Character: New Directions from Philosophy, Psychology, and Theology

by Christian B. Miller (Editor), R. Michael Furr (Editor), Angela Knobel (Editor), William Fleeson (Editor)

Overview

This collection contains some of the best new work being done on the subject of character from the perspectives of philosophy, theology, and psychology. From creating a virtual reality simulation of the Milgram shock experiments to understanding the virtue of modesty in Muslim societies to defending soldiers' moral responsibility for committing war crimes, these 31 chapters break much new ground and significantly advance our understanding of character. The main topics covered fall under the heading of our beliefs about character, the existence and nature of character traits, character and ethical theory, virtue epistemology, the nature of particular virtues, character development, and challenges to character and virtue from neuroscience and situationism.

These papers stem from the work of the Character Project (www.thecharacterproject.com) at Wake Forest University, generously supported by the John Templeton Foundation. This collection is truly unique in featuring the work of many young, up-and-coming voices in their fields with new perspectives to offer. Together their work will significantly shape discussions of character for years to come.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780190204600
Publisher:	Oxford University Press
Publication date:	10/12/2015
Pages:	720
Product dimensions:	6.60(w) x 9.40(h) x 2.20(d)

About the Author

Christian B. Miller is Professor of Philosophy at Wake Forest University and Director of the Character Project.
R. Michael Furr is Professor of Psychology at Wake Forest University and Psychology Co-Director for the Character Project.
Angela Knobel is Associate Professor of Philosophy at the Catholic University of America and Theology Director of the Character Project.
William Fleeson is Professor of Psychology at Wake Forest University and Psychology Co-Director for the Character Project.

Table of Contents

Editors' Introduction
Christian B. Miller, R. Michael Furr, Angela Knobel, William Fleeson

Section 1: Overview of the Study of Character in Philosophy and Psychology
Chapter 1: "Some Foundational Questions in Philosophy about Character," Christian B. Miller and Angela Knobel
Chapter 2: "Personality Science and the Foundations of Character," William Fleeson, R. Michael Furr, Eranda Jayawickreme, Erik G. Helzer, Anselma G. Hartley, and Peter Meindl

Section 2: Beliefs about Character
Chapter 3: "Lay Beliefs in True Altruism versus Universal Egoism," Jochen E. Gebauer, Constantine Sedikides, Mark R. Leary, and Jens B. Asendorpf
Chapter 4: "Understanding the Importance and Perceived Structure of Moral Character," Geoffrey P. Goodwin, Jared Piazza, and Paul Rozin

Section 3: The Existence and Nature of Character
Chapter 5: "Moving Character Beyond the Person-Situation Debate - The Stable and Dynamic Nature of Virtues in Everyday Life," Wiebke Bleidorn
Chapter 6: "Character Traits in the Workplace: A Three-Month Diary Study of Moral and Immoral Organizational Behaviors," Taya R. Cohen and A. T. Panter
Chapter 7: "The Mixed Trait Model of Character Traits and the Moral Domains of Resource Distribution and Theft," Christian B. Miller
Chapter 8: "Emotion and Character," Charles Starkey

Section 4: Character and Ethical Theory
Chapter 9: "Taking Moral Risks and Becoming Virtuous," Rebecca Stangl
Chapter 10: "Dispositions, Character, and the Value of Acts," Bradford Cokelet
Chapter 11: "Exemplarism and Admiration," Linda Zagzebski

Section 5: Virtue Epistemology
Chapter 12: "People Listen to People Who Listen: Instilling Virtues of Deference," Kristoffer Ahlstrom-Vij
Chapter 13: "'Why Can't We Be Friends?' Reflections on Empirical Psychology and Virtue Epistemology," Nathan L. King
Chapter 14: "From Virtue Epistemology to Abilism: Theoretical and Empirical Developments," John Turri

Section 6: Particular Virtues
Chapter 15: "Christian Humility as a Social Virtue," Mike Austin
Chapter 16: "A Different Kind of Wisdom," Angela Knobel
Chapter 17: "Bearing Burdens and the Character of God in the Hebrew Bible," Cristian Mihut
Chapter 18: "Domain Specificity in Self-Control," Angela Lee Duckworth and Eli Tsukayama
Chapter 19: "Can Text Messages Make People Kinder?" Sara Konrath

Section 7: Character Development
Chapter 20: "The Emergence of Moral Character in Infancy: Developmental Changes and Individual Differences in Fairness Concerns and Prosocial Behavior during the First Two Years of Life," Jessica A. Sommerville
Chapter 21: "Character Development in the School Years: Relations among Theory of Mind, Moral Identity and Positive and Negative Behavior toward Peers," Elizabeth A. Boerger and Anthony J. Hoffman
Chapter 22: "Character across Early Emerging Adulthood: Character Traits, Character Strivings, and Moral Self-Attributes," Erik E. Noftle
Chapter 23: "Etiquette and Exemplarity in Judaism," Tzvi Novick
Chapter 24: "Christian Character Formation and the Infusion of Grace," Ray S. Yeo
Chapter 25: "Necessity and Human Agency: Cultivating Character in the Reformed Christian Tradition," Elizabeth Cochran
Chapter 26: "Liturgy and the Moral Life," Terence Cuneo
Chapter 27: "Cultivating Virtues through Sartorial Practices: The Case of the Islamic Veil in Indonesia," Elizabeth M. Bucar

Section 8: Challenges to Character and Virtue from Neuroscience and Situationism
Chapter 28: "Character Traits and the Neuroscience of Social Behavior," Daniel McKaughan
Chapter 29: "Character and Coherence: Testing the Stability of Naturalistically Observed Daily Moral Behavior," Matthias R. Mehl, Kathryn L. Bollich, John M. Doris, and Simine Vazire
Chapter 30: "Taking Evil into the Lab: Exploring the Frontiers of Morality and Individual Differences," David Gallardo-Pujol, Elizabet Orekhova, Verónica Benet-Martínez, and Mel Slater
Chapter 31: "War Crimes: Causes, Excuses, and Blame," Matthew Talbert and Jessica Wolfendale


Index

Editorial Reviews

"Character is diverse in a disciplinary sense, as noted, and in a theological sense as well...What Miller and his colleagues have accomplished (and continue to pursue) is not only admirable, it is valuable-necessary even." — Reading Religion

From the Publisher