Category Archives: psychology

Time magazine takes note of moral injury

Posted on September 2, 2011 by dianesilver

Mark Thompson on Time’s Battleground blog has a nice blurb up today about my Miller-McCune story on moral injury. I think the issue of moral injury needs to be discussed far more than it is today, so I’m pleased to … Continue reading →

Posted in psychology, Publications from the Quest | Tagged , , , , | 5 Comments

Wounded Souls and Moral Injury

Posted on September 1, 2011 by dianesilver

My story about moral injury is finally out in Miller-McCune magazine. This is one of several articles to come out of my work on the Goodness Project.

Posted in Articles and Essays, psychology, Publications from the Quest | Tagged , , , | 7 Comments

Trust and The Golden Rule

Posted on July 28, 2011 by dianesilver

I did a fantastic job following the Golden Rule yesterday, largely because the only people I saw were my eightysomething mother and the twentysomething barista at the coffee bar. And, yes, I was able to be nice to both of … Continue reading →

Posted in Practicing Goodness, psychology | Tagged , , | 3 Comments

Marc Hauser Resigns from Harvard

Posted on July 21, 2011 by dianesilver

This blog doesn’t usually keep track of news, but I did want to note that Psychology Professor Marc Hauser has resigned from Harvard. Hauser is the morality researcher who has been accused of scientific misconduct, and I covered the investigation … Continue reading →

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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

Cramming Goodness into a Box

Posted on May 19, 2011 by dianesilver

My story on Duke Professor Ruth Grant is now online at the University of Chicago Magazine. An excerpt: “There is no form of goodness that’s good in every situation,” Grant says. “Nobody is a perfectly good person.” Whether someone can … Continue reading →

Posted in Articles and Essays, philosophy, Politics, Practicing Goodness, psychology, Publications from the Quest | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Today’s Read Tells Us Nobody’s Good or Bad

Posted on May 16, 2011 by dianesilver

Two psychologists say in a new book that we’re flat out wrong if we believe that a person’s character is unchangeable. In other words, nobody’s either good or bad; we can all be manipulated to act out of character. Author … Continue reading →

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

19 Days Left and More on Bradshaw

Posted on May 12, 2011 by dianesilver

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, … Continue reading →

Posted in Becoming Good, Practicing Goodness, psychology | Tagged , | 2 Comments

Dancing on Osama’s Grave, ctd.

Posted on May 2, 2011 by dianesilver

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. … Continue reading →

Posted in good vs. evil, Practicing Goodness, psychology | Tagged | 1 Comment

Dancing on Osama’s Grave

Posted on May 2, 2011 by dianesilver

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 … Continue reading →

Posted in good vs. evil, morality, psychology | Tagged | 4 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

Pain May Ease Guilt

Posted on January 20, 2011 by dianesilver

Morality, goodness and guilt appear to me to be mixed together. Regular run-of-the-mill guilt might help regulate our actions and make us more ethical. Over-sized guilt might lead us to act out against ourselves or others. So, is this University … Continue reading →

Posted in psychology | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment

Metaphor as Reality

Posted on January 5, 2011 by dianesilver

Hmmm. Don’t know what I think about this, but I guess anything that helps us be better people can’t be bad. New research shows that thinking elevating thoughts or moving up — even through an act as mundane as riding … Continue reading →

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Rules and Incentives are Strangling Society

Posted on December 31, 2010 by dianesilver

Barry Schwartz, Swarthmore College psychology and economics professor, tells us how rules and incentives undermine society and make us feel like we’ve got to shower the grime of immorality off our skins at the end of every day. “Rules and … Continue reading →

Posted in Practicing Goodness, psychology | Tagged , , | 3 Comments

Yet Another Fellow Traveler: John Bradshaw

Posted on November 16, 2010 by dianesilver

On the recommendation of a friend, I just started reading John Bradshaw’s book, Reclaiming Virtue, and may I say that it’s such a relief after wading through the casual cruelty and skim-the-surface rigidity of Sam Harris’ The Moral Landscape.

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