WHY CAN'T WE BE GOOD? [Paperback]

So many of us today proclaim both to ourselves and to others the ideal of real love. If we look honestly at our thoughts, emotions, and actions as we interact with others, however, we often see a huge contradiction between the ideal of loving our neighbors as ourselves and how we actually live and behave. We see how little we "listen" either to those around us or to our own inmost Self. We see that distracted and entranced by our own ideas, concepts, beliefs, assumptions, fears, conditioning, and so on, we seldom have either the wish or the ability to truly listen. At such moments we are faced with the fundamental fact of our lack of "moral power" and of our low level of being. We see that the so-called outer world of confusion, misunderstandings, conflict, and violence in which we live is a direct manifestation of this fact. We see that we are not fulfilling the great promise of what it means to be fully conscious human beings, and that the end result is conflict and even disaster for both ourselves and the world.

As a long-time professor of philosophy at San Francisco State University and the well-known author of many highly respected books including "The American Soul," "The Wisdom of Love," "Lost Christianity," and "Money and the Meaning of Life," Jacob Needleman has long been working with students of all kinds and speaking and writing about some of the greatest dilemmas of modern life, including what it means to live as a conscious, moral human being.

His new book, "Why Can't We Be Good?", is perhaps his greatest work to date and one of the most important books of our times. It is a "must read" for anyone interested in the truth about what is necessary to fulfill our promise as conscious human beings capable of acting justly and lovingly toward ourselves and our neighbors.

"Why Can't We Be Good?" is filled with transformative ideas and insights, practical exercises, and powerful "listening" exchanges between Needleman and his students. This book will not only help you think, feel, and sense in new, insightful ways about what it means to be truly human, but it will also give you a direct and transformative glimpse into the real meaning of conscience and its relationship to listening and love. Needleman makes clear that, for most of us at least, it is only through "conscious suffering" that we can ultimately learn "to serve what is good."

Needleman warns us, however, that "Conscious suffering must not be confused with what we ordinarily speak of as 'guilt.' What we are speaking about here is a full experience of seeing, a full confrontation with our being; a vibrant acceptance of our incapacity to do what is good without masking the truth with self-pity or futile vows--an acceptance of the fact that our actions and all our manifestations are a result of our level of being. This act of seeing is the movement that brings the two worlds toward each other--the inner world and the outer world, the world of inner aspiration toward love and justice, and the world of outer action and behavior."

"Why Can't We Be Good?" is a book to be savored and treasured. But beware! It you truly listen to what it reveals about you and how you live as you think together with Professor Needleman and listen to the great and expansive ideas, insights, and powerful exchanges and try the exercises that are given, you will probably not be able to continue living in the same old way. Indeed, this is a book that may well change your life.

This wonderful book is a western philosophical inquiry into ethics. Needleman examines Greek (Plato, Socrates), Roman (Marcus Aurelius) and Hebrew Judaic (Hillel, Torah) sources and then steps outside tradition to explain what is most important in examining ethics for man and woman today. Needleman pours out his soul presenting the deepest questions of man. His excitement and desire for us to understand is present throughout the book.

Not just simple ethics is discussed but the metaphysics of ethics and examples of moral mysticism, moral suffering and the ethics of thinking together. Needleman explains how thinking is an ethical act and the book includes classroom discussions and exercises, the ethical significance of thinking together and the ethics of attention. The quest for ethics involves intention, preparation, ideas, listening, struggling, silence and especially attention.

Needleman uses the Greek example of working together at thinking and focuses on helping us understand the ethical Talmudic wisdom of Hillel who said "what is hateful to you, do not do to your neighbor." He explains that the essential work of man is to remember the Self and as we love ourselves, love God, love our neighbor - then we are capable and able to be good.

The book is not religious but rather a philosophical inquiry and for the most part steps out of tradition to discuss man's striving for morality and the ability to be good. There are some examples within the Judao-Christian tradition but only scant mention of the teachings of the East (especially Hinduism is missing).

Throughout the book Needleman enriches, embellishes, enhances, amplifies and articulates in beautiful philosophic prose. He adds exquisite dimensions to increase our contemplation and he simply reveals many secrets of the ages.

I was one of Jacob Needleman's many philosophy students at San Francisco State University (1968-71) and now almost 40 years later I still learn from this important American philosopher. I thank him for sharing again with us and for dedicating the book to his "students."

Needleman does a tremendous job of exposing the stark reality of what is inside all of us - a knowledge of what is good, but a lack of power to do what we know is good. This is one of the most important ideas elicited by Needleman and one that we all must come to grips with. The moral problem of man is not so much a lack of moral knowledge as it is a strange lack of moral energy, moral power. And so the goal of ethics becomes not simply to do what is good whenever we can - because we will fail all too often - but to become people who have the power to do what is good. As Needleman writes: "The root of all moral obligation is the obligation to become capable of morality" (p. 202).

So how do we become people with moral power? Needleman argues that it begins with objective introspection - seeing our inner life for what it truly is. Once we come to grips with the fact that we cannot be good on our own, we must seek to receive help "from above." But here is where Needleman is dangerously vague. Is this Being "from above" God? Or is it the Buddhist Void? Or the Hindu Atman? Needleman is comfortable saying "all of the above," embracing a pluralist vision of Ultimate Reality: "I am obliged to care for the life that has been given me from within and above by God or the universal world of nature, or who or whatever is the father and mother of reality" (p. 197).

However, Needleman does affirm that this Ultimate Being is a "force of downward-descending love" (p. 226). The concept of love is essential, according to Needleman, agreeing that love is the ultimate goal of ethics. But do all of the differing accounts of God/Ultimate Reality see Him/Her/It as "downward-descending love"? Do all of these differing worldviews even see love as the central goal of ethics? I believe the answer to both questions is clearly no. For example, I cannot conceive of how an impersonal Ultimate Reality can even be capable of love, or even why love would be that important within that worldview. Additionally, within monotheism there are a countless number of portraits of God, each having a distinct view of the degree of love found within God. In other words, there are countless views on just how loving God is, and one's view of God's love is crucial for one's moral development, as Needleman I think would agree.

So this pluralism is puzzling to me. But I found Needleman's insights extremely helpful within my Christian worldview. This book encouraged me to pursue as a top priority introspective time with Christ, seeking personal growth and power as I dialogue openly with Him about what really lies in my heart, so that I can become more and more a person capable of goodness in everyday life. If you are interested in this subject, I also recommend any book written by Dallas Willard.