Monthly Archives: June 2011

Falling Off the Empathy Cliff Into Evil

Posted on June 15, 2011 by dianesilver

Simon Baron-Cohen argues that evil should be defined as the absence of empathy. In his new book, The Science of Evil: On Empathy and the Origins of Cruelty, the University of Cambridge professor of developmental psychology proposes replacing the “unscientific … Continue reading →

Posted in good vs. evil, Practicing Goodness, psychology | Tagged , , , | 3 Comments

The Anti-Sam Harris Points Us To A Real Moral Operating System

Posted on June 15, 2011 by dianesilver

Google Engineering Director Damon Horowitz tackles the idea of using numbers and science to make ethical decisions and comes up with a delightfully different answer than Sam Harris did in The Moral Landscape. Watching Horowitz’ TED talk, I’m energized and … Continue reading →

Posted in morality, philosophy, Practicing Goodness | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Cool Stuff Ahead

Posted on June 15, 2011 by dianesilver

So, just when I decide to take a breather from all this goodness work, I stumble into some fascinating items online that must be shared. Stay tuned!

Posted in housekeeping | Leave a comment

The Progressive and the Goodness Project

Posted on June 13, 2011 by dianesilver

I’m pleased to report that The Progressive will be publishing an updated version of my essay, “Was My Father Evil?” The essay is set to run in the August issue.

Posted in Publications from the Quest | 3 Comments

Where in the World is Diane Silver?

Posted on June 13, 2011 by dianesilver

She’s taking a deep breath after spending a year on The Goodness Project. Meanwhile, plans are afoot. Stay tuned for further developments.

Posted in The Quest | Tagged | Leave a comment

What’s Next?

Posted on June 2, 2011 by dianesilver

The task I set for myself more than a year ago has been completed. I haven’t found the meaning of life, or even goodness, but I did do what I said I would do: After 365 days of research I … Continue reading →

Posted in The Quest | 3 Comments

My First Theory of Goodness

Posted on June 1, 2011 by dianesilver

My year is up. No more dodging the issue. It’s time for me to answer my own question: What is goodness? To do that, however, I have to first talk about God, moral codes and baseball.

Posted in definitions, The Quest, The Questions | Tagged | 10 Comments