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Reclaiming Virtue: How We Can Develop the Moral Intelligence to Do the Right Thing at the Right Time for the Right Reason
In his groundbreaking New York Times bestselling books and compelling PBS specials, John Bradshaw transformed our understanding of the family and became a dominant figure in the field of addiction and recovery. Now he brings together a lifetime of experience and teaching to redefine virtue—how we learn it and live it—for our troubled times.
John Bradshaw has written this book for the millions of decent, caring people who are struggling every day with painful choices, who are appalled—as he is—by the greed and shamelessness that plague our society, and who long for guidance for themselves and their children in an increasingly complex world.
Is the only solution a return to an oppressive, rules-based morality or an idealized past? Bradshaw says no. Instead he shows that each of us has what he calls an inborn moral intelligence, an inner guidance system that can lead us—if we know how to cultivate it in ourselves and others.
His fascinating discussion ranges from the ancient Greek philosophers to modern explorations of emotional development, from provocative historical insights to the recent discoveries of neuroscience. Why do so many attempts at moral education fail? What is willpower, and how can we develop it? How can we navigate the inevitable problems of love and work and aging? How can we begin again after addiction or failure? How can we lead and discipline our children?
What emerges is a clear vision of a morality grounded in childhood, educated by the practice of both traditional and modern virtues, and culminating in the moment-to-moment ability to “do the right thing at the right time for the right reason.” Reclaiming Virtue is both an inspiring appeal to what Abraham Lincoln called “the better angels of our nature” and a wise guide to building a life of unshakable integrity and well-being.
John Bradshaw has written this book for the millions of decent, caring people who are struggling every day with painful choices, who are appalled—as he is—by the greed and shamelessness that plague our society, and who long for guidance for themselves and their children in an increasingly complex world.
Is the only solution a return to an oppressive, rules-based morality or an idealized past? Bradshaw says no. Instead he shows that each of us has what he calls an inborn moral intelligence, an inner guidance system that can lead us—if we know how to cultivate it in ourselves and others.
His fascinating discussion ranges from the ancient Greek philosophers to modern explorations of emotional development, from provocative historical insights to the recent discoveries of neuroscience. Why do so many attempts at moral education fail? What is willpower, and how can we develop it? How can we navigate the inevitable problems of love and work and aging? How can we begin again after addiction or failure? How can we lead and discipline our children?
What emerges is a clear vision of a morality grounded in childhood, educated by the practice of both traditional and modern virtues, and culminating in the moment-to-moment ability to “do the right thing at the right time for the right reason.” Reclaiming Virtue is both an inspiring appeal to what Abraham Lincoln called “the better angels of our nature” and a wise guide to building a life of unshakable integrity and well-being.
528 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2009
14 people are currently reading
273 people want to read
About the author
John Bradshaw
260 books370 followersLibrarian Note: There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name.
John Bradshaw has been called "America's leading personal growth expert." The author of five New York Times bestsellers, Bradshaw On: The Family, Healing the Shame That Binds You, Homecoming, Creating Love, and Family Secrets. He created and hosted four nationally broadcast PBS television series based on his best-selling books. John pioneered the concept of the "Inner Child" and brought the term "dysfunctional family" into the mainstream. He has touched and changed millions of lives through his books, television series, and his lectures and workshops around the country.
During the past twenty-five years he has worked as a counselor, theologian, management consultant, and public speaker, becoming one of the primary figures in the contemporary self-help movement.
John Bradshaw has been called "America's leading personal growth expert." The author of five New York Times bestsellers, Bradshaw On: The Family, Healing the Shame That Binds You, Homecoming, Creating Love, and Family Secrets. He created and hosted four nationally broadcast PBS television series based on his best-selling books. John pioneered the concept of the "Inner Child" and brought the term "dysfunctional family" into the mainstream. He has touched and changed millions of lives through his books, television series, and his lectures and workshops around the country.
During the past twenty-five years he has worked as a counselor, theologian, management consultant, and public speaker, becoming one of the primary figures in the contemporary self-help movement.
