The Road to Character - Book Summary & Review

The Road to Character

David Brooks

Brief Description of the Book

In The Road to Character David Brooks, best-selling author of The Social Animal and New York Times columnist, explains why selflessness leads to greater success. In this urgent and soul-searching book, David Brooks explores the road to character. We live in a culture that encourages us to think about how to be wealthy and successful but which leaves many of us inarticulate about how to cultivate the deepest inner life. We know that this deeper life matters but it becomes subsumed by the day-to-day and the deepest parts of who we are go unexplored and unstructured.

(From Amazon.in)

Notable Ideas of the Book

There are two kinds of virtues in the world, the résumé virtues and the eulogy virtues. The résumé virtues are the ones listed in our CVs, the skills contributing to external success. The eulogy virtues are deeper. They're what we really are, the virtues that exist at the core of our being and what kind of relationships we’ve formed over our lifetime.

We live in a culture which solely focuses on wealth and success, often leaving us incapable of cultivating the deepest inner life. The Road to Character connects us to an ancient moral tradition which asks us to confront our weaknesses and grow in response, rather than only focus on our good points.

Learn how society can rid itself from its obsession with the self.

Social media mirrors current state of our society, the state which is all about the cult of “me.” It wasn’t always this way though, society valued people who embodied the virtues of honesty, humility and faithfulness. To promote one-self as special or all important was not this acceptable as it is today. So when did it all change?

The idea of multiple, conflicting personalities within each person has always been the subject of philosophical investigation and intrigue for many. Each person is composed of two competing personality types, called Adams. Depending on society’s prevailing culture, people lean toward either one of the type.

“Adam I” type is an “alpha,” an extrovert personality that projects outward, most comfortable in a success-obsessed society. He wants a career and social status;  a winner with a strong desire to stay on the top.

In contrast, “Adam II” type is an introvert. Today’s society has nothing to do with him. He has strong morals and strives for virtuosity. Adam II is the core of what makes a human “human,” displaying traits such as kindness, bravery, honesty and devotion.

Everyone embodies these two basic types; one is often overshadowed by the other. In the past few decades, Society has shifted from the moralistic world of Adam II to the self-centered one of Adam I. Today people are pushed to obsess over themselves and live only for their own desires. This is evident in everything from movies to self-help books

Society has made a shift, from a focus on humility to a focus on individual desire. Society used to emphasize that humans were not strong but essentially weak, a climate in which Adam II thrived. Humanists stressed the limits of our understanding and viewed pride with suspicion. They’re stressing at the fact that individualism was not a virtue.

All this, however changed with the rise of romanticism in the eighteenth century, an era marked with the increasing prevalence of Adam I types and ideas of human goodness and the power of the individual.

After this period, the two Adams remained more or less in balance in the society. That is, until the mid-twentieth century. The society sought to break free from the shackles of self-restraint and claim a new and upbeat, positive lifestyle.

The 1950s were about pride and empowerment, a time when marginalized communities, from women to minorities, fought for justice. But this age of empowerment also saw the power of individualism overshadowing humility.

All this might seem good on the surface, but the truth is, our self-obsessed society has cost us a lot. Modern society has lost its connection to the moral values that lead to true joy and satisfaction.

Today’s Adam I-dominated zeitgeist encourages us to follow our desires wherever they may lead us to. But as we chase our wants, we lose sight of deeper principles. Our lives solely revolve around how we achieve, ignoring the why.

Huge aspects of our lives have been subsumed by Adam I traits, even the way we raise our children. Raising children has become just another tool for self-promotion, with report cards and team wins another badge of honor for the parent. Parents are not invested in their children becoming well-rounded, balanced people but instead push them to learn skills that look good on a resume.

The long road to character begins with understanding that all humans are flawed creatures. As society fills itself with self-centered individuals, it becomes detached from humanity’s deeper morals. We need to change this, by embracing the flaws inherent in all of us.

Consider this: experiencing suffering makes you more grateful by helping you realize that you don’t deserve most of the love you receive. When you realize this, you become more grateful for the affection and attention of others.

Doing things like being honest about our flaws can help us overcome narcissism and embrace deeper social values. All we need to do is to turn our focus from self-love to sharing our struggles, and use these lessons to understand and overcome individual flaws. We might just be able to find some space for Adam II again.

Toss pride by the wayside: Only by freeing yourself from pride can you walk the road to character. On the road to character, you’ll need the support of an external force to help you cope with your internal struggles. Your support base could be family, friends, ancestors or mentors, or even God.

Reaching out for help can be difficult; we often fail to do so because of our pride. Pride deceives us into thinking that we’re the masters of our own lives. Pride pushes us to prove our superiority to others. If we want to thrive, we must free ourselves from pride.

The Road to Character connects us once again to an ancient moral tradition, a tradition that asks us to confront our own weaknesses and grow in response, rather than shallowly focus on our good points. It is a focus David Brooks believes all of us - including himself - need to reconnect with now.

Ruchika Verma

You can purchase this insightful book from Amazon

Reviews

A powerful, haunting book that works its way beneath your skin

(Oliver Burkeman Guardian)

Everyone concerned about the good life should read this book 

(Tim Montgomerie Times)

This profound and eloquent book is written with moral urgency and philosophical elegance 

(Andrew Solomon)