Understanding we are Worthy, Capable, Connected, and Called to Adventure for a more Joyful and Resilient Life
This post is about a fallacy (a thinking error) called false cause. I bet you know more about this fallacy than you think. You’ve probably witnessed it, even if you didn’t realize it. For example, imagine the following scenario: Your friend drinks a brand of orange juice called Florida Smile on Tuesday. And then on… Continue reading How the Fallacy of False Cause Makes It Hard to Solve Problems (Tylenol and Autism)
I want to tell you about an interesting man name Allan Lichtman who has an impressive knack for predicting elections. But first, let me tell you who I am writing this post for. And I will do that by telling you who I am not writing it for. I am not writing this post for… Continue reading Allan Lichtman on How to Predict Presidential Elections
Acting with reason and respect is the best way to live your life. That claim seems sensible enough, doesn’t it? After all, very few people consciously intend to live in a unreasonable and disrespectful manner. Most of us recognize that living according to reason and respect is a wise way to live. Fair enough. But… Continue reading Why Acting with Reason and Respect is Wise and Rare
People often misunderstand something about goodness. In Plato’s Republic, Plato portrays Socrates discussing goodness with some of his friends and acquaintances. The word for goodness in the Republic is dikaisoune (δικαισύνη). Now, the English language doesn’t have an exact translation for the word dikaisoune. In the Greek it means something like all of these ideas… Continue reading Socrates on What People Misunderstand about Goodness
What do people misunderstand about goodness? Something very important, it turns out. In Plato’s Republic, Plato portrays Socrates discussing goodness with some of his friends and acquaintances. Now it is important to know that the word for goodness in the Republic is dikaisoune (δικαισύνη). And English doesn’t have an exact translation for the word dikaisoune… Continue reading Socrates on What People Misunderstand about Goodness
Can honesty ever be unvirtuous? I think initially many of us would say “no”. After all, many of us feel understandably that honesty is the best policy, as the saying goes. However, recently, I have become concerned about a troubling trend that I will call unvirtuous honesty. To explain what unvirtuous honesty is, it may… Continue reading Aristotle on Unvirtuous Honesty
The title of this post “Hegel was Right: We Need the Dialectic” is probably one of the least click-bait blog post titles anyone has ever written. I’m aware of this. And that is probably why I have hesitated to write this post, despite wanting to do so for over a year now. And perhaps another… Continue reading Hegel Was Right: We Need the Dialectic
Is encouraging positivity helpful or harmful? Positivity is a buzzword in recent years. In fact, you have probably heard people recently urging you or others to be positive, to focus on positivity, or to strive to be happy. Philosophers and other thinkers and writers have long explored how humans can be more happy. For example,… Continue reading Is Encouraging Positivity Helpful or Harmful?
I have been teaching the Trolley Problem in my ethics class this week. The Trolley Problem is a classical ethical dilemma that people, especially philosopher Judith Jarvis Thompson, have been writing and teaching about for decades. Thompson wrote an initial article about the Trolley Problem in 1985 that you can read here: The Trolley Problem.… Continue reading The Trolley Problem and Ethical Reasoning
Moral disagreements are a common part of life. But there is something very surprising about moral disagreements that we often don’t realize. To illustrate this, allow me to present you with a thought experiment.[1] Please imagine these four people: Person #1: Jill believes X is the moral thing to do. Now, Jill truly cares about… Continue reading A Surprising Thing about Moral Disagreements