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Category Archives: Human Relations
Don’t Live Like a Victim
Don’t live like a victim. Even in the most fortunate life, some bad things will happen. To you. To me. To everyone. Sometimes, it’s because of what other people do. Sometimes, it’s just a matter of luck. And sometimes, it’s … Continue reading
Posted in Human Relations, Life, Psychology
Tagged Acceptance, Constructive attitude, Life, Positive attitude, Realism, Self-acceptance, Success
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Forgive Us Our Microaggressions
I have a question, but please don’t take it in the wrong way. I don’t mean to offend anyone. I’m just curious. How is a microaggression different from nothing at all? “Microaggression” is one of those new words made up … Continue reading
Posted in Human Relations, Life, Psychology
Tagged Lunacy, Microaggression, Paranoia, Political correctness, Racism, Tolerance
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Perfection or Nothing?
The French philosopher Voltaire warned that “the perfect is the enemy of the good.” Pursuit of “perfect” but impossible goals makes us reject possible goals because they’re imperfect. And we often make things even worse than they were in the … Continue reading
Posted in Human Relations, Life, Political Science, Psychology, Society
Tagged Communism, Human Nature, Leftism, Leftist, Magical thinking, Perfectionism, Podhoretz, Realism, Utopia, Utopianism, Voltaire
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The One Where I Told a Little Lie
Can you go through life and never tell a lie? Honesty is the best policy. But it’s a policy — not an unbreakable rule. If most of us weren’t honest most of the time, social life would be impossible. Nobody … Continue reading
Posted in Human Relations, Life
Tagged Ethics, Grading, Graduate school, Higher education, Honesty, Morality, Motivation, Pragmatism, Teaching, Utilitarianism
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Forgiveness Can Mean Freedom
When people have deceived or manipulated us, it’s difficult to forgive them. I’ve worked for some terrific bosses over the years. One of them is Jim Grey, whose luck with his own bosses hasn’t been quite as good as mine. … Continue reading
Posted in Bible, Human Relations, Life, Psychology
Tagged Forgiveness, Freedom, Life, Positive attitude, Pragmatism, Revenge, Wisdom
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Who Gets Veto Power?
A while back, I worked for a tech company where I reported to the company’s CEO. The main thing I learned was never to take a job at a company founded and run by a business-school professor. The other thing … Continue reading
Why Common Sense Is So Uncommon
Why is common sense so uncommon? I’ve been reading Robert Curry’s excellent new book Reclaiming Common Sense. It got me thinking about why I and many other people often lack common sense. For example, in college I was a libertarian. … Continue reading
How to Get a Healthy Society
In my previous blog post (“What’s Your Choice?”), I said that the main question of morality is not “what’s right or wrong” but “what kind of people we choose to be.” At first glance, that statement seems absurd, bordering on … Continue reading
What’s Your Choice?
Some people might get mad at me for saying this, but I’m against kicking puppies. I’m also against being mean to children and old people. I like democracy but I agree with Winston Churchill that “it’s the worst form of … Continue reading
Posted in Human Relations, Life, Psychology, Society
Tagged Belief, Choice, Decline of violence, Evolutionary Psychology, Existential choice, Foundations of morality, Genetic influences on belief, Group beliefs, Moral Choice, Morality, Retributive justice, Steven Pinker, The Better Angels of Our Nature
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Compare and Contrast
“Compare and contrast.” It’s a staple of essay questions on college final exams. But be careful about applying it to life. Many people make themselves unhappy by comparing themselves to others who seem better off. They think that the other … Continue reading
The Thousand-Year View 