The Honor Code

The Honor Code by Anthony Appiah   264 pages

Appiah argues that morality isn't enough to effect changes in whether people do things that are considered bad. Honor and what is considered honorable has to shift in order for people to act. To make his case, he provides three examples: the death of the duel, the end of foot binding in China and the ending of Atlantic Slavery. He describes some of the historical context and explains how a shift in what was conceived of as honorable changed what people did. Finally, he indicates how this information can be applied to "honor killings".


Appiah makes a pretty compelling case to explain how moral revolutions happen. This book is philosophy but it is written for the layman and is very accessible. I thought it was a good read and would recommend it to others.