Read Better Books To Be a Better Person 158
00_NOP writes "Researchers from the New School for Social Research in New York have demonstrated that if you read quality literary fiction you become a better person, in the sense that you are more likely to empathize with others [paper abstract]. Presumably we can all think of books that have changed the way we feel about the world — so this is, in a sense, a scientific confirmation of something fairly intuitive."
Re:Nonsense. (Score:2, Interesting)
Also, it seems to be a rather self-involved definition of "better person".
I could make the case that reading Ayn Rand's Fountainhead is a better indicator of being a "better person", than reading Charles Dickens' Great Expectations. And I could make that case without even agreeing with Rand's beliefs, or whether her method of storytelling is seriously flawed.
Re:Nonsense. (Score:4, Interesting)
Wow, multiple mods of "Troll" to counter the upmods from people who can actually read context.
I never said Ayn Rand was a good person, or that her books embodied 'truth', or that her books were an enjoyable read. In fact, in several prior posts I have stated the exact opposite positions.
But as far as the premise that choosing what books you read makes you a better person, I can still state that choosing her works over Dickens is not necessarily a detractor.