Author | Ben Shapiro |
---|---|
Language | English |
Publisher | Broadside Books |
Publication date | March 19, 2019 |
Publication place | United States |
Pages | 288 |
ISBN | 978-0-06-285790-3 |
Preceded by | Say It's So |
Followed by | Facts Don't Care about Your Feelings |
The Right Side of History: How Reason and Moral Purpose Made the West Great is a 2019 book by American conservative political commentator Ben Shapiro. Shapiro was inspired to write the book after an incident at California State University, Los Angeles in which protesters interrupted his speech.
In the book, Shapiro argues that Western civilization is experiencing a crisis and a potential downfall. He asserts that by abandoning Judeo-Christian values and the Greek-born faculty of reason, modern society is hastening this demise, that hedonism and rampant materialism have made humankind susceptible to failure, and that the only way to reverse this decline is to return to the values and faculties that helped shape the Western civilization. [1]
The book was #1 for non-fiction books on the April 7, 2019 New York Times Best Seller list. [2] Reception of the book's coverage of philosophy and history, as well as the arguments presented within it, was mixed.
Shapiro was scheduled to give a speech at California State University, Los Angeles for Young America's Foundation's campus group on February 25, 2016, titled "When Diversity Becomes a Problem". Some students and faculty members objected to Shapiro's presence on campus. At the time, Shapiro was an editor for the far-right news website Breitbart News. In response, university president William Covino cancelled the speech. In a statement, Covino cited his intention for "him to appear as part of a group of speakers with differing viewpoints on diversity". Covino further stated: "Such an event will better represent our university's dedication to the free exchange of ideas and the value of considering multiple viewpoints." [3] However, when Shapiro announced his intention to show up anyway, Covino reversed his decision. [4]
On the day of Shapiro's speech, student protesters formed human chains to prevent access by attendees to the theater hall where Shapiro would be speaking. As Shapiro was preparing to start his speech, several protesters pushed and obstructed those attempting to enter the theater hall. Soon after the speech began, a protester pulled a fire alarm. Nevertheless, Shapiro continued his speech throughout the continuous disruption, which was further exacerbated by protesters loudly banging against the outer doors of the theater hall. After the speech concluded, he was quickly escorted off campus via a police motorcade. [5] [6]
In the aftermath of the incident, the conservative Christian non-profit organization Alliance Defending Freedom filed suit in Los Angeles federal court against CSULA on behalf of Shapiro and the campus chapter of Young Americans for Freedom. [7]
Shapiro regarded this incident as one of two catalysts for him to write the book. The other factor was Shapiro becoming the top recipient of anti-Semitic tweets directed at journalists from August 2015 through July 2016 after he criticized Donald Trump and indicated his support for the #NeverTrump movement. According to the Anti-Defamation League, out of approximately 19,253 anti-Semitic tweets directed at journalists during this time period, Shapiro was the target of 7,400 of those tweets, or approximately 38% of the tweets. [8] Shapiro wrote: "I went through most of my adult life involved in public political conversations with others without threat of violence or racist slurs. Now, I required hundreds of police officers to protect me, and my Twitter feed was flooded with images straight from the pages of Der Stürmer. Something, obviously, had changed." Shapiro attributed these two incidents, as well as various other observations regarding social downturns and declines across the United States and the Western world to society rejecting Judeo-Christian values and Greek natural law: "We are in the process of abandoning Judeo-Christian values and Greek natural law, favoring moral subjectivism and the rule of passion. And we are watching our civilization collapse into age-old tribalism, individualistic hedonism and moral subjectivism."
Shapiro introduces the topic of the book by contrasting the rising quality of life in Western societies with statistics highlighting a societal decline across the West such as increasing levels of polarization, depression, divorce rates, and drug overdose deaths among others. He further references an incident in February 2016, when he gave a speech at California State University, Los Angeles, resulting in a violent confrontation between protesters and those attending Shapiro's event. He points to a loss of Judeo-Christian values and the Greek-based capacity for reasoning throughout the Western world as the chief culprit behind such events and declines.
