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Superhabits: Bringing Classical Virtues to Modern Readers

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It turns out that modern psychology, neuroscience research, “habit hacks,” and popular self-help literature can all be summed up in one very classical idea: the virtues.

So asserts Dr. Andrew Abela, founding dean of the Busch School of Business at The Catholic University of America. This week on HeightsCast, he helps us unpack his new book, Superhabits, in which he rebrands the virtues as “superhabits” to suit the contemporary discourse. Then, with the help of Thomas Aquinas and about a dozen gripping stories, Dr. Abela shows us how these superhabits of virtue are described, developed, and supported by modern research as the way to live a good life.

Chapters:

  • 2:20 Virtues: the essential human operating system
  • 5:19 Humans pre-wired for virtue
  • 9:14 Psychology research, self-help books all point back to virtues
  • 17:57 “Anatomy of Virtue” diagram
  • 25:57 The role emotions play
  • 29:12 Virtue gets easier!
  • 33:21 Translating virtue into “superhabits”
  • 37:19 Redirecting anger with gentlefirmness
  • 43:22 Finding restful leisure with eutrapelia
  • 48:41 Where to begin

Links:

Further reading:

Featured Opportunities:

Also on the Forum:

About the Author

Dr. Andrew Abela

Dean, Busch School of Business, The Catholic University of America
Andrew Abela is the founding dean of the Busch School of Business and Ordinary Professor of Marketing at The Catholic University of America, in Washington, D.C. He is a faculty affiliate at the Harvard University Human Flourishing Program and a Contributor at Forbes.com. His research on the integrity of the marketing process, including marketing eth...
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