Monthly Archives: April 2011

Pushing Evangelicals to Mature

Posted on April 28, 2011 by dianesilver

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 — … Continue reading →

Posted in religion, righteousness | Tagged , , | 1 Comment

The Barriers to Action

Posted on April 27, 2011 by dianesilver

This video is a good companion to my previous post. Here political activist Dave Meslin talks about the barriers that keep us from working to change the status quo, even when we want to change it. He’s talking about agitating … Continue reading →

Posted in Becoming Good, Politics | Tagged , , , | 4 Comments

The Ethics of Taking the Risk Out of War

Posted on April 26, 2011 by dianesilver

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 … Continue reading →

Posted in good vs. evil, Politics | Tagged , , , | 2 Comments

Daily Log – Day 328

Posted on April 25, 2011 by dianesilver

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 … Continue reading →

Posted in Daily Log | Tagged | 5 Comments

Projecting Ourselves Onto Others

Posted on April 22, 2011 by dianesilver

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 … Continue reading →

Posted in good vs. evil, psychology | Tagged , | 14 Comments

Is Goodness Possible Without Empathy?

Posted on April 21, 2011 by dianesilver

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 … Continue reading →

Posted in empathy, good vs. evil, Goodness Personified, Politics | Tagged , , , , | 6 Comments

Happy Golden Rule Day!

Posted on April 5, 2011 by dianesilver

Soooooo, today is Golden Rule Day — an event that Karen Armstrong and the Charter for Compassion are pushing. I endorse their efforts. I’m just not so certain that I’m always Goodness Personified when it comes to the Golden Rule. … Continue reading →

Posted in Goodness Personified | Tagged , | 2 Comments