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Improving Character
Moral Virtues, Strategies, and Questions

Robert J. Hartman (Edited by), Hartman (Author)

9781394297078, Wiley

Paperback / softback, published 28 May 2026

448 pages
25.2 x 17.5 x 3 cm, 0.93 kg

Develop moral virtues through forty-five accessible and practical essays

Character development requires both understanding what moral virtues look like and how to cultivate them. Improving Character: Moral Virtues, Strategies, and Questions assembles forty-five newly commissioned essays that are concise, engaging, and largely jargon-free to make virtues and character cultivation immediately accessible without sacrificing philosophical depth or rigor.

The volume begins with chapters on the need for character improvement and why moral virtue is good for us. Next it covers sixteen moral virtues including courage, patience, temperance, honesty, humility, gratitude, generosity, and justice. It then presents sixteen practical strategies for character development such as friendship, role models, nudging, good manners, disrupting social norms, running, and journaling. Ten essays address challenging questions about the whole enterprise. It closes with Charles Dickens’s A Christmas Carol as a cautionary tale.

Readers will also find:

  • Portraits of virtues drawn from Western philosophy alongside ancient Chinese and Buddhist traditions for broader cross-cultural perspectives on character
  • Practical strategies that move beyond theory to actionable guidance on developing specific virtues through everyday activities and relationships
  • Critical questions examining how we measure character improvement and determine which traits genuinely are moral virtues
  • Essays designed specifically for undergraduate students and general readers seeking philosophical substance without intimidating technical vocabulary
  • An unusual blend of theoretical foundations and practical application rarely found together in philosophy texts

Written for first-year undergraduates and general readers interested in personal development, Improving Character serves students taking courses in virtue ethics, practical ethics, ethical leadership, and professional ethics programs. Its trade-style orientation makes it equally valuable for character development in athletics, high schools, and personal goal setting.

Notes on Contributors x

Preface xviii

Acknowledgments xxi

Part I: Concepts and Reasons 1

Chapter 1: Moral Virtue: The Basics (Heather Battaly) 3

Chapter 2: The Need for Character Improvement (Liezl van Zyl) 11

Chapter 3: Reasons to Improve Your Character Traits (Robert J. Hartman) 20

Part II: Moral Virtues 29

Chapter 4: Practical Wisdom (Maria Silvia Vaccarezza) 31

Chapter 5: Courage (Adam C. Pelser) 39

Chapter 6: Patience (Anne Jeffrey) 46

Chapter 7: Perseverance (Timothy J. Pawl) 53

Chapter 8: Hope (Aaron D. Cobb) 61

Chapter 9: Temperance (Alan T. Wilson) 68

Chapter 10: Honesty (Christian B. Miller) 76

Chapter 11: Humility (Robert C. Roberts) 84

Chapter 12: Mildness (Kevin Timpe) 91

Chapter 13: Justice (Mark LeBar) 98

Chapter 14: Gratitude (Tony Manela) 105

Chapter 15: Generosity (Andrew Pinsent) 112

Chapter 16: Loyalty (John Kleinig) 119

Chapter 17: Integrity (Jennifer A. Herdt) 127

Chapter 18: Love (Eric J. Silverman) 135

Chapter 19: Hospitality (Brandon Warmke) 142

Part III: Strategies 151

Chapter 20: Habituation and Scripting to Cultivate Honesty (Howard J. Curzer) 153

Chapter 21: Friendship to Cultivate Practical Wisdom (Kristján Kristjánsson) 161

Chapter 22: Imitating Role Models to Cultivate Courage (Eric Yang) 169

Chapter 23: Nudging to Cultivate Generosity (Bart Engelen and Alfred Archer) 176

Chapter 24: Selecting Circumstances to Cultivate Digital Temperance (Dylan F. Brown and Michael Lamb) 184

Chapter 25: Internalizing Stoic Aphorisms to Cultivate Mildness (Brittany Polat) 192

Chapter 26: Journaling to Cultivate Gratitude (Philip C. Watkins) 200

Chapter 27: Understanding Surprising Human Tendencies to Cultivate Integrity (Marcella Linn) 207

Chapter 28: Anarchist Calisthenics, Radical Honesty, and Creating Social Norms to Cultivate Justice (Jason Brennan) 215

Chapter 29: Manners to Cultivate Civility (David McPherson) 223

Chapter 30: Running to Cultivate Perseverance (Sabrina B. Little) 230

Chapter 31: Experiencing Nature to Cultivate Patience (Silvia Caprioglio Panizza) 238

Chapter 32: Meatless Meals to Cultivate Temperance (Elizabeth Foreman) 245

Chapter 33: Twelve Steps in Alcoholics Anonymous to Cultivate Humility (Michael W. Austin) 252

Chapter 34: Christian Rituals to Cultivate Hope (Ryan West) 259

Chapter 35: Reading Literature to Cultivate Love (Kirsten M. K. Welch) 267

Part IV: Questions 275

Chapter 36: How Do We Know Which Character Traits Are Moral Virtues? (Rebecca Stangl) 277

Chapter 37: How Can You Know if You Have Successfully Cultivated Virtue? (Jennifer Cole Wright) 284

Chapter 38: Is Character Education in the University Objectionably Paternalistic? (Jennifer Rothschild) 292

Chapter 39: Is Virtue Signaling Consonant with Moral Virtue? (Neil Levy) 301

Chapter 40: Is Suffering Good When It Is Essential to Exercising a Moral Virtue? (Michael S. Brady) 308

Chapter 41: Are There Serious Costs to Being Morally Virtuous? (Denise Vigani) 315

Chapter 42: What Is the Relationship Between Luck, Virtue, and Flourishing? (Lorraine Besser) 322

Chapter 43: Can Bad Luck Prevent Some People from Developing Moral Virtue? (Alexandra T. Romanyshyn) 330

Chapter 44: Does Character Luck Rule Out Free Will and Moral Responsibility? (Robert J. Hartman) 338

Chapter 45: Can the Choice to Radically Change Your Character Be Rational? (Marcela Herdova) 345

Appendix A Christmas Carol (Charles Dickens) 352

Index 411

Subject Areas: Society & culture: general [JF]
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