The question of moral goodness can’t be considered without looking at religion. After all, religious leaders have been declaring themselves to be the true arbiters of goodness for thousands of years. But does God really have anything to do with human goodness?
Wednesday, May 25, 2011
Tuesday, May 24, 2011
Was my father evil?
I’ve written about how my politics, my work as a journalist, and my life as a lesbian led me to the quest for goodness, but I’ve never explored the deeper reason I’m doing this. My journey didn’t begin a year ago. It started one day more than 20 years ago when I was sitting in a psychotherapist’s office in Kansas City, Mo. It had been a harrowing session, one of a series of appointments where I recounted the physical and emotional abuse my father inflicted on me.
The session is nearly over. I feel feverish, head hurting from crying so hard. I pull myself into a sitting position on the therapist’s couch, look at her after an hour of avoiding her eyes, and ask: “Was my father evil?”
Monday, May 23, 2011
Ruth Grant asks "What does a good life look like?"
The first of my two interviews with Duke political scientist and philosopher Ruth Grant occurred on Jan. 12, 2011. There was too much material from even that one interview to squeeze into my magazine article about her work, so here’s a transcript for your reading pleasure.
Thursday, May 19, 2011
Cramming goodness into a box
Monday, May 16, 2011
Are you a good person?
Two psychologists say that nobody is, and by the way, that's the wrong question.
Thursday, May 12, 2011
19 days left & more on Bradshaw
I’m down to 19 days on this quest. Tick. Tick. Tick. There’s not enough time. I’m panicking, but I’m also relishing the deadline because I can’t avoid or ignore the Goodness Project now. I have to make this work.
Today, I’m also chafing under the burden of the too-careful review of John Bradshaw’s Reclaiming Virtue that I posted yesterday.
Wednesday, May 11, 2011
John Bradshaw and the path to goodness
John Bradshaw’s book Reclaiming Virtue: How We Can Develop the Moral Intelligence to Do the Right Thing at the Right Time for the Right Reason
Best known for his PBS-TV shows on family dynamics in the 1980s and 1990s, Bradshaw has worked as a psychologist, teacher and addiction counselor. His books include the bestselling Homecoming: Reclaiming and Championing Your Inner Child
Monday, May 09, 2011
23 Days & counting on the search for goodness
This part of my journey is quickly coming to an end. Only 23 days left until I have to come up with my own answer to the question: What is goodness? I actually think I have an answer. It may not be THE answer, or even an answer that I will be able to endorse for the rest of my life, but it is something. Unfortunately, I’m starting a little slow this morning. I just got home after spending 90 minutes in the dentist’s chair, and the Novocaine is beginning to wear off. (Ouch!) More soon.
Compassion and Gender
A new brain imaging study shows that women may be hard-wired to respond to images more compassionately than men. If compassion is a key component of moral goodness, then does this finding imply that women are more capable of goodness than men? What do you think?
Miller-McCune reports:
Monday, May 02, 2011
Dancing on Osama's grave, ctd.
My good friend Susan Cooper sends these thoughts along:
Wondering what, where, how this event will be part of your examination of “Good.” Another friend of mine on here likened the death of Bin Laden to the death of Hitler. Perhaps not a bad analogy …
Dancing on Osama's grave
I believe in the Golden Rule and doing unto others as you would have them do unto you. I abhor the death penalty, which I think does more harm than good. Last night when I heard the news that Osama bin Laden had been killed by U.S. troops, I pumped my fist and shouted, “Yes!”
Thursday, April 28, 2011
Pushing Evangelicals to mature
With his new book Love Wins: A Book About Heaven, Hell, and the Fate of Every Person Who Ever Lived
, evangelical pastor Rob Bell has apparently infuriated his religious colleagues by proposing the heretical idea that God saves everyone — not just those who sign onto their particular view of Christianity. I haven’t read the book, but based on quotes I’ve seen around the web and Duke Divinity Assistant Professor Lauren Winner’s great essay in the New York Times, Bell is working hard to push evangelicals into maturing emotionally. (There is something infantile about kicking one’s feet and screaming: “My way is the only way, and everybody else is doomed to burn in hell!” But I digress.)
