Books by Arthur B Weissman

In the fifty essays of this book, the author explores a wide range of topics to better understand the mysteries inherent in life and human experience. Why is life so mysterious? Why are we fascinated by evil? What is the nature of time, of love, of death? What is universally appealing about music, and why is writing so difficult? What are our fellow animal species really like, and why do we focus so much on ourselves and our identities? These are among the many topics addressed. Each essay begins with one or more seminal questions about the topic, and in concise but often eloquent prose the author leads the reader through an engaging thought process to answer them. At times moving and profound, the author opens himself - and, hopefully, the reader - to the wonders and puzzles of life on Earth. To leaven the load the author sprinkles throughout several less serious essays. In these the reader may learn about the virtues of eating spaghetti, the benefits of moving house frequently, the art of bureaucratic obstruction, or the best way to get ready in the morning. These topics, too, are essential to a full appreciation of life.

In the Light of Humane Nature describes the underlying, causal roots of our environmental problems and offers a conceptual solution to them. It argues that what causes these problems and stymies resolution ultimately relates to human values and attitudes toward the world around us, including other humans, other species, and nature as a whole. Readers are taken through key events in the modern environmental movement, and particularly the recent greening of the economy, focusing on the author’s own experiences and demonstrating both the promise and the shortfall in our efforts to become a more sustainable society. Finally it presents the changes needed in our moral and aesthetic outlook to connect with the highest human values in order to achieve a sustainable and humane world.