Goodness

“The world, that understandable and lawful world, was slipping away.” — from William Golding’s Lord of the Flies — It’s hard to be an optimist in any age, but it seems more challenging these days. I’ll spare you the litany of woes pressing upon us. You know them well if you treasure the natural world, compassionate human relationships and social justice. With hardships affecting not just individuals but whole…

the only purpose worthy of a true education — Plato, Republic, trans. Benjamin Jowett (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1881). …you have been often told that the idea of good is the highest knowledge, and that all other things become useful and advantageous only by their use of this. You must have already guessed that of this I am about to…

In a world where niceness is often praised and celebrated, it’s essential to question whether being nice truly equates to being a good person. We’ve all encountered individuals who seem exceptionally nice on the surface, but deep down, their motives may be driven by something entirely different. It’s time to…

In a recent interview with actor Tom Hanks host, Ari Melber asked what one factor stood out to Tom about his movie characters. He replied, “A complete lack of cynicism” It’s tough not to get cynical about politics and religion. I know that I fall into that trap again and…

Bill Gates’s commencement message included “5 things I wish I was told at the graduation I never had” — A powerful practice for seeking the right guiding stars in your life is to deeply consider why the people who call you friend do so. One of many things to consider: It is natural and common for people to act selfishly so if you’re privileged to have people in your…

Many times good things come our way unexpectedly and we attribute their advent to good fortune or luck. Or we may think of the sudden bonus as karma. I’m less inclined to believe in causative factors. …

I know a woman who is so kind. Other than my partner, she is the most generous person I know.

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Forget everything you thought you knew about human nature — In my most recent offering — memorably headlined Assholes, Motherfuckers, Pieces of Shit, Twatwaffles, Fucktards and Generally Evil Pieces of Shit Are Still All Around Us, I wrote that since the people described in the headline are pretending to believe in general goodness, they assume everybody else is just pretending…