The Responsible Self: An Essay in Christian Moral Philosophy
by
H. Richard Niebuhr,
William Schweiker
3.86 · Rating details · 120 ratings · 12 reviews
The Responsible Self was H. Richard Niebuhr's most important work in Christian ethics. In it he probes the most fundamental character of the moral life and it stands today as a landmark contribution to the field.
The Library of Theological Ethics series focuses on what it means to think theologically and ethically. It presents a selection of important and otherwise unavailable texts in easily accessible form. Volumes in this series will enable sustained dialogue with predecessors though reflection on classic works in the field. (less)
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Paperback, 200 pages
Published July 1st 1999 by Westminster John Knox Press (first published March 1st 1978)
Original Title
The Responsible Self: An Essay in Christian Moral Philosophy (Library of Theological Ethics)
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Feb 05, 2018Jim Robles rated it really liked it
Four stars! This splendid work maps, at least for me, very well to "Engaging the "Race Question" - Accountability and Equity in U.S. Higher Education," by Alicia C. Dowd and Estela Mara Bensimon.
At the first level we have "man-the-maker" (Homo faber) driven by his teleological goals: this corresponds to giving each individual equal access. At the second level we have "man the citizen" (Homo politicus) driven by law; this corresponds to applying equal resources to each individual. At the third level we have "the responsible citizen"; this corresponds to working with each individual to assure that they have the opportunity to achieve their potential.
The treatment of Stoicism, on p. 170 - 172, is very good.
"The responsible self or community apprehends others not as enemies but as fellow members of a comprehensive moral community as wide and deep as being itself" (p. xiii). William Schweiker (Forward)
INTRODUCTION
"But he was clear about what could and could not be expected from ethics as an intellectual discipline . . . . or for some assurance that the Christian community is by definition of its existence in Christ a community of superior responsibility. These things he will not find. . . . .
There is no proof that the morals of the Christian community are finally any better than those of other communities, or even that the basic principles of the community are better" (p. 13 - 14).
"The Christian community is as capable of false rationalizations, of perverted and distorted purposes, as any other community" (p. 24).
"Indeed, his view of revelation did not permit him to divide God's activity along some dispensational time line; . . . ." (p. 29).
I see Heiddeger on p. 32 - 33.
"God acts redemptively, but there is no redemption until free men respond to the divine act" (p. 38). No. As with other Christian writers this is inconsistent with what precedes it.
PROLOGUE: ON CHRISTIAN MORAL PHILOSOPHY
THE MEANING OF RESPONSIBILITY
RESPONSIBILITY IN SOCIETY
"But no one is so independent of his social culture that he can meet and interpret the events we call nature without some the words, categories, and relations supplied by his society. . . . . My action takes place as responsive and responsible in the midst of these interpretations and anticipations of reaction from both society and nature" (p. 81 - 82).
THE RESPONSIBLE SELF IN TIME AND HISTORY
"The Epicurean with his ideal of a quiet, undisturbed life, devoid of the perturbations of extreme pleasure not less than of pain, presents to men a shrewd plan for an existence that must end with death" (p. 90).
"They have found that if present relations of selves to others are to be reorganized, if the responses of selves to others and to themselves in interactions with others, are to be made constructive rather than destructive, if they are to fit better into the total process of interpersonal life, then the past must not be forgotten but remembered, accepted, and reinterpreted" (p. 104).
RESPONSIBILITY IN ABSOLUTE DEPENDENCE
". . . . we are like Chanticleer attributing the sunrise to his crowing" (p. 114).
"Responsibility affirms: "God is acting in all actions upon you. So respond to all actions upon youas to respond to his action"" (p. 126).
RESPONSIBILITY IN SIN AND SALVATION
"There is the similar paradox in the reflection that the action of the redeemed must be obedient to the will of another than the self, namely, God, and yet that if redeemed it be done in freedom, namely, the doing of one's own will" (p. 131)
"The responsible self we see in Christ and which we believe is being elicited in all our race is a universally and eternally responsive I, answering in universal society and in time without end, in all actions upon it, to the action of the One who heals all our diseases, forgives all our iniquities, saves our lives from destruction, and drowns us with everlasting mercy" (p. 144 - 145).
