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.
TFP Editor: You are well-known for your studies on forgiveness. What lead you to write a book on humility?
Worthington: The prophet Micah (Micah 6:8) gives us excellent guidance for living. “He [God] has showed you, O man, what is good,” wrote Micah. “And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.” For years I’ve focused on the intersection of justice and mercy, or justice and forgiving. Now, I want to tackle the other part of that counsel. As positive psychology has caught on, that has provided a harbor within the ocean of psychological knowledge for studying such wisdom as forgiveness, justice, and now humility.
TFP Editor: What key idea would you like readers to take away after reading Humility: The Quiet Virtue?
Worthington: The Bishop William Temple might have said it best. “Humility does not mean thinking less of yourself than of other people, nor does it mean having a low opinion of your own gifts. It means freedom from thinking about yourself at all.” Humility can flourish even if we have a good self-concept—perhaps only when we have a good self-concept. But it thrives not because of that self-concept, but instead, overlooking one’s self-concept to bless other people.
