Friday, July 17, 2009

The Science Of Character Building

The dictionary defines "character" as "the aggregate of features and traits that form the individual nature of some person or thing".

I really like Abigail Van Buren's definition of character;
"The best index to a person's character is (a) how he treats people who can't do him any good, and (b) how he treats people who can't fight back."


I recently came across a little booket about character building that was written in the early 1900s. I read this material with great interest because the author believed that character building and character teaching is a science.

He defined ten subjects that must be studied to produce the character desired, resulting in a citizenship of such high character that it will solve all the problems of mankind. I will write a series of blog articles about each of these ten subjects and discuss how they have power in character building.

The subjects that I will be addressing are;
  1. The common good
  2. Habit
  3. Prejudice
  4. Vanity
  5. Selfishness, Covetousness
  6. A cheerful disposition
  7. Honesty
  8. Industry
  9. Self-Reliance
  10. Home Ownership

I hope you will join me over the next few weeks as we explore these subjects and discuss how they relate to character building.

What does the word "character" mean to you?

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