Character Strengths and Virtues: A Handbook and Classification

By synthesizing 24 strengths and virtues across culture and through history, this book provides an outstanding foundation for anyone wanting to promote healthy lives and good character. I'm disappointed that positive psychology practitioners have not build on this foundation, and hope that this will change.

Christopher Peterson's and Martin Seligman's Character Strengths and Virtues (CSV) is supposed to be the "positive" antidote to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, more popularly known as the DSM, now in its fifth incarnation DSM-5. Whereas the DSM-5 is a catalog of all the mental problems a person could be said to have, the CSV is supposed to be a catalog of all the mental strengths a person could be said to have. The CSV is part of a larger effort to get people not only to overcome their disorders but to understand and better realize their strengths and therefore their potential as human beings.To give you an example for how this would work, Readers are asked to go to AuthenticHappiness.org, sign up (it's free), take this very long survey called the "VIA Survey of Character Strengths," and then read what their top five strengths are. After that, they can read about those strengths in this book, the CSV and find better ways to make use of those strengths in their daily lives. My top strengths, for instance, are "love of learning," "curiosity," "creativity," "humor," and "open-mindedness." I am also a teacher. Here is a simple way I can integrate these strengths into my teaching. I can learn about the subject I teach as much as possible through study ("love of learning"), I can discover new things about my students through asking questions and allowing exercises where students open up ("curiosity"), I can research news methods for teaching more effectively ("creativity"), I can make fun of myself and my blunders, and general incongruities in life and work and so on, as they come up in the classroom ("humor"), and I can be receptive and understanding to my students and their expression, giving them first the benefit of the doubt ("open-mindedness"). It is also, of course, possible for me to integrate these strengths into my relationships and into my play.Readers of this book are also encouraged, after they have better incorporated their natural strengths into their lives, to cultivate another strength. For example, I could do more to increase "Kindness/Generosity" as a strength, by displaying kindness in various situations to students and colleagues. And of course in other areas of life.I highly recommend the book.

Not that I've read it all. I like Seligman's work. I love that this is the mirror to the handbook used to diagnose psychological conditions. I'm not part of or trained in that field at all. But after a childhood of being raised by sitcoms that *glorify* jerks (and without a specific church) I wanted a way to really explain and understand all those "Character Strengths and Virtues" for my kid. Okay I don't like read it to him. I read it and go, oh yeah that is a good quality to have, I think I can get why that would improve a person's life. Another book I wish I had in physical form so I could leave it around for curious minds.

This book is well laid out and doesn’t get too lost in the details, instead providing concise descriptions of a broad range of attributes. Gave to my mom as a present as she enjoys this topic, still working through it together. I love this book, it provides a great introduction to the subject of character and virtue and is a fun read.

This is an outstanding, highly under-rated work of real scholarship on a highly trendy topic that most people know very little hard information about. I am so glad this undertaking was even attempted, but it is also done very well. It is not a philosophy book like most on this topic, rather a report on literally everything we know on 24 distinct character strengths (themselves identified by a rigorous process with rigorous criteria) from theoretical foundations, to measurement, to interventions, to what we don't know. It is the DSM for positive psychology.

-- to scientifically legitimize human goodness in one fell swoop. I have told dozens of people about this book because I believe it to be one of the most significant and helpful contributions to our culure to come along in many years. It is a work of wonderful audacity.It is not an easy read -- especially for a layman like myself. But although it is scholarly, it is also user friendly. It is illuminating, encouraging, and motivating. It invites further consideration and study. It provides a foundation for others to build upon. What it us, I hope, is the start of something big.

Not exactly electrifying reading, but clear academic prose. The font size is reasonable. The book is built to last a very long time. Lots of research clearly went into it. If the subject interests you, I wouldn't hesitate to buy it. If you don't mind previous owners' underlining, which I don't, a used copy would seem appropriate. (I don't see how you could read this book and remember it without underlining. It's fully packed.)

I found this to be the most thorough treatment of postive psychology yet considered. However, like the whole field of positive psychology this work leaves both the motivation for practicing such attributes and the explanation for the lack of such practice without adequate explantation. In an age in which almost daily we hear or see in the daily news goverment officials guitly of failing to practice these virtures (those to whom we entrust our resources and who we expect to be model for the next generation), it seems to me that such a scholarly volume as this cannot overlook motivation or lack of practice.

A very scientific and comprehensive "manual" on character strengths which gives thorough treatment to the subject based on positive psychology. This subject will be of more and more interest to all those who are interested in knowing the behavioural aspect of human beings. Very practical research and applicability to our day-to-day work and life performance this book is in itself a pioneering effort. Highly recommended for all those who are interested in Human beings. regards Sanjay

Kein Praxisbuch aber dafür sehr sehr umfangreich und detailliert. Wirklich tolles Nachschlagewerk

Fantastic book describing research and and subsequent classification of character strengths and virtues. It is long, and very textbook-ish, but if you are interested in positive psychology it's an excellent read.

Very happy to get it.

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