should be every individual's highest priority. Rushworth Kidder's remarkable book defines key concepts and gives us indispensable tools, equipping us to respond to the increasingly complicated moral challenges we face at work, at home, and in our communities, enabling us to make clear, confident decisions by exploring such questions as: Is the benefit worth the risk? Am I motivated by my desire to uphold my beliefs or to impose them on others? Will my actions create collateral damage among those with no stake in the outcome?
While physical courage may no longer be a necessary survival skill in society, moral courage is the true gauge of our maturity and civilization. This essential guidebook will help lead us to a clear understanding of what moral courage is, what it does, and how to get it.
Synopsis
From the author of How Good People Make Tough Choices comes an insightful analysis of moral courage that explains how to see issues clearly, think for yourself, and put ethical thinking into action.
In a valuesandndash;challenged age, the difference between talking ethics and doing ethics can be summed up in two words: moral courage. Building on the success of the author's earlier book, How Good People Make Tough Choices, Moral Courage presents a structure for implementing those choices. But what is moral courage, how does it work, and how do we get it? This book is rooted in current news and based on extensive research into the stories of leaders, whistleblowers, and ordinary individuals. It explains moral courage as the intersection of three vectors: overarching principles, awareness of risk, and endurance of hardship.
It explores some litmusandndash;test questions for our actions, including:
Is the risk proportional to the benefit?
Am I motivated by principle, or just by pride in my own personal beliefs?
Will my actions create collateral damage among those with no stake in the outcome?
Finally, it examines ways ethical cultures can foster clear, valuesandndash;based decisionandndash;making where courage is saved for big issues because it's less needed for everyday living. This is not a book about abstract moral philosophy, but rather the moral courage of practical, applied leadership.
Praise for Moral Courage:
"Kidder offers practical guidelines for a coherent and mindful approach to ethical dilemmas ... a brilliant analysis that squarely faces all the issues and can be grasped by the thoughtful nonandndash;specialist." andndash; Kirkus Reviews
About the Author
Prior to founding the Institute for Global Ethics in Camden, Maine, and London, England, Rushworth M. Kidder, Ph.D., was a senior columnist for the Christian Science Monitor. For the past fifteen years he has worked to refine the guidelines for ethical decision making through the institute's mission of research, public discourse, and practical action. Kidder leads seminars, gives keynote speeches, and conducts interviews with global leaders. He is an award-winning author of eight books on subjects ranging from twentieth-century poetry to the global ethical future and is a trustee of the Charles Stewart Mott Foundation. He serves on the advisory board of the Kenan Ethics Center at Duke University, the advisory council of the Character Education Partnership, and the advisory board of Religion & Ethics Newsweekly on public television. In addition to his weekly columns for the institute's Ethics Newsline, Kidder's op-ed pieces have appeared in the Los Angeles Times, the Chicago Tribune, and the Boston Globe. He lives with his family in Lincolnville, Maine.