Everyday Ethics

Although our usual topic of conversation is ethics, the nature of human behavior dictates that in discussing our moral point of view we inevitably fall into considering aspects of religion and spirituality.  Thus, it is helpful to have a working knowledge of the basic tenets of major world religions, as well as an ability to effectively ponder some of the basic issues in the philosophy of religion.  Our multicultural, postmodern world requires us to consider many perspectives equally when assessing ethical dilemmas, and we cannot hope to do this effectively without a base of knowledge from which to draw.  It is in this particular arena that Global Philosophy of Religion excels.  Runzo maintains an even balance between explaining the principles behind various religious points of view and exploring the philosophical debates themselves. 

Runzo is especially knowledgeable in the field of Eastern religions, and he provides a highly useful glossary of religious terms to aid the reader in understanding the meaning of authentic terminology.  This book is extremely useful for both the first year university student and the accomplished scholar, as Runzo provides not only the raw materials of objective data, but also the intriguing arguments to which he subscribes.  Runzo shows no fear in disputing the work of even the most skillful religious thinkers, from Immanuel Kant to John Rawls.  This book is also peppered with interesting quotes from a wide range of religious scholars, from Masao Abe and Arvind Sharma to John Hick.
 
Runzo presents a user friendly format divided into chapters based on a particular subject, such as the role of love in religious devotion, or the question of how one can be moral without belief in a divine transcendent being.  I found Runzo’s ability to adapt traditional Western arguments, such as St. Anselm’s ontological argument, to themes in Eastern thought, to be both appropriate to the times and appealing to the postmodern thinker.  This book is by no means flawless, as each chapter reads like an academic paper with a clear opening, discussion, and concluding section.  This gives the reader a sense of closure on each topic, but it also creates a flavor more appropriate to an anthology than a single volume.  In addition, Runzo’s vocabulary is obviously massive, arguably to a fault,  as I found myself digging out Webster’s dictionary with shocking regularity while reading this book.  This does slightly inhibit the flow and comprehensibility of the work, but it also gives the reader the opportunity to expand their own linguistic skills and increase their Scrabble win percentage in the process.

As a former student of Dr. Runzo at Chapman University, I must confess that I did not particularly enjoy him as a professor.  He clearly has a high opinion of his own abilities, and this is equally apparent in his writing style.  However, one cannot deny the man’s knowledge, and as long as the reader is comfortable with the use of reference material and slightly over-the-top highbrow language, this book is truly a valuable source of intrigue and information and greatly enhances one’s ability to consider the ethical dilemmas of the modern world in an appropriately multicultural way. 

About the Author

Elijah Weber is a graduate student at Bowling Green State University. He holds a Master's degree in philosophy from Colorado State University, and Bachelor’s degrees in sociology and philosophy from Chapman Univerity. He currently lives in Ann Arbor, Michigan with his wife Laura, his son Brandon, age two and a half, and two cats, both of whom are mentally deranged.