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Ethics

Respectable

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Daily Dose of Reason - Ethics
Written by Michael J. Hurd, Ph.D.   
Friday, 22 May 2009 00:00
People who show respect for reality, and for the laws of logic, will show respect for others. This is because they know they need and want others with whom to associate, for personal, business or other reasons. They appreciate that the mind works through reason and logic, and they use these methods when dealing with others. They don't use intimidation, fraud or force. People who use intimidation, fraud or force are the ones who don't see power or value in reason and logic. (These include "political" types, by the way.) If they were rational, they wouldn’t be tempted to use force or verbal intimidation because they not only know that these things are wrong—but also that they don’t work. So find out how a person approaches things mentally, and intellectually, and you'll be able to predict how he or she is as a friend, a business partner or a marital partner. Respect flows from realism.
 

Parental Claims

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Daily Dose of Reason - Ethics
Written by Michael J. Hurd, Ph.D.   
Wednesday, 29 April 2009 00:00
No parent may say to the child, once grown, in effect: “I sacrificed for you; therefore you owe me.” A sacrifice means giving up a greater good for a lesser good. If your mother or father means to imply this, then they're insulting you. They're saying that they had better things to do than to raise you. Well, if they did—then that’s THEIR problem for making such a stupid choice. And if their purpose really was to raise you well and enjoy the results, they should be happy that you’re happy. If your parents are miserable and have nothing, and yet still see that you’re happy, then rationally they ought to be glad that they contributed (if they did) to your happiness. It's worth mentioning that the parents who make a claim on their grown children are usually the parents who did the least to contribute to a child's happiness. If they saw parenthood as a duty, a burden or a selfless act all along, then it's unlikely they did much to contribute to the happiness of their children as adults.
 

Living Life

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Daily Dose of Reason - Ethics
Written by Michael J. Hurd, Ph.D.   
Sunday, 26 April 2009 00:00
You can best predict a person's behavior by behavior displayed in the past. Keep the focus on behavior -- not words. This is because very few people have strong integrity. By "strong integrity" I mean when a person's words and actions almost always match. The more eloquent the words, and the more those words animate your values and beliefs, the more careful you should be to match the words to actions. People who tend to act one way in one kind of situation will, over time, tend to act the same way in future situations regardless of words or claimed ideas. Present and past behaviors are good predictors of future behaviors -- absent intervention. What's "intervention?" Intervention means a willful change in direction on the part of the person. It's a fundamental change, not just in ideology but also in action, represented by strong and consistent integrity to the new idea. You see this sometimes in former addicts who change their whole way of thinking and living after the addiction. But it can apply in other contexts as well. Human beings are absolutely capable of this kind of change. I'm wildly optimistic about human potential. I'm not so inspired by what most humans have done up to now. There is a lack of integrity but, more than that, there's a lack of good ideas that, when practiced consistently, would lead to happiness and success. Happiness and success are too much the exception and not enough the norm. In a way, it's amazing that mankind has come as far as it has, with such a lack of good ideas to guide it. Only religion claims to give man ideas, and that hasn't exactly done the job, has it? My vote is for rationality, self-interest, capitalism, romanticism, secularism, science, technology and individualism. These form the basis for MY "religion" although I won't call it religion. These ideas have made headway throughout the ages, despite continual attack up through and including the present day. Human beings have a long way to go before they reach a consensus that these are the best ideas for living life competently and well. If, as an individual, you already have the right ideas, and live by them with integrity, then consider yourself well ahead of your time.
 

How to Deal With Others

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Daily Dose of Reason - Ethics
Written by Michael J. Hurd, Ph.D.   
Thursday, 09 April 2009 00:00
If you're not sure how to handle a situation with another person, think of how you would want another to handle it with you. If you're wondering, "What's the right way to do this?" simply think of how you'd appreciate it being handled by another. If you're comfortable with another handling the situation this way, then it follows you can be comfortable doing the same thing yourself. Is someone else entitled to make this request of you? Then you're entitled to do the same. There's no guarantee everyone else will react the same way you do. However, this is the best objective standard you can use. Chances are, it will work. What's certain is that you can feel good about it.
 

The Hero in Us All

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Daily Dose of Reason - Ethics
Written by Michael J. Hurd, Ph.D.   
Tuesday, 07 April 2009 00:00
Being the victim means focusing on what others have done to you. Being a hero means focusing on what YOU can do to better your life, regardless of the circumstances beyond your control. Victims focus on the external. Heroes focus on the internal. We're taught that heroes are selfless, but true heroes are in command of their minds and their destiny. Sometimes others benefit from their heroism, but that benefit is not the defining nature of heroism. It's attitude and outlook that determine it.
 
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