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Selected and Edited by Henry Bettenson

FROM THE COVER FLAP: This book presents a selection from the most important records of the history of the Christian Church from its beginning. It goes in all cases to official documents and other sources, and provides the general reader with many extracts, about most of which he may have heard, though he will have seen very few and will certainly not have them conveniently to his hand in one volume. The book opens with references to Christianity in the Classical authors, and continues with, among other subjects, the Relation of Church and State in the Roman Empire, the Formation of the Creeds, the Development of Doctrine, the Breach between East and West, the Empire and the Papacy, the Relations between Church and State….”

London. Oxford University Press. 1959. 479p.

By James Carroll

FROM THE COVER: In this "rare book that combines searing passion ... with a subject that has affected all of our lives" (Chicago Tribune), the novelist and cultural critic James Carroll maps the profoundly troubling two-thousand-year course of the Church's battle against Judaism and faces the crisis of faith it has provoked in his own life as a Catholic. More than a chronicle of religion, this dark history is the central tragedy of Western civilization, its fault lines reaching deep into our culture. A courageous and affecting reckoning with difficult truths that will touch every reader, Constantines Sword is truly a book for our times.

A Mariner Boo.k Houghton Mifelin Company. 2002. 757p. USED BOOK. CONTAINS MARK-UP.

By Richard Berstein

From the cover: “At the beginning of 1945, relations between Anerica and the Chinese Communists couldn't have been closer. Chinese lead ers talked of America helping to lift China out of poverty; Mao Zedong himself held friendly meetings with U.S. emissaries. By year's end, Chinese Communist soldiers were setting ambushes for American marines; official cordiality had been replaced bychilly hostility and distrust, a pattern which would continue for a quarter century, with the devastating wars in Korea and Vietnam among the consequences.

NY. Vintage. 2015. 473p. USED BOOK. CONTAINS MARK-UP

Edited by Edmund S. Phelps

From the Preface: “The self-interest model has had sweeping success over recent decades in the study of both economics and politics. Yet the inner ambiguities and limitations of that model could not indefinitely escape notice and examination. Self interest in some interpretation is some of the story some of the time, never the whole story. On March 3 and 4, 1972, a number o fsocial scientists met at Russell Sage Foundation to speculate and theorize on the roles that altruism and morality in a society may play in shaping human behaviorand institutions within it. The nine papers presented at the conference are by economists. The commentaries on them were drawn from representatives of other disciplines, primarily philosophy and law. This volume is a rough. approximation to the proceedings of the conference. An introduction by the editor has been added to announce some of the main themes and to bring out some of the interrelations among the papers.”

NY. Russell Sage Foundation. 1975. 225p. CONTAINS MARK-UP

By A. G. N. Flew

FROM THE INTRODUCTION: The obvious and the right place from which to begin a study of evolutionary ethics is the work of Charles Darwin. For, primarily, it is his ideas - or what have been thought to be his ideas which advocates of evolutionary ethics or evolutionary politics have tried to apply more widely. This is not, of course, to say that Darwin hadn ointellectual ancestors; any more than it is to suggest that biological theory has since his death stood still. To say or to suggest either thing would be absurdly wrong…”

NY. St. Martinn’s Press. 1967. 78p. CONTAINS MARK-UP

By Michael Polanyi

From Chapter 1: “What is the nature of science? Given any amount of experience, can scientific propositions be derived from it by the application of some explicit rules of procedure? Let us limit ourselves for the sake of simplicity to the exact sciences and conveniently assume that all relevant experience is given us in the form of numerical measurements; so that we are presented with a list of figures representing positions, masses, times, velocities, wavelengths, etc., from which we have t oderive some mathematical law of nature. Could we do that by the applicationo f definite operations? Certainly not….”

Chicago And London. The University Of Chicago Press. 1946. 95p. CONTAINS MARK-UP

By Patrick Devlin

From the cover: The limits of individual freedom within society-the boundaries of the public and the private in the realm of morals, and the point at which the law may e n t e ra r e the core concern of these seven essays by a prominent British jurist. Linked by their interest in the con- nection between morality and the law, they consider in detail the relation of moral law to various branches of criminal law, the quasi- criminal law, the law of tort, the laws of contract and of marriage.

