Ordinary Vices
Book description
The seven deadly sins of Christianity represent the abysses of character, whereas Judith Shklar's "ordinary vices"-cruelty, hypocrisy, snobbery, betrayal, and misanthropy-are merely treacherous shoals, flawing our characters with mean-spiritedness and inhumanity.
Shklar draws from a brilliant array of writers-Moliere and Dickens on hypocrisy, Jane Austen on snobbery, Shakespeare and Montesquieu…
Why read it?
2 authors picked Ordinary Vices as one of their favorite books. Why do they recommend it?
Judith Shklar’s account of the social harms caused by everyday cruelty is exceptional in its clarity and ethical value. She walks readers through vices that people often overlook—cruelty, hypocrisy, snobbery, misanthropy, and betrayal—showing how these “ordinary” ways of ignoring the needs of other people fray the norms of society.
The ideas are nuanced but her writing is crystal clear. I think this is the best book on ethics I have ever read.
From Elizabeth's list on thinking about what tyranny means today.
This is my desert island book of political philosophy.
Beautifully written and informed by philosophy, literature, and history, it explores the emergence of a new moral sensibility in the West five hundred years ago. For the first time, the truly bad things that human beings did were about harming other people, not offending against God. We've been living this moral adventure ever since.
From Alexandre's list on politics and the good life.
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