Soul, self, and society
Book Description
In a world where many believe moral standards are crumbling, Edward L. Rubin presents a revolutionary perspective that challenges this widespread assumption. Rather than witnessing moral decay, we are experiencing the birth of an entirely new ethical framework that prioritizes human self-fulfillment over traditional obligations.
Rubin traces the evolution of Western morality through three distinct eras, each aligned with different forms of governance. The Early Middle Ages operated on an honor-based system where personal loyalty, generosity, and strategic violence maintained social bonds in a world of declining state power. This warrior ethos, immortalized in epic tales and still echoing in modern subcultures, eventually gave way to a morality of higher purposes during the High Middle Ages.
This second moral system demanded individual devotion to salvation and collective service to emerging nation-states. It established rigid hierarchies, restricted personal freedoms, and subordinated individual desires to institutional authority. Today, this framework is dissolving as a new morality emerges, one that encourages each person to pursue their most meaningful and rewarding path.
This contemporary ethical system is far from permissive abandonment. It requires mutual respect for individual choices, demands merit-based opportunities, and insists that society support every member's potential for self-realization. Where people once served institutions, institutions now exist to serve human flourishing.
Understanding this moral transformation offers profound insights into contemporary conflicts and points toward a future where personal fulfillment and social responsibility can coexist harmoniously.
Who Is This For?
📖 Reading Level: Long (> 400 pages) (~13 hours)
📄 Length: 464 pages
What You'll Discover
- ✓ Understand spiritual ethics
- ✓ Explore LAW / Ethics & Professional Responsibility
- ✓ Explore Political ethics
- ✓ Explore Ethics, modern
- ✓ Explore Conduct of life
- ✓ Explore Law and ethics
- ✓ Explore POLITICAL SCIENCE / Public Affairs & Administration
- ✓ Explore HISTORY / Modern / General
