With the current volume of "Method," the significant work of Edgar Morin comes to a close, having been translated and reissued in many countries. This work highlighted complexity in addressing and clarifying a fundamental problem. Subsequently, it spread widely and sparked a movement for the "reform of thought."

In this sixth volume, which deals with a more specific subject and may be more accessible than the previous ones, the author starts from today's distinctly Western crisis of ethics and revisits it after an anthropological, historical, and philosophical examination.

Indeed, duty cannot arise from knowledge but requires knowledge. Moral consciousness cannot stem from awareness but needs it; that is, it requires understanding and reflection. In fact, good intentions can lead to bad actions, and moral will can have immoral consequences. Hence the correctness of Pascal's teaching: "We must strive to think correctly."

Often, it is neither simple nor evident to fulfill our duty. The endeavor is rather risky, and its outcome unpredictable: and for this reason, ethics is complex.

Positioning himself beyond moralism and nihilism, the author does not yield to the classic temptation to establish ethics; he seeks to identify and revitalize its sources within life, society, and the individual, as humans are simultaneously individuals/society/species.

He addresses the persistent yet constantly intensifying issues of the relationship between ethics and politics, as well as between science and ethics.