Moral Essays

David Hume (1711-1776) remains a major figure in British philosophy, particularly for two or three works, including A Treatise on Human Nature and An Enquiry Concerning Human Understanding. But he was also a prolific essayist and historian. During his lifetime Essays Moral, Political and Literary went through a number of editions and collections, far outselling his philosophy. Now, the situation is reversed. But listening to the essays today it is difficult to see why. 

Francis Bacon (1561-1626), 1st Viscount St Albans, Attorney General and then Lord Chancellor of England, was an immensely learned, clever and ambitious man, with considerable political influence. However, he was also a philosopher with a wide interest in science, medicine and the classification of knowledge. Throughout his life he wrote a series of essays - following the manner set particularly by Montaigne, though extending back to Aristotle and others - the first 10 of which appeared in 1597.

An essay concerning the final part of Friedrich Nietzsche's "On the Genealogy of morals". What does he mean by "man would rather will nothingness than not will"?

In On the Genealogy of Morals, subtitled "A Polemic", Nietzsche furthers his pursuit of a clarity that is less tainted by imposed prejudices. He looks at the way attitudes towards 'morality' evolved and the way congenital ideas of morality were heavily colored by the Judaic and Christian traditions.

These four poems, which deal with ethical issues, were collated and published in 1751 by William Warburton, seven years after Pope's death.

Why Must We Suffer? “If God is good and all-powerful, why does he allow his creatures to suffer pain?” And what about the suffering of animals, who neither deserve pain nor can be improved by it? The greatest Christian thinker of our time sets out to disentangle these knotty issues. With his...

In Thomas Ligotti's first nonfiction outing, an examination of the meaning (or meaninglessness) of life through an insightful, unsparing argument that proves the greatest horrors are not the products of our imagination but instead are found in reality. "There is a signature motif discernible in...

The autobiographical essays in The Girls in My Town create an unforgettable portrait of a family in Los Angeles. Reaching back to her grandmother's childhood and navigating through her own girlhood and on to the present, Angela Morales contemplates moments of loss and longing, truth and beauty, motherhood and daughterhood. 

For fans of Everything Is F*cked and Against Purity: Living Ethically in Compromised Times, a book about facing the multiple crises of modernity--and hospicing modernity--with maturity, humility, and integrity. This book is not easy: it contains no quick-fix plan for a better, brighter tomorrow...

Martin Luther King Jr. may be America's most revered political figure, commemorated in statues, celebrations, and street names around the world. But despite his stature, the significance of King's writings and political thought remains underappreciated. In To Shape a New World, Tommie Shelby and Brandon Terry state that the marginalization of King's ideas reflects a romantic consensus history that renders the civil rights movement inherently conservative - an effort not at radical reform but at "living up to" enduring ideals laid down by the nation's founders.

“A witty, learned, authoritative survey of philosophical thought.” —The New York Times Book Review The first authoritative and accessible single-volume history of philosophy to cover both Western and Eastern traditions, from one of the world’s most eminent thinkers The story of...

Spooky: An Exemplar Essay on the Life and Legacy of John L. Levitow In Spooky, Paul J. Ferguson examines the life and legacy of John L. Levitow—not as a story of rank or command, but as an example of responsibility claimed when no one was required to act. Levitow is remembered for a single, decisive moment during the Vietnam War, when he chose action over survival and responsibility over self-preservation. His significance lies not in position or authority, but in moral clarity under immediate threat—when there was no time for permission, no guarantee of outcome, and no obligation ...

This edition of Matias Aires’s Reflections on the Vanity of Men presents a selection of one of the most significant works of 18th-century Christian moral philosophy in the Portuguese language. In these reflections, Aires offers a penetrating analysis of vanity as the central force shaping human behavior. He examines how vanity influences judgment, distorts moral perception, and operates not only in vice but also within actions commonly regarded as virtuous. Throughout the work, he explores themes such as honor, reputation, ambition, self-love, and the illusions sustained by society. He ...

Bloomsbury presents Faith in the Public Square by Rowan Williams read by Niall Lucas Rowan Williams on critical contemporary issues in his final book as Archbishop of Canterbury. Archbishop Rowan Williams is the most gifted Anglican priest of his generation. His views are consistent and orthodox...

Thoughts in Words: Essays and Poems by Constantina Ionescu is a compelling collection of reflections on faith, society, human dignity, and the moral trials of contemporary life. Bringing together 57 essays and 11 poems, this volume is rooted, for the most part, in Romanian realities – in the tensions, disappointments, and contradictions of everyday life as observed by the author with sincerity and moral urgency. Yet these pages are never limited to a local frame. From specifically Romanian experiences, Constantina Ionescu draws conclusions that speak to universal human concerns: the ...

A Mind Awake, a new William Collins book, full description to follow when available...

The essays in this fascinating volume examine present-day psychological and cultural problems with the keen insight and humanistic sympathies characteristic of Erich Fromm's work. The Dogma of Christ provides some of the sharpest critical insights into how the contemporary world of human destructiveness and violence can no longer separate religion, psychology, and politics. The book brilliantly summarizes Fromm's ideas on how culture and society shape our behavior.

No one is called The Devil by accident. True nicknames are not born of popular wit or light folklore; they emerge when ordinary language falls short—when saying “man,” “boss,” “leader,” or “criminal” is no longer enough to capture what someone represents. The Devil appears when fear needs a proper name, and society, unable to fully comprehend what it has created, turns to the oldest and most effective metaphor it knows: evil incarnate. But this book is not about the Devil as a supernatural entity. It is about something far more unsettling: a human being. Because what is ...

Introduction Published in 1928, On Happiness gathers a selection of Propos—brief philosophical essays originally written by Émile Chartier, known as Alain, for the newspaper La Dépêche de Rouen. These meditations, born from everyday life and addressed to ordinary people, form one of the most luminous and accessible works of modern French thought. A direct heir of Montaigne and a disciple of Descartes, Alain sought in clarity of reason and in the discipline of will the foundation of an art of living. Against pessimism and morbid abstractions, he proposes a philosophy of attention and of...

An inflammatory essay on WHY America is in decline, along with the author's suggestions for fixing it. From the author: This is my first sojourn into commentary and it comes as a result of observing human behavior in the medical system and elsewhere. The piece is as controversial as it is correct and I expect ramifications from its publication. In the end, I hope it changes the views of the public, setting America on a course toward success rather than the downward spiral we're currently on. Warning: This work discusses abortion, among other topics.