Robert Kraynak and Glenn Tinder contend that the major challenge of our time is to recover a true and authentic understanding of human dignity and to defend it against threats from modern civilization. In Defense of Human Dignity wrestles with the dilemma that contemporary society has developed a heightened sensitivity to the demands of human dignity while creating radically new dangers to humanity in the form of the totalitarian state, modern technology, genetic engineering, the practical ethics movement, and radical environmentalism. Representing diverse viewpoints, the authors of this volume explore what is meant by "human dignity" and related notions, such as the "sanctity of life." The authors not only defend human dignity - drawing upon principles from Kantian ethics, theories of human rights, the Bible, and Christian theology - they also examine the limitations and problems of misguided conceptions of human dignity.The inspiration for this volume is the publication twenty years ago of the Covey Lectures by Glenn Tinder under the title Against Fate

Voices of Enlightenment have long counseled modern men and women to flee authority, including authority claimed by the church. Aspiring to substitute rock-ribbed law for human, or even divine, authority, today's legal minds pursue a "rule of law, not of men." Any possibility of authority is almost everywhere assimilated to the threat of authoritarian abuse. Civilizing Authority counters the flight from authority with the claim that it is precisely authority itself that offers a barrier against authoritarianism. The book's authors share the insight that humans cannot increase, or even long survive, without authority, and they observe, from along a broad spectrum of perspectives, that all phases of our human living depend on authority. Families, churches, clubs, monasteries, unions, cities, and states - human living would be unrecognizable without them, and they all depend upon authority and authorities. Still, what is "the authority experience?" What are we obeying when when we give willing assent to authority? The ten authors of Civilizing Authority, Chrisitians of diverse belief and professional discipline, unite here to explore the ways in which authority, though elusive, remains possible - indeed, exigent - in a post-Christian world. Refusing to conflate genuine authority with positions of power or prestige, they probe the deep, and perhaps transendental, sources of authority. Friendship, solidarity, liberty, and perhaps even belief - these, the authors suggest, may be the true springs of the authority that is the principle of increase in human living.

Liberty is a dangerous concept. It's sure to be misused and, if left unchecked, will likely bring not social harmony and happiness but their opposites. Nonetheless, liberty is absolutely necessary: without it there can be no authentic community. People are not free to do the right thing unless they are free to do the wrong thing; if they can't be wrong, they can't be right. Thus does Glenn Tinder, in this provocative work, argue emphatically for "negative liberty" -- the liberty that wants primarily to be left alone, with the authorities interfering as little as possible in the lives of people -- and against "positive liberty" -- a liberty that seeks to guide people into a "fulfilling" life. One of America's major thinkers on Civic life, Tinder approaches the ideal of liberty with a blend of pervasive pessimism and strong optimism. He writes from an open, nondogmatic Christian point of view, believing strongly in reason and in the primary importance of free communication and dialogue, and he insists that Christians can learn from such non-Christians as Nietzsche, Freud, and Marx. The substance of Tinder's book lies at the intersection of several major themes -- communication, human fallenness, the necessity of liberty, standing alone, and eschatology -- each considered in light of learning what liberty truly is and how it will affect the world at large.

In this concise and provocative analysis of modern culture, Glenn Tinder challenged conventional wisdom by contending that Christianity required no political program but rather a prophetic stance judging all programs and institutions against the ideal of love of each individual. In doing so, he helped to make clear what a Christian meaning in politics might be and charted a course between the extremes of passive cynicism and revolutionary idealism. Since it was first published in The Atlantic Monthly in 1989, this classic essay has stimulated many Christians and non-Christians alike to rethink the relationship between Christian faith and politics in contemporary culture. Glenn Tinder is Professor Emeritus of Political Science at the University of Massachusetts, Boston. His books include The Political Meaning of Christianity and Political Thinking.

This superb new volume is addressed to everyone interested in hope, regardless of their religious or philosophical beliefs. Glenn Tinder, one of our most astute and creative thinkers, probes the failure of modern, secular hope and shows, with great sensitivity and openness, why the tenets of Christian faith offer a true and meaningful source for hope amid the widespread distress, confusion, and despondency of contemporary life. From The Critics Jean Bethke Elshtain Glenn Tinder argues compellingly that modern despondency flows from a collapse of unreasonable optimism about our individual and collective prospects. By contrast to despondency and brittle optimism, Tinder calls for a renewal of hope. Framed by Christian belief, Tinder's elegant essay reaches out to appeal to all men and women troubled by our current condition. A beautifully written and touching work. Michael Novak Tinder's weighty essay on the nature, spirituality, and politics of hope offers an illuminating perspective on a central pillar of civilization. Mary Ann Glendon "A pristine intellectual and spiritual achievement by one of the most penetrating thinkers. of our day" Richard John Neuhaus "With this essay Tinder once again vindicated his reputation as one of the most incisive thinkers and graceful writers working today. His is a most powerful argument that only a hope that has come to terms with all the reasons for despair can sustain us into a future that we do not and cannot control. Tinder's wisdom is in knowing that attention to first things requires facing up to last things."

Robert Kraynak and Glenn Tinder contend that the major challenge of our time is to recover a true and authentic understanding of human dignity and to defend it against threats from modern civilization. In Defense of Human Dignity wrestles with the dilemma that contemporary society has developed a heightened sensitivity to the demands of human dignity while creating radically new dangers to humanity in the form of the totalitarian state, modern technology, genetic engineering, the practical ethics movement, and radical environmentalism. Representing diverse viewpoints, the authors of this volume explore what is meant by "human dignity" and related notions, such as the "sanctity of life." The authors not only defend human dignity - drawing upon principles from Kantian ethics, theories of human rights, the Bible, and Christian theology - they also examine the limitations and problems of misguided conceptions of human dignity.The inspiration for this volume is the publication twenty years ago of the Covey Lectures by Glenn Tinder under the title Against Fate