For the force of its commands and prohibitions morality still depends heavily on religion, but in our secular society law may no longer be justified by religious belief. The law, Lord Devlin argues, must be concerned solely with the facts of common morality, rather than with any philosophical or religious conception of how it ought to be; what the law-maker has to ascertain is not the "true" belief. but the common belief; those who serve the law have a duty to defend "the law as it is, morality as it is. freedom as it is--none of them perfect, but the things that their society has got, and must not let go."

Lord Devlin disputes the contention in the Wolfenden report on homosexuality that there is a realm of private morality which lies outside the law. In either case, he asserts. the argument depends upon the definition of the private and the public realm. In this regard he considers the doctrine of John Stuart Mill contained in On Liberty, from which many arguments on public and private freedom derive.

London. Oxford University Press. 1965. 149p. CONTAINS MARK-UP.

Compiled By Vincent Cronin

From the introduction: “…With the portrayal of saints, on the other hand, artists have felt no nced to transcend the limitations of time and place. Such portraits accurately reflect the ciilization which gave them birth, without, however, being merely local or national. Hagio-iconography has scldom been tainted by chauvinism. St George, a martyr in Palestine, is patron saint of England, while St Nicholas is honoured no less in Italy than in Russia. I can remember my surprise and delight in finding a stained- glass window of St Thomas à Becket in a church in Sicily, and a picture of St Theresa of Lisieux in a peasant cottage in the depths of Yugoslavia. The portrayal of saints, though some may regard it as merely a side-line in the history of Western civilization, can actually claim to be one of its most central and distinctive features…”

Westminster. Newman Press. 1963. 381p.

Hare has written a clear, brief, and readable introduction to ethics which looks at all the fundamental problems of the subject.

Hare describes his book as "an introduction to ethics" for beginners (p. v), but it is more ambitious than that. Prospective readers should not take the author's modest claim too seriously, for the book is not an "introduction." It is a perceptive contribution toward the solution of many fundamental problems of ethics.

The book is very compact (Hare informs that the original material was reduced to half its length), and it deals with so many specific issues that the contents do not lend themselves to brief summary. This is especially true of Part II, called "Good," and Part III, called "Ought," where a wealth of illuminating material is laid out before the reader like so many pearls, with not a string on which they may be strung. But in the light of what Hare regards as "one of the chief purposes of ethical inquiry" (p. I97), which is to show how moral decisions are justified, this material, however valuable in its own right, may be regarded, for the purposes of a review, as serving a tactical purpose.

By R. M Hare

London. Clarendon Press. 1952.204p.

Unknown Author

This is a reproduction of a book published before 1923. This book may have occasional imperfections
such as missing or blurred pages, poor pictures, errant marks, etc. that were either part of the original artifact, or were introduced by the scanning process. We believe this work is culturally important, and despite the imperfections, have elected to bring it back into print as part of our continuing commitment to the preservation of printed works worldwide.

London. Black and Son. ca. 1880. 54p.

By Erich Fromm

From the broad, interdisciplinary perspective that marks Fromm's distinguished oeuvre, he shows that psychology cannot divorce itself from the problems of philosophy and ethics, and that human nature cannot be understood without understanding the values and moral conflicts that confront us all. He shows that an ethical system can be based on human nature rather than on revelations or traditions. As Fromm asserts, "If man is to have confidence in values, he must know himself and the capacity of his nature for goodness and productiveness."

Greenwich, Conn. Fawcett. 1947. 257p.

By Lon L. Fuller.

In this classic work the legal philosopher Lon L. Fuller explores the relationship between law and morality, distinguishing between the morality of duty and the morality of aspiration.

New Haven. Yale University Press. 1964. 266p.

By Joseph Campbell

What is a properly functioning mythology and what are its functions? Can we use myths to help relieve our modern anxiety, or do they help foster it? In Myths to Live by, Joseph Campbell explores the enduring power of the universal myths that influence our lives daily and examines the myth-making process from the primitive past to the immediate present, retuning always to the source from which all mythology springs: the creative imagination.

Campbell stresses that the borders dividing the Earth have been shattered; that myths and religions have always followed the certain basic archetypes and are no longer exclusive to a single people, region, or religion. He shows how we must recognize their common denominators and allow this knowledge to be of use in fulfilling human potential everywhere.

New York. Bantam. 293p.

