|
||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||
Frequently Bought Together
Product Details
|
Product Description
From Booklist
Jungian psychologist Hollis turns the whole why-bad-things-happen-to-good-people question around and asks, instead, why good people often do such horrible things. Exploring the notion of the Shadow, Jung's term to describe the hidden aspects of ourselves--the parts that contradict the self we show the rest of the world, the dark side of our personality--Hollis suggests that we can only become whole (and good) by acknowledging our Shadow and accepting that it's OK to have a dark side, as long as we never let it take control of who we are. The prose is a little stodgy, and some readers might find the book feels a little too similar to others in the psychological self-help genre, but finally the similarities are only superficial. The difference between this book and most of the slick self-helpers is that Hollis has some genuinely important, meaningful things to say. A thoughtful book, well worth the concentration involved in reading it. David Pitt
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Book Description
Now in paperback, a penetrating understanding of the discrepancies that lie between our professed values and our frequently destructive actions.
How is it that good people do bad things? Why do otherwise ordinary people gamble, drink, embezzle company funds, become addicted to Internet porn, cheat on their spouse, or repeat the same destructive behaviors in relationships, at work, or in their habits? And, on a grander scale, how can we reconcile all of the pain and suffering present in the world?
In "Why Good People Do Bad Things," James Hollis offers wisdom to help you acquire a new level of awareness to your daily actions and choices. Exploring the Shadow is important to our growth because it helps us repair inner fractures and explore what forces are working against us, and why. Hollis also looks at the larger picture of the Shadow at work in our cultureain history, religion, organizations, and corporationsain addition to its presence in our personal lives.
How is it that good people do bad things? Why do otherwise ordinary people gamble, drink, embezzle company funds, become addicted to Internet porn, cheat on their spouse, or repeat the same destructive behaviors in relationships, at work, or in their habits? And, on a grander scale, how can we reconcile all of the pain and suffering present in the world?
In "Why Good People Do Bad Things," James Hollis offers wisdom to help you acquire a new level of awareness to your daily actions and choices. Exploring the Shadow is important to our growth because it helps us repair inner fractures and explore what forces are working against us, and why. Hollis also looks at the larger picture of the Shadow at work in our cultureain history, religion, organizations, and corporationsain addition to its presence in our personal lives.
Inside This Book
(Learn More)
First Sentence
A well-respected accountant finds a way to funnel funds from a charitable nonprofit to her private account. Read the first page Browse Sample Pages
Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Index | Back Cover
A well-respected accountant finds a way to funnel funds from a charitable nonprofit to her private account. Read the first page Browse Sample Pages
Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Index | Back Cover
Suggested Tags from Similar Products(What's this?)Be the first one to add a relevant tag (keyword that's strongly related to this product)
|
What Other Items Do Customers Buy After Viewing This Item?
Customer Reviews
|
There are no customer reviews yet on Amazon.ca
|
||||||||||||||||||||
|
Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
Amazon.com:
4.4 out of 5 stars (16 customer reviews)
103 of 104 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
In-depth, thought-provoking, illuminating, Feb 24 2007
By William Timothy Lukeman - Published on Amazon.com
Amazon Verified Purchase(What's this?)
This review is from: Why Good People Do Bad Things (Hardcover)
The title might lead a casual reader to dismiss this as just one more lightweight self-help book -- but that's not the case, not in the least! As with Hollis' earlier books, it's a psychologically & philosophically rich examination of the human soul, offering no easy answers, no magic solutions, no simplistic aphorisms in place of real insight. If you truly want to understand your life & its choices, then you have to be willing to do some difficult & often painful emotional work. And that's something few of us are eager to do.Which leads us to the question: do you want to grow, to become more fully conscious, to strive towards wholeness? If so, you'll have to discard protective illusions, stop expecting someone else to solve everything for you, and apply an almost ruthless honesty to yourself. You won't like a lot of what you see in that dark mirror, and you'll try to fend it off, explain it away ... but that's our mistake. If we can acknowledge the part we unconsciously play in our own suffering, we may well learn how to alleviate some of it & live with what remains.
