Otfried Höffe demonstrates that questions about ethics and moral action must be continually reexamined: Is humanity truly above all other living beings? Can animals think? Are high executive salaries justifiable? What are the permissible uses of technological and medical advancements, and what are not? Höffe emphasizes that knowledge of Aristotle, Kant, and Bacon is insufficient—one must also be able to apply their thoughts to the 21st century. For him, philosophy is not a dusty construct of thought, but a guide for moral action, and ethics is not a "progress killer," but rather the reflective instance through which we can address the problems of a globalized and technologized world: "A principled ethics does not merely oppose opportunism. It stands even more steadfast than a rock in the surf.".