He further analyzes the sense of discord and disunity amongst those of different political parties and beliefs, and proposes that such a rift was developed due to a drift from the understanding of applied ethics that served as a fundamental building block of Western society. He stresses a need to balance individualism with an ubiquitous sense of respect and empathy – virtues that Shapiro argues can most effectively be attained through an understanding of both Biblical ethics and Aristotelian ethics. [9] [10]
As he details the spread and influence of Judaism upon the ancient peoples of the Southern Levant, he argues that the introduction of Biblical ethics to the Israelites was the first catalyst for the roots of Western civilization to develop. As Christianity adopted Mosaic interpretations of law and morality, the moral guidelines and beliefs exclusive to Judaism became intrinsically inseparable from those of Christianity; hence leading to the Judeo-Christian interpretation of morality. Shapiro regards the second catalyst to be Aristotelian ethics, the basis of which is that one should aspire to become good, not merely to know. [11] He further postulates that upon these two schools of thought coming into contact with one another, they merged into the very basis and foundation for the growth and expansion of Western civilization. According to Shapiro, the two fundamental birthplaces of modern Western society are Jerusalem and Athens, the epicenters of Judeo-Christian faith and Aristotelian reasoning, respectively. [10]
The book addresses the fundamental ideological struggles between Greek thought and Jewish values, and how with the emergence of Christianity both schools of thought reconciled, paving the road for the creation of modern Western civilization. As Christianity spread, Shapiro argues, these two thought systems were spread with it. The spread of these values was further aided by the emergence of Scholasticism in the eleventh century. [12] He posits that the revolutionary intellectual advances achieved during the Enlightenment were correlated with the religious and moral convictions of some of its greatest minds, such as Johannes Kepler and Isaac Newton. Shapiro also argues that the philosophy behind the United States Declaration of Independence was the manifestation of Judeo-Christian values and the Greek gift of reason. He affirms that the inherent greatness of Western civilization can be directly attributed to the success and influence of the Declaration of Independence.
Concerning the division and faults of the modern United States, Shapiro claims that the rejection of Judeo-Christian values in favor of solely Greek Teleology, and the rejection of virtue in favor of moral relativism, are the chief culprits behind the degraded modern condition of Western civilization. He argues that the horrors of World War II, the Holocaust, and the killings of those living under Communist rule are all consequences of discarding morality and virtue as defined by Judeo-Christian ethics. He further argues that a major effect of World War II on the Western world was the loss of optimism; specifically a lack of vision for the future of humanity. With a collective sense of purpose and hope having disintegrated, Shapiro posits that the West has turned to hedonism and materialism in place of Judeo-Christian values and Greek reason.
In closing his book, Shapiro stresses that it is paramount to teach the next generation of children to cherish their existence and the world they live in, that they must recognize and respect the value of their humanity, and that they must be willing to stand up and defend their way of life.
The book was #1 for non-fiction books on the April 7, 2019 New York Times Best Seller list, [2] and remained on the top 15 list for six weeks, through May 12, 2019. [13]
Reaction from critics ranged from praise for Shapiro's analysis of philosophical concepts and the history surrounding them, to skepticism and criticism of Shapiro's reliance on Judeo-Christian doctrine and the scholarly validity of his arguments. Jonathan Rauch, writing for The New York Times , praised Shapiro's critique of individualism: "Shapiro's spiritual challenge to secularism is not new. In fact, it is venerable. As the liberal tradition's most astute contemporary defender, Peter Berkowitz, often points out, the charge that liberal individualism is self-destructively materialistic is itself an important strand of the liberal tradition." [14] In the same article, however, Rauch criticized Shapiro's coverage of thinkers and ideologies from different time periods within a few pages. [14]
Tracy Lee Simmons of the National Review lauded Shapiro's approach to the subject matter of the book, writing: "This book provides an excursion into the intellectual history of the West, from Mt. Sinai to the latest barbarity in Slate, usefully retold for those who know the story and accessibly digested for those who don't." He also praised Shapiro's arguments that the Age of Enlightenment was spurred by a religious and intellectual desire to explore the nature of the world surrounding humankind: "Indeed, Shapiro credits the intellectual ferment of the Middle Ages with eventually ushering in the scientific revolution from the 16th to the 18th centuries." [15]
