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Having more power makes it easier to lie, cheat, steal, inflict pain, or otherwise engage in bad behavior. …Having less power means being at the mercy of someone more powerful. …Being at the mercy of another person means feeling one cannot get away from them, because they have something one wants badly and that something is not readily available elsewhere.
Empathy is also associated with ingroup bias and outgroup antagonism. One is more likely to feel the joys and sorrows of some people more than others, especially if they’re the same ethnicity.
Moral outrage makes ends absolute: This must stop! That must happen! No ifs, ands, or buts…. Governing wisely is about setting priorities, a process that assumes scarcity: the principle that valued ends require scarce resources with alternative uses.
In its original Founding-Father sense, happiness was akin to felicity, a kind of well-being that comes from living a purposeful and productive life. Today we would call that sense of well-being flourishing. …So what does a government need to do to create conditions conducive to flourishing? Put differently, what does a government need to do to increase the sense of control and self-efficacy of its citizens, allowing them to pursue purposeful and productive lives?
It’s hard to wrap one’s head around the idea of being a machine with free will. It would be easier if we expanded our understanding of machine and shrank our notion of free will.
Some in the medical community take a “wait and see” approach to the disease of climate change. They’re aware of computer models predicting a dangerous worsening of the patient’s condition but note that other models are not nearly so gloomy. These doctors point out that most treatments carry their own risks, so it’s best just to monitor the patient closely for the time being…However, most in the medical community acknowledge the patient will probably get worse without some sort of intervention. But many physicians aren’t convinced the prognosis is dire without aggressive treatment and so opt for a conservative approach to managing the patient’s condition. …Yet other doctors are convinced that without aggressive measures this climate change disease will inevitably progress to painful debilitation and possible death.
For those who want to understand the Other Side better, a few do’s: …Strive to be humble about your own grasp of the relevant facts…
And a few don’ts: Mindread – that is, ignore the other side’s expressed thoughts and motivations in favor of what you consider their “real” thoughts and motivations. …
What’s a technocrat? Admirers would say someone who approaches problems and challenges with the mindset of a scientist or engineer, seeking out information from credible sources, confronting their own ignorance, changing their minds when the evidence calls for it, taking disagreement seriously, and gladly accepting criticism to avoid error, because they devoutly wish to get it right. …What’s an ideologue? …
“…industry, self-reliance, frugality, self restraint or control, modesty, temperance, fortitude, cheerfulness, civility, compassion, and respect for the property of other persons.” Jean M. Yarbrough, author of American Virtues: Thomas Jefferson on the Character of a Free People.
What would be the opposite of these virtues?
When people say that political differences boil down to differences in values, they’re often implying an unbridgeable gulf between their side and the other side. And so we have the increasing polarization and breakdown of communication between Democrats and Republicans. After all, if you don’t care about the same things, what’s the point in talking to each other?
For instance, in one Pew research survey, just 53% of those under 30 who initially identified as Republicans or leaned Republican consistently remained with the party over four subsequent surveys.
To be bankrupt is to owe more than you can possibly pay. Which translates to irredeemable, as in rotten to the core. In politics, that translates to “I refuse to engage the other side, because they have the wrong values.” In other words, the Other Side cares about the wrong things.
As far as government policy goes, whatever works is fine with me. I don’t care if the boosters for a particular policy are in it only for the money, that they’re solely motivated by self-interest, greed, political advancement, salvation, selfless devotion to the common good, or pure compassion. Good people have bad ideas. Bad people have good ideas. The proof is in the pudding.
Industry: “Lose no time; be always employ'd in something useful; cut off all unnecessary actions.” Ben Franklin Self-Reliance: “Never trouble another for what you can do yourself.” Thomas Jefferson
Locus of control is not just a belief in the head - it is a belief tendency that reflects reality and creates reality. Change the reality and the belief will shift - maybe not in lock-step but in time.
All that nose-touching, rubbing, and grooming comes with exchange of scents, suggesting that cats within a given colony develop a ‘colony odor’ that is maintained during these behaviors.
To simplify a whole lot, there are two schools of thought about why people do what they do. One is that people can’t help it because behavior is an outcome of things that they have no control over, like culture, childhood trauma…The other school of thought says behavior is always “on-purpose”. In other words, behavior is goal-directed - by definition. We therefore choose what we do according to the perceived payoff: what we’re trying to achieve or avoid.
Of course, few people want to settle for a low-wage job. So what’s a non-college graduate to do? One thing is to complete a certificate job training program, which can almost double the earning potential of individuals without a high school diploma. Check it out:…
I have noticed these differences in the manner of veterinarians and physicians for years. Why the difference? Is it a matter of workload and stress? Status and power? How much can’t be helped and how much is a choice? How much is related to different incentives and payment systems?
Another way of putting this: focus on the process and uncertainty spurs you on; focus on the outcome and uncertainty makes you stumble.