The Character Gap
How Good Are We?
Published on 25. January 2018
Book
Hardback
296 pages
978-0-19-026422-2 (ISBN)
Description
We like to think of ourselves, our friends, and our families as pretty decent people. We may not be saints, but we are basically good, fairly honest, relatively kind, and mostly trustworthy.
One of the central themes of The Character Gap is that we are badly mistaken in thinking this way. In recent years, hundreds of psychological studies have been done which tell a rather different story. We have serious character flaws that prevent us from being good people, many of which we do not even recognize in ourselves. Does this mean that instead we are wretched people, vicious, cruel or hateful? Christian Miller does not argue that this is necessarily the case either.
Instead, the more we put our characters to the test, the more we see that we are a mixed bag. On the one hand, most of us as bystanders will do nothing as someone cries out for help. Even worse, under pressure from authority figures we might kill innocent people. Yet it is also true that there will be many times when we selflessly come to the aid of a complete stranger, or don't lie, steal, or cheat even if we could get away with it.
As we embark on this journey of putting our characters to the test, some of the main questions will include:
What is good character?
Why should we bother working to develop a good character?
What does the research in psychology suggest about how good (or bad) our characters really are?
What secular strategies for improving our characters show a lot of promise?
What religious, and specifically Christian, strategies for improving our characters show a lot of promise?
In The Character Gap Miller shows not only how mixed our characters tend to be, but also how we can try to bridge the gap between who we are and the virtuous people we should strive to become.
One of the central themes of The Character Gap is that we are badly mistaken in thinking this way. In recent years, hundreds of psychological studies have been done which tell a rather different story. We have serious character flaws that prevent us from being good people, many of which we do not even recognize in ourselves. Does this mean that instead we are wretched people, vicious, cruel or hateful? Christian Miller does not argue that this is necessarily the case either.
Instead, the more we put our characters to the test, the more we see that we are a mixed bag. On the one hand, most of us as bystanders will do nothing as someone cries out for help. Even worse, under pressure from authority figures we might kill innocent people. Yet it is also true that there will be many times when we selflessly come to the aid of a complete stranger, or don't lie, steal, or cheat even if we could get away with it.
As we embark on this journey of putting our characters to the test, some of the main questions will include:
What is good character?
Why should we bother working to develop a good character?
What does the research in psychology suggest about how good (or bad) our characters really are?
What secular strategies for improving our characters show a lot of promise?
What religious, and specifically Christian, strategies for improving our characters show a lot of promise?
In The Character Gap Miller shows not only how mixed our characters tend to be, but also how we can try to bridge the gap between who we are and the virtuous people we should strive to become.
Reviews / Votes
The book is a sobering reflection on the ambivalent nature of human behaviour and motivation, made all the more authoritative by its research basis. * David Lorimer, Paradigm Explorer * a beautifully crafted book, and rewards several reads. * Heythrop Journal01/03/2018 * It is accessible and it makes you think. It engages and entertains. It tells you what character is and lets you know how you can cultivate it. This book is a must read. Full of facts that will stay with you. It is well researched and the author really knows his stuff. Brilliant. * Frost Magazine * This is a book full of insight, informed by research and written by someone with a profound understanding of character. It is a must read for anyone looking for a fresh presentation of its importance in human life. * James Arthur, Director of the Jubilee Centre for Character and Virtues, University of Birmingham * Christian Miller cautions that this is not a self-help book. Don't believe him. Of course, it is not a set of tips and tricks to magically become a better person. But if honest, realistic self-knowledge and clear-eyed empathy are crucial for the moral life, then this book will help. Anyone serious about traveling the road to character should bring this book on the journey. * James K.A. Smith, Professor of Philosophy, Calvin College, and author of You Are What You Love: The Spiritual Power of Habit * The topic of character is both timeless and timely. In this especially lucid and personal narrative, Christian Miller guides the interested reader through the modern science of character, with special emphasis on its moral aspects, and with helpful and practical recommendations for its development. * Angela Duckworth, Christopher H. Browne Distinguished Professor of Psychology, University of Pennsylvania, and author of Grit: The Power and Passion of Perseverance * Dietrich Bonhoeffer taught us that nothing that we despise in the other is entirely absent from ourselves. Christian Miller teaches us that the road to virtue lies in humility about our own virtue and an acceptance that others are struggling with their flaws. This is a very valuable book at a moment when our society could use a dose of openness and a sense of forgiveness. * E.J. Dionne Jr., Senior Fellow, Brookings Institution and University Professor in the Foundations of Democracy and Culture, Georgetown University * The Character Gap is a careful and accessible entry point into the complicated topic of human moral character. * Journal of Markets and Morality *More details
Series
Language
English
Place of publication
New York
United States
Target group
College/higher education
Product notice
sewn/stitched
Cloth over boards
Dimensions
Height: 185 mm
Width: 137 mm
Thickness: 30 mm
Weight
332 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-19-026422-2 (9780190264222)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions
E-Book
11/2017
1st Edition
OUP eBook
€8.49
Available for download
E-Book
11/2017
1st Edition
OUP eBook
€8.49
Available for download
Person
Christian B. Miller is Professor of Philosophy at Wake Forest University and Director of the Character Project (www.thecharacterproject.com), which was funded by $5.6 million in grants from 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), Moral Psychology, Volume V: Virtue and Character (MIT Press), Integrity, Honesty, and Truth-Seeking (Oxford University Press), and The Continuum Companion to Ethics (Continuum Press).
Content
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
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