Mind you, Hollis never promises an end to suffering, a wondrous makeover that does away with every ugly scar & thought! He has too much respect for the tragic view of human life to hold up an illusion of perfect happiness, no matter how golden & comforting. He's very clear on this: what we need isn't happiness, but meaning. And to find it, we have to be willing to grapple with the Shadow, all that we fear & despise about ourselves, all that we reject & often project onto others.
I feel that this is one of Hollis' finest books, in that it possesses an extra depth & richness of insight. It made me look at my own life more deeply than I have in the past, and encouraged me to confront many of its uncomfortable & frightening aspects. At the very least, it will make you think long & hard about yourself. At the most, it may set you forth upon a fascinating & revealing journey. Most highly recommended!
43 of 44 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
A must read, Nov 10 2007
By Steve - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: Why Good People Do Bad Things (Hardcover)
This is one of the most powerful and life-altering books I have ever read. There are insights on practically every page and the depth of understanding of the human mind that Dr. Hollis brings is extraordinary.During a period of difficulty in my life which I am still working through, I stumbled upon this book. The title caught my eye but I was anticipating a Dr. Phil-ish over-simplification of human behavior full of soft answers and plenty of upbeat self-affirmations. I was stunned to find how wrong I was. Dr. Hollis examines not only the individual but how the individual creates the society that begets the evils mankind has brought upon himself over the millennia. I found myself stopping and re-reading passages constantly and because of the profundity on nearly every page, it took me quite a while to finish. Reading a chapter was an exhausting endeavor that challenged me with hours of thought-provoking reflection time just to try and wrap my head around the myriad observations that Hollis provides. In my cynicism, I kept waiting for the other shoe to drop - the point at which the author wraps up all of these conundrums with one universal solution, naturally his solution that you have to buy the book to discover. Thankfully, there was no such moment. As anyone knows who has taken the time to really look deep into the darkness within, there are no easy answers in life and no slate cleaning cure-alls that make life better and wipe away the misery. Life is hard. Knowing who you are and why you do what you do just might allow you to avoid the mistakes we all seem determined to re-visit. Still, it remains in our hands to decide and throughout each day we are faced with choices. That is the struggle of our life. This book helped me to understand myself, to see why I was making poor choices, to face the ugliness within myself, and to carefully examine the choices I had been making. I am still taking small steps towards a better future for myself but at least now I am doing so without the blinders of denial, the ignorance of reality avoidance, or the false security of self-destructive behaviors.
If you are truly ready for the voyage to the heart of who you are, I can not encourage you enough to pick up this book and read it. It has been a life saver for me. Thanks, Dr. Hollis.
20 of 21 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
Warm, explanatory, understanding and forgiving ..., Dec 24 2007
By Reviewer (female) - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: Why Good People Do Bad Things (Hardcover)
I cannot write that this is the finest book of Dr. Hollis, because having read all but two of his books during the last year, I can only write that every single word, which I have read so far from this man, is fine.I feel blessed and very grateful for having discovered his writings.
His words are like a balm on many of my wounds.
Through the reading of Dr. Hollis' books, I have learned to go beyond mere acceptance of difficult situations in life to a place of forgiveness, which I had not known before.
This and all the other books of Dr. Hollis can help people to transform and to become more gentle-hearted, because they offer explanations for many questions. Not solutions, though. But - at least for me - explanations were what I had been looking for for many years.
Listmania!
Look for similar items by category
- Books > Health, Mind & Body > Mental Health > Emotions
- Books > Health, Mind & Body > Psychology & Counseling > By Topic > Emotions
- Books > Health, Mind & Body > Psychology & Counseling > Movements > Jungian
- Books > New & Used Textbooks > Humanities > Philosophy
- Books > New & Used Textbooks > Social Sciences > Psychology
- Books > Nonfiction > Philosophy > Good & Evil
Look for similar items by subject
Feedback
Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
|