John R. Coyne Jr. of The Washington Times praised Shapiro's coverage of Western thought and his analysis of contemporary issues: "In this strongly written survey of Western thought and cogent statement of democratic principle, Mr. Shapiro provides an analysis of our current crisis, its causes and potential cures, advocating a return to the basic values upon which our civilization was built." [9]
Alice Lloyd of The Washington Post criticized Shapiro's application of the theories in the book to figures and themes in recent history. [16]
Sean Illing of Vox debated Shapiro in response to various points and claims made in the book. During the debate, Illing pointed out the history of slavery, segregation, racial violence, and the resulting civil rights movement in the United States, and how such struggles and atrocities were spurred under the banner of Christianity, which Shapiro posited in the book as a guiding force for Western civilization. In addition, Illing criticized Shapiro's coverage and presentation of philosophy. [17]
In ethical philosophy, ethical egoism is the normative position that moral agents ought to act in their own self-interest. It differs from psychological egoism, which claims that people can only act in their self-interest. Ethical egoism also differs from rational egoism, which holds that it is rational to act in one's self-interest. Ethical egoism holds, therefore, that actions whose consequences will benefit the doer are ethical.
Ethics is the philosophical study of moral phenomena. Also called moral philosophy, it investigates normative questions about what people ought to do or which behavior is morally right. Its main branches include normative ethics, applied ethics, and metaethics.
Ethical naturalism is the meta-ethical view which claims that:
Hedonism is a family of philosophical views that prioritize pleasure. Psychological hedonism is the theory that the underlying motivation of all human behavior is to maximize pleasure and avoid pain. As a form of egoism, it suggests that people only help others if they expect a personal benefit. Axiological hedonism is the view that pleasure is the sole source of intrinsic value. It asserts that other things, like knowledge and money, only have value insofar as they produce pleasure and reduce pain. This view divides into quantitative hedonism, which only considers the intensity and duration of pleasures, and qualitative hedonism, which holds that the value of pleasures also depends on their quality. The closely related position of prudential hedonism states that pleasure and pain are the only factors of well-being. Ethical hedonism applies axiological hedonism to morality, arguing that people have a moral obligation to pursue pleasure and avoid pain. Utilitarian versions assert that the goal is to increase overall happiness for everyone, whereas egoistic versions state that each person should only pursue their own pleasure. Outside the academic context, hedonism is a pejorative term for an egoistic lifestyle seeking short-term gratification.
Moral relativism or ethical relativism is used to describe several philosophical positions concerned with the differences in moral judgments across different peoples and cultures. An advocate of such ideas is often referred to as a relativist.
Ancient Greek philosophy arose in the 6th century BC. Philosophy was used to make sense of the world using reason. It dealt with a wide variety of subjects, including astronomy, epistemology, mathematics, political philosophy, ethics, metaphysics, ontology, logic, biology, rhetoric and aesthetics. Greek philosophy continued throughout the Hellenistic period and later evolved into Roman philosophy.
Henry Sidgwick was an English utilitarian philosopher and economist and is best known in philosophy for his utilitarian treatise The Methods of Ethics. His work in economics has also had a lasting influence. He was the Knightbridge Professor of Moral Philosophy at the University of Cambridge from 1883 until his death. He was one of the founders and first president of the Society for Psychical Research and a member of the Metaphysical Society and promoted the higher education of women. In 1875, with Millicent Garrett Fawcett, he co-founded Newnham College, a women-only constituent college of the University of Cambridge. It was the second Cambridge college to admit women, after Girton College. In 1856, Sidgwick joined the Cambridge Apostles intellectual secret society.
Divine command theory is a meta-ethical theory which proposes that an action's status as morally good is equivalent to whether it is commanded by God. The theory asserts that what is moral is determined by God's commands and that for a person to be moral he is to follow God's commands. Followers of both monotheistic and polytheistic religions in ancient and modern times have often accepted the importance of God's commands in establishing morality.
