Description

‘This fat, complex, good-natured and intriguing book is full of such memorable material…startling and often thrilling’ Spectator

‘A heroic effort…rich with complex narrative, full of unexpected twists like the inquisitors’ tale’ Economist

For almost five million years, humans have been locked in a relationship with morality, inventing and reinventing the concepts of ‘Good’ and ‘Evil’, and weaving them into our cities, laws and customs.

Morality is a concept that can feel joyless and claustrophobic, associated with restraint and coercion, restriction and sacrifice, inquisition, confession and a guilty conscience. For many, it is a device used to shame us into compliance. This impression is not necessarily incorrect, but it is most certainly incomplete.

Hanno Sauer traces humanity’s fundamental moral transformations from our earliest ancestors through to the present day, when it can often seem that we have never disagreed more over what it means to be good, and what it means to be right. But we can use our past as a basis for a new understanding of our future. Our current political disagreements may feel like the end of the world, but where will the evolution of morality take us next?

Publisher Review

Sauer’s comprehensive history of morality from the origins of humanity until today provides a solid basis for contemporary debates – cleverly written, entertaining, and an invitation to rethink one’s beliefs * German Non-Fiction Award Jury * A tour de force through the history of our values * Der Standard, Austria * One of the best non-fiction books of the year * El Mundo, Spain * Elegant, confident, eloquent and smart — Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, Germany This look into the past is very entertaining, versatile, interestingly presented and at the same time razor-sharp and full of surprises. * Munchner Merkur, Germany * Sauer hits the nail on the head of our current times * Galore Magazine, Germany * Hanno Sauer is one of the most astute ethicists of his generation. So far, there has been no history of morality told from the perspective of philosophy. Sauer closes this gap: knowledgeable, funny and entertaining. — Philipp Hubl, philosopher and author