The 24 virtues?

[songwriter]

There was a thread about "What makes a great person?"

Some doctors have done a study about qualities, perceived as "virtues" all over the world cultures... and they have come with a list...
And I thought we could discuss it. Are some of them virtues really? anything to add?

the list is here

Character Strengths and Virtues (Book) - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

and here is their website, you can do a short superficial test or a deep long one. You have to login though.

VIAstrengths.org - Positive Psychology

In the short test they compare your result to the rest of takers. In the long test the list of virtues is ordered from the most present in you to the less one, without being compared to anyone.

For instance here's my list of the long test. Everyone's 24 virtues are the same one but the order changes in everyone. With the name of the virtue they explain their definition. For instance my worst thing is lack of humility... but I see it as "confidence", is it humility so good? Like perseverance borders stubborness sometimes... or humor borders banality... some would not see mercy as a virtue... My Strength#9 (Open-mindedness) makes me wonder about this list... and I guess all the open minded ones would think twice about if all these things as virtues really. (Nevermind this order of me, cause in the short test my humilty ranked very high and creativity low... a simple test can hardly measured these things... the concept themselves are interesting, though)

Your Top Strength
Creativity, ingenuity, and originality
Thinking of new ways to do things is a crucial part of who you are. You are never content with doing something the conventional way if a better way is possible.

Your Second Strength
Humor and playfulness
You like to laugh and tease. Bringing smiles to other people is important to you. You try to see the light side of all situations.

Your Third Strength
Curiosity and interest in the world
You are curious about everything. You are always asking questions, and you find all subjects and topics fascinating. You like exploration and discovery.

Your Fourth Strength
Hope, optimism, and future-mindedness
You expect the best in the future, and you work to achieve it. You believe that the future is something that you can control.

Your Fifth Strength
Spirituality, sense of purpose, and faith
You have strong and coherent beliefs about the higher purpose and meaning of the universe. You know where you fit in the larger scheme. Your beliefs shape your actions and are a source of comfort to you.

Strength#6
Bravery and valor
You are a courageous person who does not shrink from threat, challenge, difficulty, or pain. You speak up for what is right even if there is opposition. You act on your convictions.

Strength#7
Fairness, equity, and justice
Treating all people fairly is one of your abiding principles. You do not let your personal feelings bias your decisions about other people. You give everyone a chance.

Strength#8
Forgiveness and mercy
You forgive those who have done you wrong. You always give people a second chance. Your guiding principle is mercy and not revenge.

Strength#9
Judgment, critical thinking, and open-mindedness
Thinking things through and examining them from all sides are important aspects of who you are. You do not jump to conclusions, and you rely only on solid evidence to make your decisions. You are able to change your mind.

Strength#10
Leadership
You excel at the tasks of leadership: encouraging a group to get things done and preserving harmony within the group by making everyone feel included. You do a good job organizing activities and seeing that they happen.

Strength#11
Appreciation of beauty and excellence
You notice and appreciate beauty, excellence, and/or skilled performance in all domains of life, from nature to art to mathematics to science to everyday experience.

Strength#12
Perspective (wisdom)
Although you may not think of yourself as wise, your friends hold this view of you. They value your perspective on matters and turn to you for advice. You have a way of looking at the world that makes sense to others and to yourself.

Strength#13
Self-control and self-regulation
You self-consciously regulate what you feel and what you do. You are a disciplined person. You are in control of your appetites and your emotions, not vice versa.

Strength#14
Zest, enthusiasm, and energy
Regardless of what you do, you approach it with excitement and energy. You never do anything halfway or halfheartedly. For you, life is an adventure.

Strength#15
Caution, prudence, and discretion
You are a careful person, and your choices are consistently prudent ones. You do not say or do things that you might later regret.

Strength#16
Gratitude
You are aware of the good things that happen to you, and you never take them for granted. Your friends and family members know that you are a grateful person because you always take the time to express your thanks.

Strength#17
Citizenship, teamwork, and loyalty
You excel as a member of a group. You are a loyal and dedicated teammate, you always do your share, and you work hard for the success of your group.

Strength#18
Kindness and generosity
You are kind and generous to others, and you are never too busy to do a favor. You enjoy doing good deeds for others, even if you do not know them well.

Strength#19
Honesty, authenticity, and genuineness
You are an honest person, not only by speaking the truth but by living your life in a genuine and authentic way. You are down to earth and without pretense; you are a "real" person.

Strength#20
Industry, diligence, and perseverance
You work hard to finish what you start. No matter the project, you "get it out the door" in timely fashion. You do not get distracted when you work, and you take satisfaction in completing tasks.

