In this comprehensive tour de
force, the authors and a long list of contributors have brought together just
about everything that’s currently known €“ and everything that ever has been
known €“ about human virtues and character in the everyday world.  And they’ve
not only provided a meaningful classification but, through their own original
research, have furthered the knowledge base considerably.

Without doubt, this book firmly
reestablishes the concept of character in the mainstream of
psychological thought.  As many will already know, character had fallen out of
favor as a psychological construct by the 1930s.  Gordon Allport’s work, for
example, asserted that only empirically measurable phenomena should be studied
relative to personality.  Allport called these phenomena "neuropsychic
structures" in order to distance them from what he considered to be the
inappropriately moralistic views of philosophy and religion.  According to one historian
of the field, Allport’s work "was deeply embedded in the cultural politics
of the age. Of particular importance was the gradual erosion of the language of
character and the self-sacrificing, morally grounded self that it
supported."

For many psychologists, the
rejection of common standards and the "nonjudgmental stance" that
were fostered by postmodernists
has been troubling.  After all, a world view that insists each person must
determine what good is, without reference to external standards, is
itself internally inconsistent.  If there is no
real self then there can be no real self-interests and no real love of or
real concern for the welfare of other selves €“ and thus there can be no
virtues.

What’s been even more troubling is
that this world view, with its "value-free" stance, has almost
certainly resulted in subtle but pervasive negative consequences for both
individuals and societies.

Positive psychology,
Martin Seligman’s answer to the field’s current disregard of values, is the
"scientific pursuit of optimal human functioning and the building of a
field focusing on human strength and virtue."  Peterson and Seligman have
had long careers during which to reflect on the issues surrounding strengths,
virtues and character.  This book provides convincing evidence that it is now
possible to scientifically study these constructs.

In the writing of this book they
exhaustively reviewed the research and philosophical literature, consulted with
numerous experts, solicited input from a wide range of thinkers, and went
through drafts and major revisions.  The book is clearly and methodically laid
out, and its topic is obviously dear to the authors. 

To set the stage, the authors
consider the question of whether the human species has, or can have, a set of
universal virtues.  To address this question they looked at various cultures
across many eras and, to the extent possible, integrated the views of these
different times, philosophies, religions and societies.  Comparisons and
contrasts with the various systems of thought are clearly presented for the
reader. (Even the codes of the Boy Scouts and Girl Guides were considered!) 
The historical review of the virtues, presented as Chapter 2, makes
thought-provoking reading and puts the rest of the book’s catalog in proper
perspective/context.  The introduction, along with Chapters 2 and 3, would make
a complete book in themselves.  However, the bulk of this 800-page volume is
given over to a detailed and sensible cataloging of the human virtues and the
qualities that define the best in human nature.

According to Peterson and Seligman,
"The overarching goal of the present classification is to reclaim
psychology’s early concern with character by drawing on a century’s worth of
hard-learned lessons about how to conduct good psychological science" (p.
59).  In contrast to the DSM’s focus on illness and deficit, this
categorization is "a manual of the sanities."

Virtues are possibly evolved
adaptations hard-wired into our species, but also seem to have a cultural or
learned aspect.  The authors identify six core virtues:  wisdom, courage,
humanity, justice, temperance, and transcendence.  They define character
strengths as the psychological components out of which virtues are constructed
or manifested. The authors provide 24 of these strengths, such as bravery,
kindness, hope, and honesty, but point out that this list may not be exhaustive
€“ there may be additional strengths not yet classified.

The core virtues form the six
sections of the main part of the book, and these are further subdivided into
the 24 character strengths, each of which is considered in its own chapter. 
The chapters tend to follow a common format:  definition; theory; methods of
measurement or identification; correlates and consequences; manner of
development; situational correlates; gender or cultural differences; a
discussion of what is not yet known; and each ends with an exhaustive reference
list of research and writings on that particular character strength.

The book raises other interesting
questions about character and the virtues.  For example, although character is
presumed to be in large part innate (genetically-grounded), can an act
performed unconsciously or automatically be considered virtuous, or would it
then be not virtuous but simply an automated action, having left no room for
"agency" or free will?  And if it is possible to be
unconsciously virtuous, would those actions be as commendable as are conscious,
intentional acts of virtue?  (I.e., are there degrees of virtue?)  What are the
evolutionary adaptations that underlie the virtues? And do the virtues change
over time?  For example, among the ancient Greeks, "greatness of
soul" and "magnificence" were seen as virtues.  (The former
referred to holding oneself capable of greatness, while the latter meant lavish
spending on warships or religious sacrifices for the public good.)  And the
authors point out that some virtues previously identified by authorities such
as Ben Franklin, such as cleanliness, may only be considered virtues today in
contrast to their opposites.  (That is, no one now would think someone virtuous
because he or she showers every day!)

This book is especially well
crafted and a pleasure to read.  Although thick, not one of its pages is
wasted.  I would wager that every reader, no matter his or her initial take on
these issues, will find this book interesting, informative, and wide-ranging.

The curious reader will also want
to take the "Values in Action Strengths Survey," an inventory (fully explained in the book)
that provides free, online results to survey-takers.

© 2004 Keith Harris

Keith Harris, Ph.D.,
is a clinical psychologist and supervises the research section of the
Department of Behavioral Health, San Bernardino County, California. His
interests include the empirical basis for psychotherapy research (and its
design), human decision-making processes, and the shaping of human nature by
evolutionary forces.

Categories: Psychology