Virtue ethics is a philosophical approach that treats virtue and character as the primary subjects of ethics, in contrast to other ethical systems that put consequences of voluntary acts, principles or rules of conduct, or obedience to divine authority in the primary role.
Ethics involves systematizing, defending, and recommending concepts of right and wrong behavior. A central aspect of ethics is "the good life", the life worth living or life that is simply satisfying, which is held by many philosophers to be more important than traditional moral conduct.
Alasdair Chalmers MacIntyre is a Scottish-American philosopher who has contributed to moral and political philosophy as well as history of philosophy and theology. MacIntyre's After Virtue (1981) is one of the most important works of Anglophone moral and political philosophy in the 20th century. He is senior research fellow at the Centre for Contemporary Aristotelian Studies in Ethics and Politics (CASEP) at London Metropolitan University, emeritus Professor of Philosophy at the University of Notre Dame, and permanent senior distinguished research fellow at the Notre Dame Center for Ethics and Culture. During his lengthy academic career, he also taught at Brandeis University, Duke University, Vanderbilt University, and Boston University.
Christian humanism regards classical humanist principles such as universal human dignity, individual freedom, and the importance of happiness as essential and principal or even exclusive components of the teachings of Jesus.
Benjamin Aaron Shapiro is an American conservative political commentator, media host, and attorney. He writes columns for Creators Syndicate, Newsweek, and Ami Magazine, and serves as editor emeritus for The Daily Wire, which he co-founded in 2015. Shapiro is the host of The Ben Shapiro Show, a daily political podcast and live radio show. He was editor-at-large of Breitbart News from 2012 until his resignation in 2016. Shapiro has also authored sixteen non-fiction books.
Samuel Benjamin Harris is an American philosopher, neuroscientist, author, and podcast host. His work touches on a range of topics, including rationality, religion, ethics, free will, neuroscience, meditation, psychedelics, philosophy of mind, politics, terrorism, and artificial intelligence. Harris came to prominence for his criticism of religion, and is known as one of the "Four Horsemen" of New Atheism, along with Richard Dawkins, Christopher Hitchens, and Daniel Dennett.
Christian values historically refers to values derived from the teachings of Jesus Christ. The term has various applications and meanings, and specific definitions can vary widely between denominations, geographical locations, historical contexts, and different schools of thought. Christian values also relate to the Christian identity in identity politics.
Christian ethics, also known as moral theology, is a multi-faceted ethical system. It is a virtue ethic, which focuses on building moral character, and a deontological ethic which emphasizes duty. It also incorporates natural law ethics, which is built on the belief that it is the very nature of humans – created in the image of God and capable of morality, cooperation, rationality, discernment and so on – that informs how life should be lived, and that awareness of sin does not require special revelation. Other aspects of Christian ethics, represented by movements such as the social Gospel and liberation theology, may be combined into a fourth area sometimes called prophetic ethics.
Ethics is the branch of philosophy that examines right and wrong moral behavior, moral concepts and moral language. Ethics or moral philosophy is a branch of philosophy that "involves systematizing, defending, and recommending concepts of right and wrong behavior". The field of ethics, along with aesthetics, concerns matters of value, and thus comprises the branch of philosophy called axiology.
The philosophy of happiness is the philosophical concern with the existence, nature, and attainment of happiness. Some philosophers believe happiness can be understood as the moral goal of life or as an aspect of chance; indeed, in most European languages the term happiness is synonymous with luck. Thus, philosophers usually explicate on happiness as either a state of mind, or a life that goes well for the person leading it. Given the pragmatic concern for the attainment of happiness, research in psychology has guided many modern-day philosophers in developing their theories.
Judaeo-Christian ethics is a supposed value system common to Jews and Christians. It was first described in print in 1941 by English writer George Orwell. The idea that Judaeo-Christian ethics underpin American politics, law and morals has been part of the "American civil religion" since the 1940s. In recent years, the phrase has been associated with American conservatism, but the concept—though not always the exact phrase—has frequently featured in the rhetoric of leaders across the political spectrum, including that of Franklin D. Roosevelt and Lyndon B. Johnson.
Dominion: The Making of the Western Mind is a 2019 non-fiction history book by British historian Tom Holland.
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