Becoming Good Parents: An Existential Journey

By Mufid James Hannush

Book Overview

Argues that our struggle to become good parents can help us to become good persons.

Becoming Good Parents goes beyond a psychological understanding of parenting to include a deeper explication of the philosophical (moral) and existential (spiritual) dimensions of parenting. It counters the contemporary notion that parents can be satisfied with simply being "good enough" in their parenting practices, which encourages a sense of complacency. Through everyday examples, illustrative use of Harper Lee's moral novel To Kill a Mockingbird, and a reinterpretation of the theoretical viewpoints of psychologists Erik Erikson, Heinz Kohut, and Rollo May, along with philosophers Iris Murdoch and Michael Gelven, the author argues that the struggle toward perfection (goodness) is a natural human impulse. Parenting provides an optimal context for the practice of character refinement, which can potentially contribute to the psychological and spiritual growth of both parents and children. Ultimately, the book demonstrates that by becoming good parents, we become good persons.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0791454622
• ISBN13: 9780791454626
• Release Date: August 2002
• Publisher: State University of New York Press
• Length: 182 Pages
• Weight: 0.70 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.5" x 6.2" x 9.1"
• Grade Range: Postsecondary and higher

Customer Reviews

Inviting us to examine how we each can be a better person

Mufid Hannush meets his aim of illuminating and describing the meaning and essential elements of good and loving parents. With this he helps us also see how to be good and loving persons. I am not a parent, but valued this book in the way it settled me into an awareness of how I can live a more value-focused life moment by moment. As he says: "Although it offers no 'how to' techniques and strategies for the achievement of good parenting, it holds the conviction that an in-depth description of the theoretical structure of good and loving parenting leads to an understanding that can inspire change in our consciousness and actions." The first few chapters were difficult to sit with; I wondered what I was learning. I soon realized this was an expression of what is known; I was gaining an increased awareness rather than information/knowledge. While reading Chapter 3 I suddenly sensed I'd internalized the message of the book. I longed to live a good life, to have a 'perfect' character. (A challenge that reminds me of Confucianism.) I was able to hear the message and reflect more fully on its meaning. I encourage those who read it to stay with it. Like a good parent, be patient, sit with the reading and allow yourself to hear it fully without rushing. It is well worth it!Through his readings, which included themes from Iris Murdoch's moral philosophy, and Harper's character "Atticus" in To Kill a Mockingbird, I have been inspired to read and study these writers also.