Herbert Fingarett's achievements range from his assault upon the misconceived 'disease theory' of alchoholism, through social philosophy, philosophy of law, and philosophical psychology, to Chinese studies and Confucian thought.

Fingarette's major works include 'The Self in Transformation' (1963), 'Self-Deception' (1969), 'Confucius---The Secular as Sacred' (1972), and 'The Meaning of Criminal Insanity' (1972). His Book, 'Heavy Drinking: The Myth of Alchoholism as a Disease' (1988), transformed the public debate on alchohol treatment and made Fingarette the target of an intense barrage of abuse and vituperation from entrepreneurs in the alchohol-treatment industry.

'Rules, Rituals, and Responsibilities' contains Fingarette's intellectual autobiography, nine papers by leading scholars on different aspects of Fingarette's thought, and Fingarette's response to each of these papers.