The Moral Bucket List

Taken together, why does Brooks choose Eisenhower, Day, Perkins, and Eliot as examples to support his argument? How are they similar? How are they different? How do these similarities and differences contribute to Brooks’s argument?

Brooks is an atheist, but some ideas central to Western monotheistic religions can be detected in his essay. How are Brooks’s ideas similar to or different from those of major Western religions?

Brooks indicates that meeting people who radiate an inner light is not an everyday occurrence. Is Brooks optimistic or pessimistic about people’s ability to develop their moral character? Why or why not, and where do you see evidence for it in the essay?

Brooks uses George Eliot as an example of the “conscience leap.” To what extent is Eliot’s life an effective illustration of Brooks’s point? Why or why not?

Brooks writes that stumblers on the road to character often use art or journal writing to make sense of their pain and suffering. Brooks suggests that art and writing are integral to moral achievement. What roles do art and writing play in moral development?

Critics of Brooks’s work assert that he simplifies complex cultural structures and lacks research to support his claims. To what extent and why do you agree or disagree with this critique?

What are some limitations or challenges to Brooks’s idea of moral achievement?

Brooks’s argument turns on a distinction between resume virtues and eulogy virtues. Does Brooks overestimate the distance between the resume virtues and the eulogy virtues? Can the values of the marketplace and the values of moral integrity be the same? Why or why not?