By Kwame Anthony Appiah. W. W. Norton & Co., New York, 264 pages, $25.95.

Shakespeare’s Falstaff dismissed honor as nothing more than a word, “a mere scutcheon.” Kwame Anthony Appiah of Princeton University differs. In “The Honor Code” he presents honor as a potent psychological and societal force that can accomplish evil as well as good. It should, he believes, enjoy a more prominent place in contemporary philosophy. He advances arguments that will appeal to and be appreciated by lawyers.