Encyclopaedia of Religion and Ethics (Religious Doctrines and Their Ethics)

Many of the key problems and concepts of ethics go back to the time of the Vedas and the origins of Vedic Philosophy. The earliest documents to be studied are the Veda-Samhitas and their culmination as the Upanishads. The schools of Jainism, Buddhism, Islam and Christianity also provide an excellent psychological analysis and form important sections in the history of Ethics. This book is addressed to any reasonably intelligent human being who seeks answers to ultimate human questions. It is not concerned with scholarly polemics. Of course, it is to be expected that some religious traditionalists will attack this work from their perspective of faith. The thesis and theme of this book is that ethics properly understood (including both intellectual and moral virtue) is the most important objective, preoccupation, and task of human beings insofar as human beings fulfil the positive potentialities of human nature.