Character

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.

• 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, Veronica Benet-Martinez, and Mel Slater ; Chapter 31: <"War Crimes: Causes, Excuses, and Blame,>" Matthew Talbert and Jessica Wolfendale ; Index

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 valuablenecessary even.