Category Archives: Morality

Progress, Happiness, Economics, and Morality

Posted on 20 March 2023 by Mark R. Kelly

Items about the reality of progress and hope that humanity overcomes the effects of climate change; the latest world happiness index in which the US ranks 15th; Robert Reich busting myths about how the wealthy right justify their wealth; and … Continue reading →

Posted in Economics, Morality, Psychology, Science | Leave a comment

Basic Principles: Passages from Shermer

Posted on 8 March 2023 by Mark R. Kelly

In the closing pages of Michael Shermer’s new book, he quotes Jonathan Rauch’s list, from his book The Constitution of Knowledge, about social rules for turning disagreement into knowledge. Shermer expands upon them, and for one of them provides a … Continue reading →

Posted in Book Notes, Morality, Quote at Length, Science | Leave a comment

Red and Blue and Diversity

Posted on 22 February 2023 by Mark R. Kelly

About a fringe notion to split the US into separate nations of red and blue states; and about the range of human nature and the value of diversity. Haven’t run this item yet; it seemed so fringe, a couple days … Continue reading →

Posted in Culture, Morality, Politics, Psychology | Leave a comment

Readings by John Scalzi and Paul Krugman; Book Notes; Morality

Posted on 14 February 2023 by Mark R. Kelly

John Scalzi on writing about politics; Republican performance art; Paul Krugman on Republican intentions over decades against Medicare and Society Security; and notes about books about American myths past and present.

Posted in Morality, Politics | Leave a comment

The Moral Arc and Animals, Animal Intelligence, and People Who Don’t Read Books

Posted on 26 January 2023 by Mark R. Kelly

Just these three topics for today, one focusing on Ray Nayler’s SF novel The Mountain in the Sea.

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Things That Are Not True, and Immorality

Posted on 24 January 2023 by Mark R. Kelly

Catching up on interesting items from the past few days, about the Christian right’s embrace of a “lying libertine,” how faith healers who kill their children get away with it in some states, how Republicans who lose elections react to … Continue reading →

Posted in Conservative Resistance, Morality, Science | Leave a comment

Michael Shermer: THE MORAL ARC

Posted on 23 January 2023 by Mark R. Kelly

Subtitled: How Science and Reason Lead Humanity toward Truth, Justice, and Freedom (Henry Holt, January 2015, 541pp, including 55pp of notes, 30pp of bibliography, and 15pp of acknowledgments and index) This is Michael Shermer’s magnus opus, perhaps, culminating a running … Continue reading →

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Current Affairs, 8 Dec 2022

Posted on 8 December 2022 by Mark R. Kelly

How Christian morality plays out; the Respect for Marriage Act and the weeping Republican; the right’s sense of grievance; how the media is disconnected from reality; opposite opinions about the American defense budget.

Posted in Conservative Resistance, Morality, Psychology | Leave a comment

Current Affairs: Concerning Morality, and Good and Evil

Posted on 7 December 2022 by Mark R. Kelly

And a fun item about Christmas. That one first. Boing Boing, Gareth Braynwyn, 3 Dec 2022: In search of a more “Bible accurate” Christmas

Posted in Conservative Resistance, Morality, Philosophy | Leave a comment

Prognostic Myopia: More about Justin Gregg

Posted on 22 September 2022 by Mark R. Kelly

Picking up from where I left off yesterday. My basic summary of this book is: humans are not “stupid”; the issue is that human intelligence has both good and bad consequences, and apparently we can’t have the good without the … Continue reading →

Posted in Book Notes, Evolution, Morality | Leave a comment