Another important work by John Bradshaw, named by a group of his peers as ‘one of the 100 most influential writers on emotional health in the 20th Century.’   --Common Boundary Magazine

Slated to be another New York Times Bestseller, in RECLAIMING VIRTUE, John Bradshaw deals with the unprecedented opportunity to live, teach and leave a legacy of virtue.

• On September 11th, 2001, what made New York City firefighters rush into the Twin Towers although the buildings were engulfed in flames?

• What gave little six-year-old Ruby Bridges the courage to withstand the hostility of racial prejudice surrounding the recently desegregated all-white school she attended in New Orleans at the beginning of the 1960’s?

• What gave Henry David Thoreau the fortitude to protest his government’s sanctioning of slavery by refusing to pay his poll tax then willingly suffer the consequence of his actions bY being arrested, fined and jailed?

What was the thread of commonality that gave them the moral intelligence and emotional imagination to make the right choice, at the right time, for the right reason? How is it that people do the right thing even though no one will ever know? How can we motivate ourselves and others to be more like these ‘ordinary heroes?’ 

The answer to these questions can be found in John Bradshaw’s latest book, RECLAIMING VIRTUE: How We Can Develop The Moral Intelligence To Do The Right Thing At the Right Time For the Right Reason.   

Why read RECLAIMING VIRTUE?

1. It is a radical departure from the traditional way of teaching morality and is supported by the significant developments in the field of neuroscientific studies during the last fifteen years.

2. It is a call to “good old moral virtue,” harkening back to the earliest traditions of Greek moral philosophy and combining them with the tradition of the great Medieval theologian Thomas Aquinas.

3. It presents moral intelligence as a unique, innate intelligence that can be perfected through becoming the virtue of Prudence (how to choose well), which is the virtue of virtues.

4. It has worldwide influence as it speaks directly to the polarization of fundamental extremists who justify killing in the name of God, and it exposes the cruelty of any totalistic culture of obedience which tolerates murder, torture, and mind control, thus negating any possibility for moral intelligence.

5. It offers a step-by-step, coherent and teachable ethics of virtue, which aims at developing the inner-strength of the soul, providing virtues that fit the demands of the information revolution’s need for autonomy, individuality, and knowledge workers.

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 John Bradshaw says, “At this time of uncertainty and confusion, we urgently need to develop the inner strengths that will guide us no matter how much the world changes around us, and no matter what new circumstances we encounter.  The ancient philosophers and theologians called these inner strengths virtues.”  

As one of the great founding fathers of our country, James Madison, told us:

‘If there be no virtue among us, no form of government can render us secure.  To suppose that any form of government will secure liberty and happiness without any virtue in the people is an illusion.’

"Please join me in my personal journey through the moral and ethical challenges we face every day in our own lives, and as we try to raise our children to become good and happy people.  I want to live a virtuous life, and I want you to find a solution to your own dilemmas by drawing on your own innate moral intelligence and personal faith.  Writing this book has helped me, and I hope it will help you.“

                                                                                                 --John Bradshaw