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Category Archives: Psychology
Why “My Truth” Isn’t “The Truth”
Why is “my truth” not “the truth”? My friend Rachel Fulton Brown will on Sunday at 2pm EST participate in a webinar titled “Dialogue with Dignity: Across Liberal-Conservative Divides.” The goal is admirable: people with different viewpoints will engage in … Continue reading
Posted in Psychology
Tagged My truth, Postmodernism, Private experience, Realism, Solipsism, Subjectivism, Truth
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Normies Don’t Care About Ideology
Politically-aware people of all stripes often think about how to talk to “normies:” that is, normal people who don’t pay much attention to politics or other social issues. Normies don’t read The New York Times or Breitbart. They don’t spend … Continue reading
Posted in Life, Psychology, Society
Tagged Civic virtue, Families, Healthy society, Ideology, Morality, Normal people
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A Visit with Esther and Joe
Did you ever wish you could thank some people from your past who helped you when you needed it? For me, two of those people were Esther and Joe. They owned a little “mom and pop” grocery store around the … Continue reading
Posted in Life, Psychology
Tagged Dreams, Family, Gratitude, Happiness, Judaism, Kindness, Moral Choice, Parenting, Psychology
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Self-Esteem Versus Self-Respect
“Self-esteem” means feeling good about ourselves. And it’s nice to feel good about ourselves. It’s a cheap and easy pleasure. But it’s better if we have reasons to feel good about ourselves. That’s an important difference between self-esteem and self-respect. American President … Continue reading
Posted in Life, Psychology
Tagged Abraham Lincoln, Achievement, Self-esteem, Self-Respect, Wisdom, Work ethic
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Things to Know and See
In the famous words of Emil Faber, “knowledge is good.” That’s because it helps us to live successfully and happily. It’s no guarantee. And it’s not always what we want to hear. But in general, it’s better to know the truth … Continue reading
You Broke It, You Bought It
“You broke it, you bought it.” It’s called the Pottery Barn Rule. If you you pick up a piece of store merchandise and you break it, then you have to pay for it. What’s left of it, anyway. It’s not … Continue reading
In Defense of Misguided People
Misguided people are all around us. Of course, which people we call misguided depends on how misguided we are, ourselves. So I want to say a few words in defense of misguided people. They might not know the facts I … Continue reading
Posted in Human Relations, Life, Philosophy, Psychology
Tagged Charity, Division of labor, Forgiveness, Honesty, Human motivation, Humility, Knowledge, Limits of knowledge
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Why Beliefs Divide Us
Why do beliefs divide us? This will sound like a joke, but it’s the truth: Beliefs divide us because it’s part of their job. We usually think of beliefs simply as being about facts: Two plus two equals four. Flowers … Continue reading
How Easily We Are Stampeded
Today, we lurch drunkenly from one moral panic to another. Last month, it was Covid Cooties. This month, it’s Killer Kops. Next month, it might be something else, just as alliterative and just as loosely connected to reality: whatever will … Continue reading
Posted in Political Science, Psychology, Society
Tagged Democracy, Elites, Meritocracy, Moral panic, Propaganda, Public opinion
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