The classic study which relates magic and religion to the institutions and folk customs on which they are based.

In The Golden Bough, James George Frazer, an expert social anthropologist, explains the ancient origins of the world's myths, rituals, and religions. He shows the similarities between many cultures' strange superstitions, such as animal and human sacrifice, fertility ritual, community cleansing rituals, and others.

He begins with the question of why, at Nemi in prehistoric Greek times, a warrior priest known as the King of the Wood kept his position by fighting for his life, which could be threatened at any time by his successor and murderer. By attempting to explain this ancient tradition, Frazer examines similarities between religious beliefs and shows how the belief in magic and the worship of nature was gradually transformed into the worship of religious kings and gods.

Controversially, many elements of Christianity are included, such as Christ's crucifixion and the fact that many Christian holidays coincide with the dates of prehistoric pagan rituals. For the diligent skeptic of Frazer's ideas, I would advise reading the full, multi-volume edition, which includes the archeological evidence for the theories.

NY. Criterion. 1959. 726p.

By G. .J Warnock

The central issue is that of identifying and understanding the fundamental principles of morality but the book also discusses the place of rules in moral thought, the nature of obligation, the relation between morality and religion and that of being moral and rational.

London Methuen. 1971. 175p.

By Karl R. Popper

Conjectures and Refutations is one of Karl Popper's most wide-ranging and popular works, notable not only for its acute insight into the way scientific knowledge grows, but also for applying those insights to politics and to history. It provides one of the clearest and most accessible statements of the fundamental idea that guided his work: not only our knowledge, but our aims and our standards, grow through an unending process of trial and error.

NY. Harper Torchbooks. 1963. 423p.

By Charles Fried

Investigates a complex structure of morality, the demands such morality places on individuals, and the behavioral consequences of the system of right and wrong

Cambridge.Mass. Cambridge University Press. 1978. 220p.

With an assortment of readings and perspectives from some of the most respected thinkers of our time, Social Ethics: Morality and Social Policy provides a balanced, engaging introduction to today’s most pressing social and moral problems. This highly popular anthology illuminates the issues at the heart of each contemporary problem and encourages critical, fair-minded examination of varying viewpoints―all presented in the words of those who embrace them. Helpful editorial features include substantial chapter introductions, a summary preceding each selection, discussion questions, and bibliographies for further reading.By Thomas A. Mappes and S. Zembaty

NY. McGraw-Hill. 1977. 376p.

Editor Chemi Ben Noon

The Waning of the Spirit" is an exciting and magical journey in the world of human spirituality, a demonstration of the love of the spirit. About fifty creators gathered together: students, friends, and admirers of the giant of the spirit, Shlomo Giora, expressed in articles, poems, and creations their guiding principle to this Renaissance man. The works encompass a vast and infinite land of all fields of human knowledge and culture: the revival of languages alongside hidden caves, cosmology alongside unsolved questions of physics, crime museums alongside delving into the depths of psychology, Trojan horses alongside spiritual Jewish criminology, harmonic reading of the text of Zhuangzi alongside a study of the mystical love poetry of al-Hallaj, Bertrand Russell alongside David Ben-Gurion, personal theories alongside the School of Friendship, analysis of the political space alongside rants about freedom of expression, enforced treatment alongside Dementia, Biblical Humanism alongside punishment, reconciliation alongside the decline of humanistic influence in medicine, Chapter 1 of the book of Genesis as a means to modern cosmology alongside Sisyphus and Tantalus, an artist and his creation alongside the courage to care, and more and more.

Tel-Aviv. IDRA Publishing. 2019. 798p.

By Giza Lopes

From the series foreword by Graeme R. Newman: “ Lopes convincingly argues that not only have the clergy as the shepherds of Death been replaced by modern medicine’s doctors and technologies, but that the rule of law has intervened to codify the ways and rights of helping people to die. She catalogues, with fascinating case studies and detailed historical observation, the quite different ways that the United States and European countries have tackled this problem of all problems. This is an erudite book that leaves no detail untouched; relentlessly unravels the moral, judicial, and political events that arguably precede—seen and unseen—not only every assisted death but arguably every single death on earth; and shows how these events have relentlessly set the stage for the coming movement to quicken the time it takes to die.”

Santa Barbara. Praeger. 2015. 256p.