The Responsible Self was H. Richard Niebuhr's most important work in Christian ethics, and it remains a landmark contribution to the field. Here Niebuhr probes the fundamental character of the moral life. He finds the key in the concept of responsibility, which implies not only the freedom and flexibility of responsiveness to others but also a guiding ideal of unlimited concern that goes beyond vague norms and narrow codes.
The book is based on lectures delivered by Niebuhr at Glasgow University. James M. Gustafson, who was Niebuhr's colleague at Yale Divinity School, provides a brilliant introduction.