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reinhardt's review
5.0
A gem of a book - a dense, small, high-value object. Not dense in the sense of hard to read, but weighty. The writing (or translation) is wonderfully clear and lucid.
In this book, Hildebrand looks at the kernel of morals. And the title suggests that the way of living the good life is to ground life on morals. That sounds so shallow when I write it, but the book makes a compelling case. Not morals in the sense of don’t do this, etc. Morals in the sense of what is the highest good.
Dietrich von Hildebrand wrote the main part of the book in the 1930s in Germany, but parts were also written (2 chapters by Alice) in the 1960s.
He writes that the beginning of the moral or good life is reverence. Without reverence, no other good can be recognized. Reverence for the transcendent and also for the image of God in others is the ground of moral living. It is the soul and attitude of all other morals. A man failing reverence “splits apart and disintegrates the community.” One can see how the lack of reverence is harming attitudes today.
Reverence is built on by faithfulness–staying loyal to the truth you have. Rather than ‘living in the moment, the faithful person holds fast to truths grounded in his soul. He “masters every moment from the depths.” A person without faithfulness cannot change–every fleeting impression takes him in a new direction. What is love without fidelity? Faithfulness is not clinging to habit - that is laziness. The faithful person responds to today’s problems out of the good of unchanging, intrinsic value.
The third step is responsibility. The responsible person recognizes that he is not his own judge. He is subject to and makes decisions based on the objective demands of higher values.
To responsibility, add veracity. Some liars deceive themselves without guilt, and others know they are lying. The knowing liars are morally bankrupt, but the self-deceiver is harder to change.
Then follows the heart of moral values, goodness. Goodness is a willingness to sacrifice, being generous, and being filled with compassion. Love is the core of goodness. Lacking goodness makes one a hard man unmoved by compassion or makes one a cold man filled with indifference and too preoccupied with his concerns to think of others.
Then follows two chapters by Alice. One on communion and one on Hope. In short, the moral life has its goal in communion. We are not to be alone, but together. Together with God and others. In contrast to lower animals, we can be alone while with other people. Shallow relationships don’t fulfill.
The chapter on hope deal with despair, especially the despair that is unconscious of itself. This type of despair gloats over small enjoyment and seeks them again tomorrow. One pleasure pushes onto the next. The constancy of pleasure can bring despair into consciousness. This conscious despair often gives way to irrationality, the rejection of reason. Hope is not optimism - that is pure wishful thinking. Hope is nothing but hope ‘in’. Hope is not self-deception, but admitting the situation is grave, but hopes ‘in’ the goodness of God.
The book closes with two final chapters on Virtue Today and the Human Heart. What often substitutes for moral value is chosen values. Values that are not directly related to moral goodness. Diligence is a value that can be used for moral good or evil. He also talks about the indissolvable unity of moral goodness. One cannot decide to be just, and leave purity to others. Moral values cannot be parcelled and picked at will. In these chapters, he also talks about humility as the mark of Christian virtue. A virtue that seemed strange to the Greeks. Humility transforms all of the natural virtues.
He closes with a chapter on the Human Heart. Moral growth should shift one’s affections. Morality is not pure duty but affection as well.
This is the kind of short weighty book that deserves an annual reading.
Very highly recommended.
In this book, Hildebrand looks at the kernel of morals. And the title suggests that the way of living the good life is to ground life on morals. That sounds so shallow when I write it, but the book makes a compelling case. Not morals in the sense of don’t do this, etc. Morals in the sense of what is the highest good.
Dietrich von Hildebrand wrote the main part of the book in the 1930s in Germany, but parts were also written (2 chapters by Alice) in the 1960s.
He writes that the beginning of the moral or good life is reverence. Without reverence, no other good can be recognized. Reverence for the transcendent and also for the image of God in others is the ground of moral living. It is the soul and attitude of all other morals. A man failing reverence “splits apart and disintegrates the community.” One can see how the lack of reverence is harming attitudes today.
Reverence is built on by faithfulness–staying loyal to the truth you have. Rather than ‘living in the moment, the faithful person holds fast to truths grounded in his soul. He “masters every moment from the depths.” A person without faithfulness cannot change–every fleeting impression takes him in a new direction. What is love without fidelity? Faithfulness is not clinging to habit - that is laziness. The faithful person responds to today’s problems out of the good of unchanging, intrinsic value.
The third step is responsibility. The responsible person recognizes that he is not his own judge. He is subject to and makes decisions based on the objective demands of higher values.
To responsibility, add veracity. Some liars deceive themselves without guilt, and others know they are lying. The knowing liars are morally bankrupt, but the self-deceiver is harder to change.
Then follows the heart of moral values, goodness. Goodness is a willingness to sacrifice, being generous, and being filled with compassion. Love is the core of goodness. Lacking goodness makes one a hard man unmoved by compassion or makes one a cold man filled with indifference and too preoccupied with his concerns to think of others.
Then follows two chapters by Alice. One on communion and one on Hope. In short, the moral life has its goal in communion. We are not to be alone, but together. Together with God and others. In contrast to lower animals, we can be alone while with other people. Shallow relationships don’t fulfill.
The chapter on hope deal with despair, especially the despair that is unconscious of itself. This type of despair gloats over small enjoyment and seeks them again tomorrow. One pleasure pushes onto the next. The constancy of pleasure can bring despair into consciousness. This conscious despair often gives way to irrationality, the rejection of reason. Hope is not optimism - that is pure wishful thinking. Hope is nothing but hope ‘in’. Hope is not self-deception, but admitting the situation is grave, but hopes ‘in’ the goodness of God.
The book closes with two final chapters on Virtue Today and the Human Heart. What often substitutes for moral value is chosen values. Values that are not directly related to moral goodness. Diligence is a value that can be used for moral good or evil. He also talks about the indissolvable unity of moral goodness. One cannot decide to be just, and leave purity to others. Moral values cannot be parcelled and picked at will. In these chapters, he also talks about humility as the mark of Christian virtue. A virtue that seemed strange to the Greeks. Humility transforms all of the natural virtues.
He closes with a chapter on the Human Heart. Moral growth should shift one’s affections. Morality is not pure duty but affection as well.
This is the kind of short weighty book that deserves an annual reading.
Very highly recommended.
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