SELECTED PASSAGES FROM THE EARL LECTURES ON THE RESPONSIBLE SELF
RESPONSIBILITY AND CHRIST
"Thus man thinks of things anthropomorphically, or mechanomorphically, or mathematico-morphically, without always being aware that his patterns are not copies of the reality to which the reacts but products of an art of knowing in which subject and object interact" (p. 161)
"Christians undertaking to act in some fashion in conformity with Christ find themselves doing something like what some others, conforming to other images, are doing" (p. 168). (less)
The treatment of Stoicism, on p. 170 - 172, is very good.
"The responsible self or community apprehends others not as enemies but as fellow members of a comprehensive moral community as wide and deep as being itself" (p. xiii). William Schweiker (Forward)
INTRODUCTION
"But he was clear about what could and could not be expected from ethics as an intellectual discipline . . . . or for some assurance that the Christian community is by definition of its existence in Christ a community of superior responsibility. These things he will not find. . . . .
There is no proof that the morals of the Christian community are finally any better than those of other communities, or even that the basic principles of the community are better" (p. 13 - 14).
"The Christian community is as capable of false rationalizations, of perverted and distorted purposes, as any other community" (p. 24).
"Indeed, his view of revelation did not permit him to divide God's activity along some dispensational time line; . . . ." (p. 29).
I see Heiddeger on p. 32 - 33.
"God acts redemptively, but there is no redemption until free men respond to the divine act" (p. 38). No. As with other Christian writers this is inconsistent with what precedes it.
PROLOGUE: ON CHRISTIAN MORAL PHILOSOPHY
THE MEANING OF RESPONSIBILITY
RESPONSIBILITY IN SOCIETY
"But no one is so independent of his social culture that he can meet and interpret the events we call nature without some the words, categories, and relations supplied by his society. . . . . My action takes place as responsive and responsible in the midst of these interpretations and anticipations of reaction from both society and nature" (p. 81 - 82).
THE RESPONSIBLE SELF IN TIME AND HISTORY
"The Epicurean with his ideal of a quiet, undisturbed life, devoid of the perturbations of extreme pleasure not less than of pain, presents to men a shrewd plan for an existence that must end with death" (p. 90).
"They have found that if present relations of selves to others are to be reorganized, if the responses of selves to others and to themselves in interactions with others, are to be made constructive rather than destructive, if they are to fit better into the total process of interpersonal life, then the past must not be forgotten but remembered, accepted, and reinterpreted" (p. 104).
RESPONSIBILITY IN ABSOLUTE DEPENDENCE
". . . . we are like Chanticleer attributing the sunrise to his crowing" (p. 114).
"Responsibility affirms: "God is acting in all actions upon you. So respond to all actions upon youas to respond to his action"" (p. 126).
RESPONSIBILITY IN SIN AND SALVATION
"There is the similar paradox in the reflection that the action of the redeemed must be obedient to the will of another than the self, namely, God, and yet that if redeemed it be done in freedom, namely, the doing of one's own will" (p. 131)
"The responsible self we see in Christ and which we believe is being elicited in all our race is a universally and eternally responsive I, answering in universal society and in time without end, in all actions upon it, to the action of the One who heals all our diseases, forgives all our iniquities, saves our lives from destruction, and drowns us with everlasting mercy" (p. 144 - 145).
SELECTED PASSAGES FROM THE EARL LECTURES ON THE RESPONSIBLE SELF
RESPONSIBILITY AND CHRIST
"Thus man thinks of things anthropomorphically, or mechanomorphically, or mathematico-morphically, without always being aware that his patterns are not copies of the reality to which the reacts but products of an art of knowing in which subject and object interact" (p. 161)
"Christians undertaking to act in some fashion in conformity with Christ find themselves doing something like what some others, conforming to other images, are doing" (p. 168). (less)
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Feb 23, 2009Brett rated it really liked it
Provides the ethic of responsibility as another way of understanding Christian morality. As opposed to the dominant ethics, teleology, which understands right and wrong in comparison to ends (telos), and deontology, which sees right and wrong in terms of laws/commands, the ethic of responsibility sees right and wrong as the fitting response to the action--in community--of the One who reconciled us through his trust to the point of death and answered in the resurrection. It is an easier read than his older brother's, Reinhold, but is at times lofty and abstract. Nevertheless, there is much that is helpful here.
