A controversial call to place honor at the guts of morality

To the modern mind, the idea of honor is outdated, sexist, and barbaric. It evokes Hamilton and Burr and pistols at dawn, not really visions of the well-organized society. But also for philosopher Tamler Sommers, a feeling of honor is essential to living moral lives. In Why Honor Issues, Sommers argues our collective rejection of honor has come at great price. Reliant just on Enlightenment liberalism, america is among the most home of the cowardly, the shameless, the selfish, and the alienated. Properly channeled, honor stimulates virtues like courage, integrity, and solidarity, and gives a feeling of living for something larger than oneself. Sommers shows how honor can help us address a few of society’s most challenging complications, including education, policing, and mass incarceration. Counterintuitive and provocative, Why Honor Issues makes a convincing case for honor being a cornerstone of our society.