Pursuing Perfection: People, Groups, and Society

(Hardback)

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Description

The pursuit of perfection is one of humanity's most basic aspirations. In the tradition of meliorism, this volume addresses timeless questions such as: How can we lead a better or more satisfying existence How can we be happier than we are now What must we know or do to achieve such an important, elusive goal In the absence of everlastingly valid principles, the author proposes seven useful, if imperfect, guides for us to follow as we edge towards perfectiondeterminism, imperfection, singularity, perspective, evaluation, searching, and surprise. Drawing upon the findings of psychologists, sociologists, philosophers, and anthropologists, this volume challenges and helps its readers to improve their existence as individuals and as members of groups and society.

Reviews

.,."the book is a methods-in-psychology book; a book designed to make us better psychologists. It is at least that and, as such, I enthusiastically recommended it....he leaps in a fascinating way from one captivating topic to another....It is...an experience, one to be enjoyed and remembered. Besides, as its author intendes and hopes, it might even make us all a little better."-Contemporary Psychology
...the book is a methods-in-psychology book; a book designed to make us better psychologists. It is at least that and, as such, I enthusiastically recommended it....he leaps in a fascinating way from one captivating topic to another....It is...an experience, one to be enjoyed and remembered. Besides, as its author intendes and hopes, it might even make us all a little better.-Contemporary Psychology
This book should be shared, discussed, and thought about. It would make a valuable supplement to graduate classes dealing with happiness, conflict, the role of social scientific knowlegde, as well as civic responsibilities, the latter topic sorely neglected in this postmodern age.-Journal of Phenomenological Psychology
"This book should be shared, discussed, and thought about. It would make a valuable supplement to graduate classes dealing with happiness, conflict, the role of social scientific knowlegde, as well as civic responsibilities, the latter topic sorely neglected in this postmodern age."-Journal of Phenomenological Psychology
..."the book is a methods-in-psychology book; a book designed to make us better psychologists. It is at least that and, as such, I enthusiastically recommended it....he leaps in a fascinating way from one captivating topic to another....It is...an experience, one to be enjoyed and remembered. Besides, as its author intendes and hopes, it might even make us all a little better."-Contemporary Psychology

Author Bio

LEONARD W. DOOB is Sterling Professor Emeritus of Psychology at Yale University. Throughout his career he has focused his research on interdisciplinary topics and has sought to apply promising scholarly findings to real-life situations, concentrating in particular on psychological warfare and conflicts in Africa and Northern Ireland. He has published numerous articles and books, including Panorama of Evil (Greenwood, 1978), The Pursuit of Peace (Greenwood, 1981), and Sustainers and Sustainability (Praeger, 1995).