The Morality Wars: The Ongoing Debate Over The Origin Of Human Goodness

In The Morality Wars, contributors from religious and non-religious backgrounds debate the origin and nature of human goodness. While the subject is often addressed by prominent figures on both sides of the believer/atheist divide on public platforms and social media, participants seldom get the opportunity to explain their viewpoints in depth. In addition to engaging the traditional conflict between science and religious faith over the content and nature of the moral conscience, the contributors also draw on and engage with figures who are often neglected when committed theologians and atheists debate each other, such as Sigmund Freud, Friedrich Nietzsche, David Hume, Jean-Jacques Rousseau, and Jacques Lacan.

Paul Copan is the Pledger Family Chair of Philosophy and Ethics at Palm Beach Atlantic University, USA. The author or editor of thirty books, including Creation Out of Nothing: A Biblical, Philosophical, and Scientific Exploration (with William Lane Craig, 2004), The Rationality of Theism (with with Paul K. Moser, 2003), The Routledge Companion to Philosophy of Religion (with Chad V. Meister; 2007; 2nd ed. 2012) and Philosophy of Religion: Classic and Contemporary Issues (with Chad V. Meister; 2007). He has contributed essays and written reviews for journals such as The Review of Metaphysics, Faith and Philosophy, Philosophia Christi, and Trinity Journal.

William Lane Craig is a Professor of Philosophy at Talbot School of Theology and at Houston Baptist University, USA. He has authored or edited over forty books, including Theism, Atheism, and Big Bang Cosmology (1995), God, Time, and Eternity (2001), and God Over All (2016), as well as over 150 articles in journals such as The Journal of Philosophy, American Philosophical Quarterly, Philosophical Studies, Philosophy, and British Journal for Philosophy of Science.

Susan Neiman is the director of the Einstein Forum. Her previous books, which have been translated into many languages, include Why Grow Up?: Subversive Thoughts for an Infantile Age; Moral Clarity: A Guide for Grown-Up Idealists; Evil in Modern Thought: An Alternative History of Philosophy; The Unity of Reason; and Slow Fire: Jewish Notes from Berlin. She also writes cultural and political commentary for diverse media in the United States, Germany, and Great Britain. Born in Atlanta, Georgia, Neiman studied philosophy at Harvard and the Free University of Berlin, and was a professor of philosophy at Yale and Tel Aviv Universities. She is the mother of three grown children, and lives in Berlin.

Steven Weinberg’s books and art have been featured in The New York Times, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, The Smithsonian Institute, as well as on the cover of Thomas McGuane’s Fly Fishing classic The Longest Silence and in Jimmy Kimmel’s fishing hotel The South Fork Lodge. He’s written and/or illustrated more than fifteen books for kids and adults including What Is Color?, a critically acclaimed journey into how color is made and The Fly Fishing Book: An Artful Guide to Angling and I Am The Mountain. Steven and his wife, Casey Scieszka, also own and operate the Spruceton Inn: a Catskills Bed and Bar. Their annual artist residency hosts world-renowned painters, bestselling authors, and Pulitzer Prize and National Book Award finalists. For more of Steven’s work, including original art and prints for sale, find him on his website and on Instagram.