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Dec 31, 2020Austin Spence rated it it was ok · review of another edition
Shelves: theology, ethics
Haven’t been impressed with books more geared towards philosophy of religion/ in most cases Christianity specifically. Never really get much out of these books as I grasp on to anything I can and pray that I don’t lose grip. If you need a book supporting a theological studies thesis consider this, but not one for thinking differently about God.
Feb 23, 2009Brett rated it really liked it
Provides the ethic of responsibility as another way of understanding Christian morality. As opposed to the dominant ethics, teleology, which understands right and wrong in comparison to ends (telos), and deontology, which sees right and wrong in terms of laws/commands, the ethic of responsibility sees right and wrong as the fitting response to the action--in community--of the One who reconciled us through his trust to the point of death and answered in the resurrection. It is an easier read than his older brother's, Reinhold, but is at times lofty and abstract. Nevertheless, there is much that is helpful here.
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Dec 31, 2020Austin Spence rated it it was ok · review of another edition
Shelves: theology, ethics
Haven’t been impressed with books more geared towards philosophy of religion/ in most cases Christianity specifically. Never really get much out of these books as I grasp on to anything I can and pray that I don’t lose grip. If you need a book supporting a theological studies thesis consider this, but not one for thinking differently about God.
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May 16, 2018Naomi rated it really liked it · review of another edition
Shelves: non-fiction, read-in-2018, theology
In which Niebuhr pares moral concerns down to "What's happening?" and "Now what fits?" (less)
May 16, 2018Naomi rated it really liked it · review of another edition
Shelves: non-fiction, read-in-2018, theology
In which Niebuhr pares moral concerns down to "What's happening?" and "Now what fits?" (less)
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Nov 29, 2014David Hunsicker rated it liked it
Shelves: theology
Unclear that the "responsible" symbol accomplishes things that the "man as maker" or teleological approach cannot do. Especially with regards to Niebuhr's claim about the self as communal and historical - these seem like things that an Aristotelian / Teleological approach are also capable of embodying. (less)
Nov 29, 2014David Hunsicker rated it liked it
Shelves: theology
Unclear that the "responsible" symbol accomplishes things that the "man as maker" or teleological approach cannot do. Especially with regards to Niebuhr's claim about the self as communal and historical - these seem like things that an Aristotelian / Teleological approach are also capable of embodying. (less)
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Feb 21, 2012Wayne marked it as to-read
old hardback 1963Harper & Row
Feb 21, 2012Wayne marked it as to-read
old hardback 1963Harper & Row
Aug 31, 2012Ryan rated it liked it
Bewildered Amazement
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Jun 06, 2014Teguh rated it really liked it
nothing
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Jan 20, 2008Andrew Brown rated it really liked it
Revolutionized the way I think about ethics. The Niebuhr's (either one of them) always impress. (less)
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Aug 23, 2007Pam marked it as to-read · review of another edition
I read this book a really long time ago. I want to reread to form a solid impression.
Aug 23, 2007Pam marked it as to-read · review of another edition
I read this book a really long time ago. I want to reread to form a solid impression.
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Oct 26, 2007Bob rated it it was amazing
Shelves: ethics
I think this is one of his better works, albeit ignored. Focuses on what responsibility means in our society and culture.
Oct 26, 2007Bob rated it it was amazing
Shelves: ethics
I think this is one of his better works, albeit ignored. Focuses on what responsibility means in our society and culture.
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FPB
5.0 out of 5 stars A classic
Reviewed in the United States on 23 April 2014
Verified Purchase
This classic work is an excellently written and concise elaboration of Christian faith in practice pertinent and almost essential for any theological or pastoral student but of great value for anyone seeking to learn about their faith.
One person found this helpful
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thomas j. zwemer
5.0 out of 5 stars A Seminal Essay on Moral Philosophy from a Christian Perspective
Reviewed in the United States on 14 May 2014
Verified Purchase
This essay was a position paper written for academic colleagues. It subsequently found interest among those with a passion for ethics and its moral foundation. Most ethical propositions are based upon a Greek foundation rather than from a Christian perspective. I found it heavy going, but worth the effort.
2 people found this helpful
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