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Title: Character Strengths and Virtues: A Handbook and Classification
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Manufacturer: Oxford University Press, USA
List Price: $79.50
Our Price: $63.60
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| Customer Reviews: |
| Character Strengths and Virtues: A Handbook and Classification by Oxford University Press, USA Thorough and thoughtful | | This book exceeded my expectations. It covered in great detail the concepts of character, strengths, and virtues. Concepts were clearly defined, with extensive background and supporting information. While it is not a necessarily easy read, it is one of the most extensive and exhaustive works that I have come across. It was VERY useful and provided me with more information than I imagined. | | Character Strengths and Virtues: A Handbook and Classification by Oxford University Press, USA A "must have" | | This is a "must have" for the updated and interested clinical psychologist. Now it is enough focusing on just the negative stuff. This is a good supplement to the traditional issues, and I think a good place to start to get to know the field of positive psychology | | Character Strengths and Virtues: A Handbook and Classification by Oxford University Press, USA To make us better and happier | This manual of character strengths and virtues attempts to place the study and improvement of 'Character' at the center of psychological study. Its aim is to focus on positive improvements in ourselves so as to make us happier in our daily lives. Seligman and Peterson are major figures in the whole area of 'Happiness Studies' and shifting the focus of psychological work from negative to positive, from the previous aim of making us somehow tolerably unhappy to one of making us truly happy in our lives.
Their analysis involves a historical cross- cultural study of the various character traits. The central part of the book however is their presenting six major Virtues and the respenctive strengths that are apart of them.
For instance the strengths of the Virtue Courage are Bravery, Persistence, Integrity, Vitality,- The strengfths of the Virtue Humanity are Love, Kindness, Social Intelligence- the strengths of Justice are Citizenship,Fairness, Leadership, - the strengths of Temperance are Forgiveness, Humility, Prudence, Self- Regulation, The Strengths of Transcendence are Appreciation of Beauty, Gratitude, Hope for the Future , Humor , Spirituality, the strengths of Wisdom and Knowledge are Creativity, Curiosity, Open- Mindedness.
Seligman and Peterson aim at providing a guide to professionals in psychology by which they can evaluate their clients and provide them means for improvement. I do not have the professional credentials to evalute the work on this basis.
I can say however that this is a rich and thoughtful work for anyone interested in the whole subject of human character and happiness.
| | Character Strengths and Virtues: A Handbook and Classification by Oxford University Press, USA A positive, worthwhile, and encouraging model for a vital question | -The authors helped found the Positive Psychology movement, which hopes to supplement psychology's current medical model ("find what's wrong, then fix it") with a model for positive health ("find what's right, then encourage it"). Psychological health, which is not just an absence of disease, includes such things as character preparation, improved baseline happiness, realistic optimism, wisdom, and cognitive sophistication. The authors consider character and virtue indispensible for cultivating a good and positive life, and this book pioneers a method for classifying and evaluating them both.
-The authors provide, and then develop, definitions and assumptions to support their scheme. Next, they develop a classification scheme for character and virtue similar to the successful multi-axis Diagnostic and Statistical Manual (DSM), which allows psychologists and psychiatrists to diagnose mental conditions in a reasonably productive and consistent manner. Classification helps recognize basic elements, helps understand past performance, and helps standardize and partially quantify a protocol for evaluating data (this may possibly allow character to be evaluated and developed more objectively than we can today, although wise subjective evaluation will still definitely be necessary). Providing a framework for character and virtue is often better than saying "S/he seemed like such a good person," or "well, I just think that candidate's character is better."
-The authors use examples of virtue and character from several different times and cultures for their scheme, and conclude that virtue and character based on an internal quality of mind (rather than external events like popularity or a promotion) can be developed and can lead to a better life. A skeptic and postmodernist could snipe at this and argue we should not even try to develop virtue or that universal standards are impossible; I would suggest that this issue is too important to be left to the nay-sayers, that just because things are not done perfectly does not mean they should not be done well or better, and that many credible leaders have shown examples suggesting virtue, character, and a positive life can be developed. This is an eminently worthy subject. The authors' goals, efforts, and respectable methodology are clearly far better than just throwing up one's hands and cursing the darkness.
-In my opinion, this book is invaluable and exciting, and re-ignites a proud human tradition to make better sense of character, virtue, and positive cultivated happiness (eudaemonia). Goodness knows -- we could use it! Developing flexible standards is a proven augmentation for the opinions of a true expert. Sure, we would all disagree with elements of the book, but my only major criticism is that such a scheme is subject to the usual abuse by those who try to substitute a framework for good judgment.
-I would recommend this book to any educator, psychology connoisseur, or anyone interested in character (one of the few important questions for any human to ask). Hope this review helps you. | | Character Strengths and Virtues: A Handbook and Classification by Oxford University Press, USA Great Book | Great Purchase, I needed that book for a class; Amazon delivered quickly using UPS.
Thank You so much | | Character Strengths and Virtues: A Handbook and Classification by Oxford University Press, USA Product Description | "Character" has become a front-and-center topic in contemporary discourse, but this term does not have a fixed meaning. Character may be simply defined by what someone does not do, but a more active and thorough definition is necessary, one that addresses certain vital questions. Is character
a singular characteristic of an individual, or is it composed of different aspects? Does character--however we define it--exist in degrees, or is it simply something one happens to have? How can character be developed? Can it be learned? Relatedly, can it be taught, and who might be the most
effective teacher? What roles are played by family, schools, the media, religion, and the larger culture? This groundbreaking handbook of character strengths and virtues is the first progress report from a prestigious group of researchers who have undertaken the systematic classification and
measurement of widely valued positive traits. They approach good character in terms of separate strengths-authenticity, persistence, kindness, gratitude, hope, humor, and so on-each of which exists in degrees.
Character Strengths and Virtues classifies twenty-four specific strengths under six broad virtues that consistently emerge across history and culture: wisdom, courage, humanity, justice, temperance, and transcendence. Each strength is thoroughly examined in its own chapter, with special attention to
its meaning, explanation, measurement, causes, correlates, consequences, and development across the life span, as well as to strategies for its deliberate cultivation. This book demands the attention of anyone interested in psychology and what it can teach about the good life. |
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