In this groundbreaking book, Kenan Malik tells the remarkable story of moral thought as it has developed over three millennia—from Homer’s Greece to Mao’s China, and from ancient India to modern America.

Unlike previous histories of the topic, Malik emphasizes the full scope of the world’s traditions, extending beyond the West to include chapters on Hinduism, Buddhism, Islam, as well as studies of the Chinese masters Confucius, Mo Tzu, and their contemporary heirs. He also delights in the crossbreeding of disparate traditions, including the fertilization of the monotheistic religions with ideas from Greek philosophy.

Throughout The Quest for a Moral Compass, Malik vividly conjures the moral landscapes behind history’s most influential thinkers and breathes new life into nearly forgotten ethical debates from throughout the ages. He also challenges many of religion and philosophy’s most cherished ideas with provocative arguments from our own time.

The Quest for a Moral Compass confronts some of humanity’s deepest questions and lucidly brings morality down to earth, showing how social needs and political desires have shaped moral thinking over the ages. It is a history of the world told through the history of moral thought, and a history of moral thought that casts new light on global history.