, evangelical pastor Rob Bell has apparently infuriated his religious colleagues by proposing the heretical idea that God saves everyone — not just those who sign onto their particular view of Christianity. I haven’t read the book, but based on quotes I’ve seen around the web and Duke Divinity Assistant Professor Lauren Winner’s great essay in the New York Times, Bell is working hard to push evangelicals into maturing emotionally. (There is something infantile about kicking one’s feet and screaming: “My way is the only way, and everybody else is doomed to burn in hell!” But I digress.)
Tuesday, April 26, 2011
The Ethics of taking risk out of war
War is an inherently unethical pursuit. Even a “just” war involves death on a massive scale. Even if you believe that some people should be killed, the too politely named “collateral damage” kills innocents. But at least in war each side puts its youth at risk. Anyone on a battlefield can die at any minute. The hope has always been that this crushing reality will make political leaders pause for at least a moment before sending their troops out to kill other people.
Monday, April 25, 2011
Day 328 of the search for goodness
Thirty-seven days. That’s the time I have left in this quest. Eleven months ago I thought a year was more than enough time to figure out my own answer to the question: What is goodness? Hah! Was I a fool or what?
But I’m not being completely honest. I do have an answer in mind. In fact, I’m already composing the post for Day 365, and the answer I’m going to announce isn’t what I expected when I launched this quest on June 1, 2010. (That’s a bit of a shock, but I digress.)
Friday, April 22, 2011
Projecting ourselves onto others
Miller-McCune’s story about conspiracy theorists got me thinking about projection. That’s the psychological mechanism wherein we each think the other guy is us. We believe that he/she has the same motives, same ideas, same approaches that we do. In other words, we project ourselves onto other people.
As a human being, I engage in projection just like we all do. It’s something I try to guard against because it doesn’t provide me with an accurate view of reality, and I believe that being in touch with the real world is necessary for me to practice goodness.
As a lesbian, I’m also the subject of tons of projection, specifically projection involving the fear that I’m part of a vast conspiracy to destroy other people, which brings me back to the magazine story. The Miller-McCune story cites studies hinting that conspiracy theorists may believe that everyone is out to get them because they themselves are out to get others, or more accurately: They believe in conspiracies because they’d be perfectly happy to engage in a conspiracy themselves. This has frightening implications for LGBT people and for the practice of goodness.
Thursday, April 21, 2011
Is goodness possible without empathy?
Penn State Sociologist Sam Richards just took attendees at a TED conference on an experiment in empathy. Richards argues that sociology is impossible without empathy, but I think his radical experiment also shows something else: Goodness, at least in the form of the Golden Rule, isn’t possible without empathy. We may be able to fake it for a bit and force ourselves to treat someone else the way we’d like to be treated, but how long can any of us bludgeon ourselves into doing right when we don’t feel any empathy for the other person?
I thought I was an empathy expert, but Richards’ experiment took me places I had never gone before. Beside from shaping my thoughts about goodness in general, Richards’ experiment also left me pondering the goodness of American foreign policy. What would it look like if all of our politicians and every voter could think like Richards thinks?
Go ahead. I dare you to engage in Richards’ experiment.
Thursday, March 24, 2011
Elizabeth Taylor as goodness personified
I surprise myself. We should all do so well as Elizabeth Taylor did.
Friday, March 18, 2011
The ethics of politics
One of my favorite Zen teachers, Judy Roitman, has written a column about ethics in politics. It’s well worth reading. Read More.
Thursday, March 17, 2011
Catch up with the conversation
Thanks to all for your great comments in my posts about Gov. Scott Walker and the events in Wisconsin. I’ve finally had a chance to add my voice to the conversation again, so stop by and look at:
Listen up!
I’ll be talking about The Goodness Project and Kansas City area lesbian history on KKFI’s Tenth Voice this Saturday. The show starts at 1 pm, and you can listen to it on 90.1 FM or online. Stop by. Give a listen. Let me know if you think I sound sane.
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