Each fall, Templeton Foundation Press publishes a small inspirational book extrapolating on a virtue that relates to Sir John Templeton’s vision. This season, Everett L. Worthington contributes a second volume to our inspirational series: Humility: The Quiet Virtue. In addition to this book, Worthington also contributes a chapter to Jesus and Psychology edited by Fraser Watts, which TFP will publish in November.
In fall 2005, TFP published Worthington’s other inspirational book: The Power of Forgiving. We’ve had tremendous international success with this title, having sold translation rights in five languages.
TFP Editor: Why should a person desire to be humble? Are there benefits to humility?
Worthington: Research on humility is just beginning. Social scientists are starting to unravel the mystery of how to measure humility. We cannot simply ask people if they are humble. What if they say “yes.” Would you trust that this was an indication of humility? So, one of the few benefits uncovered is that people want acquaintances to be humble, friends to be selectively humble (humble toward us, but not so much toward others, proving that we are special), mates to be humble (but not doormats), and political leaders to be humble unless their strength is challenged. I think that most people’s motivation to be humble, though, is that, as humans, we seem to have the capacity for both virtue and vice, and virtue attracts us.
Posted by Templeton Editor 
