Six Pillars of Self-Esteem

Customer Reviews

I posted an earlier review of the book, so I won't go into how special a thinker and writer I think Branden is. Or how carefully argued the Six Pillars is. I just wanted to point out that to Branden, logic and reason are sacred things, and to discredit him without using logic or reason is a bit of an insult to his work.

This is a book that can be read rapidly for those with some experience in Objectivism or psychology. Readers new to personal psychology can take the book step by step, mastering one pillar of self esteem at a time. I have heard that many people find the sentence completion exercises he provides to be valuable, although I have never felt the need for them.

Overall, The Six Pillars has a lot to offer everyone whether they are seeking answers for problems in their life or looking to learn more about psychology.

Each of the six pillars is presented with a sound mix of theoretical discussion and concrete examples from Branden's experience as a psychotherapist. One strength of this book is its highly goal-oriented nature; it offers practical means of acquiring the skills necessary to build self-esteem, and show how to gauge one's progress in developing these skills. These take the form of sentence completion exercises that seek to raise one's level of self-awareness.

Branden writes that his years of study in the field of psychotherapy have lead him to conclude that the six pillars represent the fundamental nature of what healthy self-esteem is. He leaves open the possibility that there may be a superior definition of self-esteem. And while he offers a vigorous defense of his definition and his argument that it (self-esteem as he defines it) is a necessary condition of good mental health, it doesn't support the notion that it is a sufficient condition of it (although he comes across as sounding that way). A thief can take pride in his abilities at thievery, and have an accurate self-concept based upon those skills, but no moral person would describe a thief's version of self-esteem as a sign of sound mental health. Questions such as this perhaps outside the scope of a work on psychology and properly the subject of a work on ethics, but they are legitimate questions nonetheless (and Branden's suggestion that this work is nearly as much a work of philosophy as it is one on psychology makes these questions legitimate in that context).

Branden's arguments for the importance of cultivating self-esteem in our schools and in the workplace are enlightening and convincing. A capitalist system thrives upon citizens with healthy self concepts, while our schools and places of work often contain elements of an atavistic philosophical outlook that calls for conformance and obedience above all else.

All in all, this work is highly inspirational and leaves the reader with the belief that there is much that we can we do to empower ourselves and take control of our lives, and offers practical means for doing so. This is surely one of the best self-help books available today.

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