We Need Moral Direction

It was the idea of a “pathless path,” something I found in David Whyte’s book The Three Marriages. To Whyte, a pathless path is a paradox: “we cannot even see it is there, and we do not recognize it.”⁠1 To me, the pathless path was a mantra to reassure myself I would be okay. After spending the first 32 years of my life always having a plan, this k

When belief went into decline in north-western Europe in the middle of the nineteenth century, many commentators wondered where humanity would – in an increasingly secular future – find the guidance that religions had once provided. Where would ethical counsel come from? How would self-understanding be achieved? What would determine our sense of pu

But this Culture of Open Options is not a neutral holding pattern. It’s a culture that arranges our economy against loyalty to particulars: particular neighborhoods, particular people, particular missions. It’s a culture that substitutes a morality of honor—guiding people toward the good and away

They have a large measure of concern about the practical consequences of a culture that has accepted the view that what is good and right is not a subject of knowledge that can guide action and for which individuals can be held responsible.