About this item
Determining why, when, and to whom people feel compelled to be generous affords invaluable insight into positive and problematic ways of life. Organ donation, volunteering, and the funding of charities can all be illuminated by sociological and psychological perspectives on how American adults conceive of and demonstrate generosity. Focusing not only on financial giving but on the many diverse forms generosity can take, Christian Smith and Hilary Davidson show the deep impact-usually good, sometimes destructive-that giving has on individuals.The Paradox of Generosity is the first study to make use of the cutting-edge empirical data collected in Smith's groundbreaking, multidisciplinary, five-year Science of Generosity Initiative. It draws on an extensive survey of 2,000 Americans, more than sixty in-depth interviews with individuals across twelve states, and analysis of over 1,000 photographs and other visual materials.
About the Author
Christian Smith is the William R. Kenan, Jr. Professor of Sociology at the University of Notre Dame. He is the author of many books, including What is a Person? : Rethinking Humanity, Social Life, and the Moral Good from the Person Up (Chicago 201) ; Passing the Plate: Why American Christians Do Not Give Away More Money (OUP 2008) ; Soul Searching: the Religious and Spiritual Lives of American Teenagers (OUP 2005) , Winner of the 2005 "Distinguished Book Award" from Christianity Today; and Moral, Believing Animals: Human Personhood and Culture (OUP 2003) .
