On Manners

Many otherwise enlightened people often dismiss etiquette as a trivial subject orâe"worse yetâe"as nothing but a disguise for moral hypocrisy or unjust social hierarchies. Such sentiments either mistakenly assume that most manners merely frame the âeoereal issuesâe of any interpersonal exchange or are the ugly vestiges of outdated, unfair social arrangements. But in On Manners, Karen Stohr turns the tables on these easy prejudices, demonstrating that the scope of manners is much broader than most people realize and that manners lead directly to the roots of enduring ethical questions. Stohr suggests that though manners are mostly conventional, they are nevertheless authoritative insofar as they are a primary means by which we express moral attitudes and commitments and carry out important moral goals.

Drawing primarily on Aristotle and Kant and with references to a wide range of cultural examplesâe"from Jane Austenâe(tm)s Pride and Prejudice to Larry Davidâe(tm)s Curb Your Enthusiasmâe"the author ultimately concludes that good manners are essential to moral character.