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Using the VIA Classification to Advance a Psychological Science of Virtue

The VIA Classification of Character Strengths and Virtue has received substantial attention since its inception as a model of 24 dimensions of positive human functioning, but less so as a potential contributor to a psychological science on the nature of virtue. The current paper presents an overview...

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Autores principales: McGrath, Robert E., Brown, Mitch
Formato: Online Artículo Texto
Lenguaje:English
Publicado: Frontiers Media S.A. 2020
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7751260/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/33364995
http://dx.doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2020.565953
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author McGrath, Robert E.
Brown, Mitch
author_facet McGrath, Robert E.
Brown, Mitch
author_sort McGrath, Robert E.
collection PubMed
description The VIA Classification of Character Strengths and Virtue has received substantial attention since its inception as a model of 24 dimensions of positive human functioning, but less so as a potential contributor to a psychological science on the nature of virtue. The current paper presents an overview of how this classification could serve to advance the science of virtue. Specifically, we summarize previous research on the dimensional versus categorical characterization of virtue, and on the identification of cardinal virtues. We give particular attention to the three-dimensional model of cardinal virtues that includes moral, self-regulatory, and intellectual domains. We also discuss the possibility that these three clusters be treated as fundamental elements of a virtue model, meaning that they clearly and directly contribute to both individual and communal flourishing across various cultures. This discussion includes a summary of previous speculations about the evolution of adaptations underlying the human capacity for using behavioral repertoires associated with the three virtues, as well as discussing ways in which they simultaneously enhance community and individual, in the last case focusing particularly on evidence concerning mating potential. We then discuss the relationship between the evolutionary perspective on virtues and Aristotle’s concept of the reciprocity of the virtues. Finally, we provide speculations about the nature of practical wisdom. While accepting the potential value of future revisions to the VIA model, that model even under its current conditions has the potential to generate a number of intriguing and testable hypotheses about the nature of virtue.
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spelling pubmed-77512602020-12-22 Using the VIA Classification to Advance a Psychological Science of Virtue McGrath, Robert E. Brown, Mitch Front Psychol Psychology The VIA Classification of Character Strengths and Virtue has received substantial attention since its inception as a model of 24 dimensions of positive human functioning, but less so as a potential contributor to a psychological science on the nature of virtue. The current paper presents an overview of how this classification could serve to advance the science of virtue. Specifically, we summarize previous research on the dimensional versus categorical characterization of virtue, and on the identification of cardinal virtues. We give particular attention to the three-dimensional model of cardinal virtues that includes moral, self-regulatory, and intellectual domains. We also discuss the possibility that these three clusters be treated as fundamental elements of a virtue model, meaning that they clearly and directly contribute to both individual and communal flourishing across various cultures. This discussion includes a summary of previous speculations about the evolution of adaptations underlying the human capacity for using behavioral repertoires associated with the three virtues, as well as discussing ways in which they simultaneously enhance community and individual, in the last case focusing particularly on evidence concerning mating potential. We then discuss the relationship between the evolutionary perspective on virtues and Aristotle’s concept of the reciprocity of the virtues. Finally, we provide speculations about the nature of practical wisdom. While accepting the potential value of future revisions to the VIA model, that model even under its current conditions has the potential to generate a number of intriguing and testable hypotheses about the nature of virtue. Frontiers Media S.A. 2020-12-07 /pmc/articles/PMC7751260/ /pubmed/33364995 http://dx.doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2020.565953 Text en Copyright © 2020 McGrath and Brown. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) and the copyright owner(s) are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
spellingShingle Psychology
McGrath, Robert E.
Brown, Mitch
Using the VIA Classification to Advance a Psychological Science of Virtue
title Using the VIA Classification to Advance a Psychological Science of Virtue
title_full Using the VIA Classification to Advance a Psychological Science of Virtue
title_fullStr Using the VIA Classification to Advance a Psychological Science of Virtue
title_full_unstemmed Using the VIA Classification to Advance a Psychological Science of Virtue
title_short Using the VIA Classification to Advance a Psychological Science of Virtue
title_sort using the via classification to advance a psychological science of virtue
topic Psychology
url https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7751260/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/33364995
http://dx.doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2020.565953
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