Tag Archives: Social Conflict

Grokking Our Disagreements

Posted on June 26, 2019 by N.S. Palmer

I finally got around to reading Robert Heinlein’s science fiction novel Starship Troopers. When I was growing up, I read two or three science fiction novels a week. How I missed Starship Troopers, I don’t know. And one of my … Continue reading →

Posted in Epistemology, Human Relations, Life, Philosophy, Political Science, Psychology, Society | Tagged Assumptions, Disagreement, Fair Witness, Grok, Grokking, Handling disagreement, Heinlein, Social Conflict, Starship Troopers, Stranger in a Strange Land | Leave a comment

Don’t Mistake Hate for Logic

Posted on April 23, 2019 by N.S. Palmer

We’ve probably all made the error of mistaking hate for logic. Of course, we didn’t realize it at the time. But that’s what we were doing. Yesterday’s blog post got me thinking about the problem. On my “Top 10” list … Continue reading →

Posted in Epistemology, Human Relations, Life, Philosophy, Political Science, Psychology | Tagged Affirming the consequent, Belisarius, Bias, Byzantine Empire, Empress Theodora, Hate, Hatred, History, Justinian, Logic, Logical fallacies, Loyalty, Modus Ponens, Ostrogorsky, Rationality, Reason, Social Conflict, Syllogism | Leave a comment

How To Be Crazy — Constructively

Posted on April 11, 2019 by N.S. Palmer

A while back, I wrote about “How Not To Be Crazy.” And if you must choose between being totally crazy and being totally sane, it’s better to be sane. But let’s face it: total sanity is kind of a barren … Continue reading →

Posted in Human Relations, Life, Political Science, Psychology, Society | Tagged Abraham Lincoln, Cervantes, Don Quixote, Evolutionary Psychology, First-world problems, In-Group, Insane, Manichaean, Manichaeism, Out-Group, Quixotic, Simplistic thinking, Social Conflict | 2 Comments

I Did Something Stupid Today

Posted on April 4, 2019 by N.S. Palmer

I did something stupid today. I got mad at my phone. And that’s a big part of what’s wrong with the world. Not the fact that I got mad. I’m obviously not that powerful. And thank goodness that I’m not: … Continue reading →

Posted in Human Relations, Life, Psychology, Society | Tagged Anger, Blaming, Externalization, Irrational behavior, Irrationality, Projection, Social Conflict, Stupid, Stupidity | 2 Comments

Don’t Be Seduced By Hate

Posted on March 3, 2019 by N.S. Palmer

We’re all a mixture of good and bad impulses. That’s not new. Alexander Pope observed in 1734: “Virtuous and vicious every man must be, Few in the extreme, but all in the degree, The rogue and fool by fits is … Continue reading →

Posted in Human Relations, Life, Political Science, Psychology | Tagged Aggression, Blaming Others, Hatred, Internet addiction, Projection, Social Conflict | Leave a comment

Help Wanted: Wise Leaders

Posted on February 5, 2019 by N.S. Palmer

I won’t be watching the State of the Union address on television tonight. It’s nothing against Trump, who will tell us about all the YUUUUGE things he’s accomplished. Nor against Pelosi, who will be sitting there stone-faced with her minions. … Continue reading →

Posted in Human Relations, Political Science, Psychology, Society | Tagged Cooperation, Debate, Jimmy Carter, Pelosi, Politics of personal destruction, Ronald Reagan, Social Conflict, Social harmony, SOTU, State of the Union, Trump | Leave a comment

Can You Feel the Love?

Posted on January 30, 2019 by N.S. Palmer

Can you feel the love? It’s kind of a cliché, sometimes said as a joke. But it points to a real problem. For any society to survive, its people need to cooperate. That requires at least a minimum level of … Continue reading →

Posted in Human Relations, Life, Political Science, Psychology, Society | Tagged Diversity, Empathy, Homogeneous societies, Kipling, love, Mutual understanding, Social Conflict, Social harmony, The Stranger, Tolerance | Leave a comment

Job and Culture

Posted on November 1, 2018 by N.S. Palmer

In yesterday’s blog post, I referred to “automatic pilot.” And as often happens when I write, I wondered if I needed to explain what it was. Any readers who didn’t understand “automatic pilot” would have missed my point. Suppose that … Continue reading →

Posted in Human Relations, Judaism, Political Science, Society | Tagged Book of Job, Communication, Community, Cooperation, Culture, Diversity, Heritage, Social Conflict, Trust | 1 Comment

Detoxifying Social Media

Posted on October 18, 2018 by N.S. Palmer

Social media started as an enjoyable way to chat with people who shared our interests. But it soon developed a dark side. It started to generate hostility and hysteria. Crazed mobs started to harass and threaten people who made social … Continue reading →