The past 30 years have seen a resurgence of interest in character, particularly in the areas of psychology, philosophy, and theology. This work has given rise to a number of challenging questions, such as:
"We are very excited about using the complementary perspectives of psychology, philosophy, and theology to better understand what our characters are like and how we can improve ourselves as persons."
Dr. Christian Miller
Project Leader
Zachary T. Smith Faculty Fellow
Wake Forest University
- (i) Do character traits such as honesty or compassion really exist?
- (ii) If they do exist, how prevalent are they, and what is their underlying psychological nature?
- (iii) Should character traits such as the virtues be the centerpiece of our best ethical theory?
- (iv) How should we go about improving our characters and overcoming our character flaws?
- (v) For those working in theology, should thinking about human and divine character be central to theological ethics?
The goal of the Character Project is to address these and a host of related questions, and thereby foster new advances in the study of character. We will carry out this goal with the following main grant activities:
- (i) Three Funding Competitions, with preference for younger scholars working on the psychology, philosophy, and theology of character.
- (ii) A three year Research Project at Wake Forest University on the philosophy and psychology of character which conducts original research on the structure, consistency, and influence of traits.
- (iii) Two Research Conferences where results of funded projects will be presented.
- (iv) An innovative Summer Seminar for 15 pre-tenure faculty and graduate students.
- (v) A Character Essay Prize competition to award 9 prizes for essays on character which are accessible to non-academic audiences.