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Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
April 24, 2012
Watch out who you follow these days. Most of the others are snake oil salesmen, like: Deepak Chopra, Tony Robbins, etc. Even Ram Das bounced a check recently and ripped someone off.
Just being a good writer and carrying the message is NOT ENOUGH.
Either live with integrity and write about it, or fuck off.
Just being a good writer and carrying the message is NOT ENOUGH.
Either live with integrity and write about it, or fuck off.
decided-not-to-read
June 25, 2009Surrender the information, don't just dole it out slowly and toss in a bunch of loosely related stuff. In other words: good information, poorly organized.
September 14, 2013
It seemed a little bit scattered but contained a lot of useful information - basically covers the development and nurturing of moral intelligence - now the hard part . . . applying it!
July 24, 2018
I had read it and it is now a reference book for me. Astonishing and revealing to one who may wish to review their own morals periodically. Highly recommended.
February 26, 2017
This is my second reading of this excellent book. I think many of us are concerned for the state of morals and character in North American culture, so I read it again as as review of the development of these qualities or NOT.
May 31, 2016
A good book. (Ha. tiny joke there.)
John Bradshaw is someone i’ve looked up to since first encountering him on PBS in the 1980s with his On the Family series. Really great stuff on cycles and shame, addiction, abuse, attachment, etc. this book does well, too, with higher order concepts of morality, prudence, and ethics. However, i did not finish it. I placed it in my abandoned folder.
Not because it isn’t a good book. Not because i didn’t learn a thing or two before putting it down. Not because his writing is terrible (far from it).
It just was not challenging me. It wasn’t compelling me to keep reading. It was interesting to find out more about Dr. Bradshaw’s own life and what he had to say about virtue and morality but, in the end, he was mostly weaving through the psychological discourse, defining and redefining terms, offering advice on how to get yourself -or your client- there, and providing historical, clinical, and anecdotal facts about it. A good textbook. A good guidebook. But one that just didn’t challenge me. Maybe i will read it in full at another time.
John Bradshaw is someone i’ve looked up to since first encountering him on PBS in the 1980s with his On the Family series. Really great stuff on cycles and shame, addiction, abuse, attachment, etc. this book does well, too, with higher order concepts of morality, prudence, and ethics. However, i did not finish it. I placed it in my abandoned folder.
Not because it isn’t a good book. Not because i didn’t learn a thing or two before putting it down. Not because his writing is terrible (far from it).
It just was not challenging me. It wasn’t compelling me to keep reading. It was interesting to find out more about Dr. Bradshaw’s own life and what he had to say about virtue and morality but, in the end, he was mostly weaving through the psychological discourse, defining and redefining terms, offering advice on how to get yourself -or your client- there, and providing historical, clinical, and anecdotal facts about it. A good textbook. A good guidebook. But one that just didn’t challenge me. Maybe i will read it in full at another time.
Read
August 18, 2009John Bradshaw has obviously been through a lot in hus life and I've watched his lectures in the past with great interest. His approach in this book, however, is so professorial that it's hard to get attached to the writing. It's like reading a college level lecture. There is no heart that comes across in his words. Hit a 12-step meeting instead.
Read
October 3, 2021I like Bradshaw's work, have read his previous books and attended one of his workshops. There's nothing new here -- work the Twelve Steps. The title is a reach. To reclaim something is to get back something lost. I highly recommend his previous books and would skip this one.
July 14, 2010
Extensive and in-depth look at how society can choose to do the right thing and change the world--one person at a time. John shares his personal story along the way which carries his argument well. Philisophical, but practical at the same time.
November 15, 2012
If you open to a random page in this book, you're bound to find intriguing topics - much of the time spent on modern psychology and brain physiology. The book is a large collection of information that Bradshaw has gathered throughout his life but it seems to lack any memorable thesis.
August 13, 2014
Bradshaw has such a profound way of making the deep material approachable. I've learned so much about why we do what we do. It's a heft book, but I think it's worth another read in about a year or so. If you're a psychology geek like me, you won't be able to put this down.
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews