Wednesday 11 March 2020
12:30
Rabbi Jonathan Sacks
Morality: Restoring the common good in divided times
We are living through a period of cultural climate change. We have outsourced morality to the markets on the one hand, and the state on the other, but neither is capable of bearing the moral weight of showing us how to live.
This has had a profound impact on society and the way in which we interact with each other. Traditional values no longer hold, yet recent political swings show that modern ideals of tolerance have left many feeling rudderless and adrift. In this environment we see things fall apart in unexpected ways. The influence of social media seems all-pervading and the breakdown of the family is only one result of the loss of social capital. Many fear what the future may hold.
Delivering a devastatingly insightful critique of our modern condition, and assessing its roots and causes from the ancient Greeks through the Reformation and Enlightenment to the present day, Rabbi Sacks argues that there is no liberty without morality, and no freedom without responsibility.
Rabbi Sacks is an international religious leader, award-winning author, philosopher, and respected moral voice.
He served as Chief Rabbi of the United Hebrew Congregations of the Commonwealth from 1991 until 2013 and has held a number of professorships at universities in Britain, the United States and Israel.
He is the author of over 30 books, including the Sunday Times bestseller Not in God’s Name: Confronting Religious Violence, The Great Partnership: God, Science and the Search for Meaning, and The Dignity of Difference: How to Avoid the Clash of Civilisations. He was awarded the prestigious Templeton Prize in 2016 in recognition of his work in affirming life’s spiritual dimension.
"The former Chief Rabbi, Lord (Jonathan) Sacks, is one of the most interesting thinkers, writers and speakers about today. His interventions into the public debate rarely fail to encourage thought, knowledge and indeed wisdom."
Rabbi Sacks is an international religious leader, award-winning author, philosopher, and respected moral voice.
He served as Chief Rabbi of the United Hebrew Congregations of the Commonwealth from 1991 until 2013 and has held a number of professorships at universities in Britain, the United States and Israel.
He is the author of over 30 books, including the Sunday Times bestseller Not in God’s Name: Confronting Religious Violence, The Great Partnership: God, Science and the Search for Meaning, and The Dignity of Difference: How to Avoid the Clash of Civilisations. He was awarded the prestigious Templeton Prize in 2016 in recognition of his work in affirming life’s spiritual dimension.
