The Character Gap

How Good Are We?
Erscheinungsjahr 2019
ISBN: 978-0-19-750380-5
Verlag: Oxford University Press

Buch, Englisch, 296 Seiten, Print PDF, Format (B × H): 127 mm x 178 mm, Gewicht: 314 g

We like to think of ourselves, our friends, and our families as decent people. We may not be saints, but we are still honest, relatively kind, and mostly trustworthy. Miller argues here that we are badly mistaken in thinking this. Hundreds of recent studies in psychology tell a different story: that we all have serious character flaws that prevent us from being as good as we think we are - and that we do not even recognize that these flaws exist. But neither are most of us cruel or dishonest. Instead, Miller argues, we are a mixed bag. On the one hand, most of us in a group of bystanders will do nothing as someone cries out for help in an emergency. Yet it is also true that there will be many times when we will selflessly come to the aid of a complete stranger - and resist the urge to lie, cheat, or steal even if we could get away with it. Much depends on cues in our social environment. Miller uses this recent psychological literature to explain what the notion of "character" really means today, and how we can use this new understanding to develop a character better in sync with the kind of people we want to be.

Autoren/Hrsg.

Miller, Christian B.

Fachgebiete

• Geisteswissenschaften Philosophie Ethik, Moralphilosophie
• Geisteswissenschaften Philosophie Sozialphilosophie, Politische Philosophie
• Sozialwissenschaften Politikwissenschaft Politikwissenschaft Allgemein Politische Theorie, Politische Philosophie

Inhaltsverzeichnis

- Acknowledgements

- Preface

- Part One: What is Character and Why is it Important?

- Chapter One: What Are We Talking About?

- Chapter Two: Why Should We Bother Developing a Good Character?

- Part Two: What Does Our Character Actually Look Like Today??

- Chapter Three: Helping

- Chapter Four: Harming

- Chapter Five: Lying

- Chapter Six: Cheating

- Chapter Seven: Putting the Pieces about Character Together

- Part Three: What Can We Do to Improve Our Characters?

- Chapter Eight: Some Initial and Less Promising Strategies

- Chapter Nine: Some Strategies with More Promise for Improving Our Characters

- Chapter Ten: Improving Our Characters with Divine Assistance

- Works Cited

Über Autor(innen)

Christian B. Miller is A.C. Reid Professor of Philosophy at Wake Forest University and Director of the Character Project, funded by the John Templeton Foundation and Templeton World Charity Foundation. He is the author of over 75 papers as well as two books with Oxford University Press, Moral Character: An Empirical Theory (2013) and Character and Moral Psychology (2014). He is also the editor or co-editor of Essays in the Philosophy of Religion (Oxford University Press), Character: New Directions from Philosophy, Psychology, and Theology (Oxford University Press), and several other volumes.