How is Character Created and Shaped?
How character is created, shaped and strengthened. With novelist Amitav Ghosh, bioethicist Ilina Singh and cultural commentator David Brooks.
What does it mean to be 鈥榦f good character鈥�? How easy is it to change and where does character come from? Are we shaped by our genes or experiences? Shedding light on the creation of fictional characters is novelist Amitav Ghosh, bioethicist Ilina Singh considers how society responds to children who struggle to fit in and the New York Times columnist David Brooks shares his concerns about the rise of a 鈥楤ig Me鈥� culture and the decline of humility. Presented by Quentin Cooper.
(Photo: Silver congratulates Gold at the 2012 Olympics (Getty Images)
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A test of true character
Duration: 01:02
Chapters
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David Brooks
How can you become a better person?
Duration: 11:14
Ilina Singh
Is there a biology of character and what does that mean for society?
Duration: 08:21
60 second idea
What Do You Think About That?
Duration: 03:43
Amitav Ghosh
How fictional characters surprise their authors
Duration: 13:16
David Brooks
![David Brooks]()
David Brooks is a columnist for The New York Times and teaches at Yale University in the United States. He thinks we should spend less time striving for wealth, fame and status and look inwards to strengthen our capacity for self-awareness, self-restraint, compassion and humility. He is the author of 鈥楾he Road to Character鈥�.
Ilina Singh
![Ilina Singh]()
Dr Ilina Singh is Professor of Neuroscience and Society at the University of Oxford in the UK. She is a bioethicist whose work examines the psychosocial and ethical implications of advances in biomedicine and neuroscience for young people and families. Her new study is entitled 鈥楤ecoming Good: Early Intervention and Moral Development in Child Psychiatry鈥�.Amitav Ghosh
![Amitav Ghosh]()
Amitav Ghosh is a novelist whose work has been translated into more than twenty languages. His latest novel, 鈥楩lood of Fire鈥�, completes The Ibis Trilogy. It opens in India in 1839 and charts the progress of its characters through the moral maze of China鈥檚 First Opium War.60 second idea to change the world
![60 second idea to change the world]()
Ilina Singh believes that to encourage children to engage with the world and participate in debate, we should ask them the question 鈥榃hat do you think about that ?鈥� every day. And pause. And listen.
鈥楾hat鈥� can be a person, place, thing or idea. Just point and ask 鈥� and don鈥檛 forget the pause. Adults need to hear what children and teenagers have to say and young people need an opportunity to challenge, to collaborate and to take part.Broadcasts
- Mon 8 Jun 2015 01:05GMT91热爆 World Service Online
- Tue 9 Jun 2015 08:05GMT91热爆 World Service Online
Do you think political or business leaders need to be charismatic? Or do you prefer highly competent but somewhat stern people?
We鈥檇 love to hear your views on charm and charisma for a future Forum.
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