Loving Life: The Morality of Self-Interest and the Facts that Support It

By Craig Biddle

Loving Life demonstrates that morality is a matter not of divine revelation or social convention or personal opinion -- but, rather, of the factual requirements of human life and happiness. Biddle... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0971373701
• ISBN13: 9780971373709
• Release Date: January 2002
• Publisher: Glen Allen Pr Llc
• Length: 160 Pages
• Weight: 0.54 lbs.
• Dimensions: 8.3" x 0.3" x 5.5"

Customer Reviews

A profound yet easily accessible text on self-interest

The material abundance and individual freedom that is the hallmark of capitalism rests on upon the ethics of self-interest, but today perhaps no code of morality is more misunderstood and maligned. In a profound yet easily accessible text, Craig Biddle demolishes the conventional wisdom that holds sacrifice as a moral ideal and offers the honest reader a compelling alternative.Through examples drawn from today's headlines, historical analysis and the thoughtful examination of leading intellectual thinkers, Loving Life clearly demonstrates that morality is a matter not of divine revelation or social convention or personal opinion-but, rather, of the factual requirements of human life and happiness. Biddle shows how a true morality is derived logically from observable facts, what in essence such a morality demands, and why it is a matter of pure self-interest.Loving Life exposes the baseless nature of the various moralities that call for human sacrifice and lead to human suffering and shows how a true morality is derived logically from observable facts and what such a morality implies-personally, socially, and politically. With clarity and elegance, Biddle demonstrates the principles, values, and virtues that are essential to human life and happiness; and he defines and defends the social and political conditions that are required for people to live together as civilized beings. This book is the perfect book to give to a friend or relative who needs an intellectual jumpstart in their lives.

The Objectivist Alternative

The primary virtue of the this book is a complete demolition of the typical Conservative claim that without God there is no morality. Craig Biddle does an excellent job of refuting all sides (the religious and personal or social subjectivist) of that particular mistaken proposition in all their manifestations and proves his points both with authoritative quotes from the various advocates and helpful examples that serve to clarify the ideas in a manner far better than I've seen in virtually all presentations of this sort. In addition Mr. Biddle does not just stop there but spends the rest of the book presenting the proper alternative to the false God/Anything Goes dichotomy -- a morality based of reason and principled self-intest. He shows how morality can be derived from facts and what the specifics of such a fact-based morality would look like. He concludes by outlining the essential principle of politics -- individual rights.

For students of ethics and morality

Loving Life: The Morality Of Self-Interest And The Facts That Support It by Craig Biddle is a challenging, informative, thoughtful treatise about the true meaning of ethics. Putting forth that morality does not come from God, social convention, personal opinion, or limiting oneself to what is culturally accepted, but rather embodied in reason, logic, cause and effect, and understanding the importance and value of human life and happiness. Loving Life is a fresh voice of reason about truly living well and pursuing happiness within ethical bounds that are righteous for the best reason of all - because they are rationally constructed out of respect and love for all other human beings. Loving Life is very highly recommended reading for both students of ethics and morality, as well as the non-specialist general readers with an interest in philosophy.

A Guide to Happiness

This book demonstrates why the ethics of religion and subjectivism (whether social or personal) lead to psychological torture--then offers an alternative morality, explaining what supports it and the virtues that it requires.Rejecting from the start the popular myth that morality comes from God, Biddle declares that "it is not a matter of divine revelation." Nor, he continues, "is it a matter of social convention or personal opinion. Being moral does not consist in obeying commandments, or in doing whatever is culturally expected, or in doing whatever one wants to do."True morality, he believes, is not "a matter of faith or conformity or feelings" but "of the factual requirements of human life and happiness." Because of this, the subject of morality--for Biddle as for Rand (the philosopher whose ethics he presents in this book)--is "an indispensable guide to living well and loving life."Thus, if you love your life and want to live it to the fullest--"if," the author says, "you want to achieve the greatest happiness possible"--then this book is definitely for you. With eloquence and above all clarity, Biddle demonstrates the essential means to that end--a proper, meaning objective, morality.

A Morality for Loving Life

"If you want to live your life to the fullest, if you want to achieve the greatest happiness possible, this book is for you. It is about the essential means to that end: a proper code of values--a proper morality." Thus begins _Loving Life_, and the rest of the book lives up to this claim._Loving Life_ gives you two crucial values. It a) shows how morality is a matter of objective fact, not subjective whim or religious dogma and b) shows you clearly and concretely the meaning of the morality of rational self-interest and how to use it to improve your life.If are already familiar with rational selfishness/the Objectivist ethics, this book--with its many illuminating descriptions and examples--will give you a greater understanding of the morality.Unconditionally recommended.