Strength#21
Social intelligence
You are aware of the motives and feelings of other people. You know what to do to fit in to different social situations, and you know what to do to put others at ease.

Strength#22
Capacity to love and be loved
You value close relations with others, in particular those in which sharing and caring are reciprocated. The people to whom you feel most close are the same people who feel most close to you.

Strength#23
Love of learning
You love learning new things, whether in a class or on your own. You have always loved school, reading, and museums-anywhere and everywhere there is an opportunity to learn.

Strength#24
Modesty and humility
You do not seek the spotlight, preferring to let your accomplishments speak for themselves. You do not regard yourself as special, and others recognize and value your modesty.

[robertanthony]

Hey song writer it's good to see that you have done the VIA survey - I have done it to. Did you know that they have begun to do this on university students USA / UK.

Has doing the survey had an effect on you? What's your conclusions?

[Zukin]

Only 24? Positive psychology researchers need to take a look at Steve's list:

http://www.stevepavlina.com/articles/list-of-values.htm

[songwriter]

Originally Posted by robertanthony

Hey song writer it's good to see that you have done the VIA survey - I have done it to. Did you know that they have begun to do this on university students USA / UK.

Has doing the survey had an effect on you? What's your conclusions?

My conclusion is that those questions are not good enough to determine your virtues or lack of. They are very tricky... I'm thinking more of the list of virtues itself not on the survey... Maybe 24 tests would needed instead of one, but that would be slow...
What I mean is that people don't agree of what are virtues or not...
When I'm Persisting on something, some think it's Persistence and some Stubborness.
Every virtue could be changed around. I'm gonna try: maybe they are not the right words in English, but you'll get the idea...
And I guess that's because there are so many different people personalities. So.. is there really any virtue that doesn't have its "dark side"?

Creativity/Inestability
Humor and playfulness/Euphoria, conscuspiscence
Curiosity and interest in the world/Absent mindedness, isolation
Hope, optimism, and future-mindedness/Naive, daydreamer, lack of realism, you know
Spirituality, sense of purpose, and faith/Lightworker syndrome
Bravery and valor/Imprudence
Fairness, equity, and justice/Non-atachment in relationships
Forgiveness and mercy/ being too compasionate, non assertive
Judgment, critical thinking, and open-mindedness/Lack of personality, style
Leadership/Tiranny
Appreciation of beauty and excellence/Hedonism
Perspective (wisdom)/Trying to change other one's minds, manipulative advice
Self-control and self-regulation/Lack of spontaneity, rigidity, stiffness.
Zest, enthusiasm, and energy/Nervousness, chaos
Caution, prudence, and discretion/Timidity, cowardice
Gratitude/submissive
Citizenship, teamwork, and loyalty/Lack of freedom
Kindness and generosity/Not thinking bout yourself enough
Honesty, authenticity, and genuineness/Lack of business mind
Industry, diligence, and perseverance/Stubborness
Social intelligence/Gossip mind
Capacity to love and be loved/Attachment, loving too much, trusting too much
Love of learning/procrastinating
Modesty and humility/Lack of ambition

[songwriter]

Originally Posted by Zukin

Only 24? Positive psychology researchers need to take a look at Steve's list:

http://www.stevepavlina.com/articles/list-of-values.htm

Yes, I remind that good old list from Steve. I'm not gonna write 374 "too much of that virtue" but I think it's interesting what Steve says...

"The following list of values will help you develop a clearer sense of what's most important to you in life, as explained in the article Living Your Values. Simply print out this page, mark the values which most resonate with you, and then sort your list in order of priority. As you scan the values list below, you may find that while most values have little or no significance to you (and some may even seem negative to you)"

So many don't care a thing about Persistance and call it... Stubborness.
Or maybe I prefer Ambition to Humility. It seems there's no way of finding "universal virtues" or so.

[eblight]

I believe that what makes a great person is someone being themselves. We live in the maia which is about measurement so humans measure what are desirable qualities in others, for example, and come up with such concepts as humility, patience, compassion and so on. You have already questioned the validity of the survey and how it applies to you. I believe it is best to be your own authority. If you score low on humility but say that that is confidence in you honour that quality in yourself.

[robertanthony]

Thanks Songwriter

[songwriter]

Originally Posted by eblight

I believe that what makes a great person is someone being themselves. We live in the maia which is about measurement so humans measure what are desirable qualities in others, for example, and come up with such concepts as humility, patience, compassion and so on. You have already questioned the validity of the survey and how it applies to you. I believe it is best to be your own authority. If you score low on humility but say that that is confidence in you honour that quality in yourself.

Yes, it's like when Steve says "choose your values and that is you"... or so... Everyone has a different concept of what is a virtue and what is not, and that makes everyone of us.