Common Sense Ethics - Growing In Goodness

Advanced Book Review - Jesus & Stoicism: The Parallel Sayings, By Brittany Polat

2/28/2026

In this tumultuous and unpredictable world, perhaps we need both the Stoa and the cross. Jesus & Stoicism: The Parallel Sayings, offers the perennial wisdom of both traditions side by side, highlighting the many intriguing similarities between them.

I've been waiting for this lovely new book by Brittany Polat to arrive for a couple of months, and it's finally here. The title officially launches on Saint Patrick's Day, Tuesday March 17. I'm so pleased to finally be able to read it and offer you all an advanced review:

Don't Throw That Away! 4 Ways to Save Money, Help Others, and Keep Stuff Out of Landfills

1/31/2026

Environmental stewardship isn't something I have written much about, but I definitely am critical of the wastefulness that we often see in modern life. I don't like seeing perfectly good toys, furniture or large plastic items placed out for trash collection simply because people can't be bothered to take a minimal amount of time necessary to sell, donate or rehome them. Obviously we need to throw away stuff that is actually broken and can't be repaired, but many items that end up in landfills are still in good shape.

For example, I recently witnessed someone who was moving throw away a large sectional sofa that I know for a fact was only a year or two old. I've become slightly obsessed with Charlie Munger and his philosophy of money in recent years, and furniture is a big ticket item that people often fiance with debt. Furniture stores and credit cards both charge high interest rates. Given that, how ridiculous it is to buy or even fiance a new sofa only to throw it away a year or two later because of laziness and poor planning? It's bad for the earth and bad for the pocketbook to be so wasteful.

I think we have a duty to be better stewards of the earth with things that are under our direct control, such as what we throw away. There is no "away," in "throw away," when much of what we trash is plastic, which never breaks down and will still be siting in a landfill thousands of years from now. It doesn’t seem like a very good trade-off, a couple years of use versus thousands of years of pollution. Planning ahead to rehome, sell or donate used items can help others and keeps things out of landfills that don't need to be there. Here is how:

What Does the Milgram Experiment Tell us About Human Nature?

11/7/2025

This month's post is written by my friend and long-time mutual, Winton Bates, who publishes on Aristotelian philosophy and economics at Freedom and Flourishing. I also had the pleasure of editing Winton's excellent 2021 book, Freedom, Progress, and Human Flourishing about how to negotiate life in the 21st Century in such a way as to maximize self-directed opportunities.

In this post, Winton focuses on the infamous 1963 Milgram experiment, which tested how far individuals would go in obeying an authority figure, even when it involved inflicting pain on another person:

I can remember feeling shocked when I first heard about the Milgram experiment. Some psychology students told me about the experiment about 60 years ago, while I was at university.

At that time, the findings of the experiment caused me to question my view of human nature. I was brought up to hold the view that it is natural for humans to be kind and humane. That view is consistent with the derivation of the words, “kind” and “humane”. It is also the view I hold now. The findings of the Milgram experiment seemed to suggest, however, that a less positive view of human nature might be more accurate.

The Future of Critical Thinking in an Age of Technology

10/4/2025

I have something a bit different for you this month. October will feature a series of 5 guest posts run back to back days. Topics include grieving, the impact of AI on critical thinking, finding a career that aligns with your values, raising a resilient family, and how to find work in the helping professions while avoiding burn out. I hope you enjoy this diverse series of posts! Here is the final post in this series:

In today’s world, where artificial intelligence, automation, and instant information dominate daily life, critical thinking is more vital than ever. The ability to objectively analyze, evaluate, and synthesize information serves as a guiding compass in navigating complexity.

As machines manage routine tasks and algorithms influence content, human judgment becomes crucial for problem-solving, innovation, and ethical decision-making. The future of critical thinking must evolve with technology, using its benefits yet guarding against misinformation, bias, and overdependence on automation.

In this article, we will explore how critical thinking evolves in the digital age, its roles in education, the workplace, society, and essential strategies.

How to Find a Career That Aligns with Your Core Values

10/3/2025

I have something a bit different for you this month. October will feature a series of 5 guest posts run back to back days. Topics include grieving, the impact of AI on critical thinking, finding a career that aligns with your values, raising a resilient family, and how to find work in the helping professions while avoiding burn out. I hope you enjoy this diverse series of posts! Here is the 4th post:

Choosing a career that reflects your core values is one of the most satisfying moves you can make in your professional path. According to the Pew Research Center, approximately 51% of American workers who are not self-employed report being extremely satisfied with their jobs overall. In contrast, 37% of workers are just moderately satisfied with their careers, and 12% are neither very happy nor satisfied.

When it comes to factors affecting career satisfaction, there are several to consider. You are more likely to feel inspired when your work and your ideals are in harmony. When choosing job routes, many people consider salary or skill sets. But it’s essential to recognize that values are just as significant.

The values function like a compass, steering your choices and helping you find opportunities that resonate with your beliefs. You can develop a career that is authentic, fulfilling, and consistent with your long-term goals by using the strategies discussed in this article.

Best Parenting Advice to Raise a Resilient Family

10/2/2025

I have something a bit different for you this month. October will feature a series of 5 guest posts run back to back days. Topics include grieving, the impact of AI on critical thinking, finding a career that aligns with your values, raising a resilient family, and how to find work in the helping professions while avoiding burn out. I hope you enjoy this diverse series of posts! Here is the 3rd post:

Raising children has never been easy, but the modern-day world brings its own set of challenges. Children today face stressors that can easily overwhelm them, and resilience is the best quality you can nurture in them as a parent.

According to the Pew Charitable Trusts, resilience refers to the ability to deal with big and small challenges and handle stress. Resilient people can adapt to traumatic situations, natural calamities, learning disabilities, social struggles, and mental disorders. Although they cannot control everything, these people are proactive about things they can control.

Undoubtedly, cultivating resilience is a gift, as it can help make life a tad easier for your kids. They develop skills to adapt, recover, and grow stronger through life’s inevitable ups and downs. A resilient family environment is a game-changer as it enables children and parents to develop the coping skills needed for long-term well-being.

However, there are no shortcuts to building such an environment. We will share some practical strategies to raise a resilient family that resonates with strength and optimism.

Work-Life Balance Reimagined: Helping Profession Jobs That Let You Serve Others Without Burning Out

10/1/2025

I have something a bit different for you this month. October will feature a series of 5 guest posts run on back to back days. Topics include grieving, the impact of AI on critical thinking, finding a career that aligns with your values, raising a resilient family, and this post on how to find work in the helping professions while avoiding burning out. I hope you enjoy this diverse series of posts!

Close your eyes. Inhale deeply. And out. Picture yourself waking up without the creeping weight of exhaustion that has followed you for too long. You’re feeling calm, relaxed, and ready to handle whatever the day throws at you.

For too long, burnout has been knocking at your door, whispering to you to let it in. It’s led to anxiety, insomnia, and outbursts. Time to let go and move on. Career burnout doesn’t have to dominate your life because you always have options.

What if there was a way to serve others, find meaning, and still keep space for yourself?

Let’s take that walk together - step by step, career by career.

The Process of Mourning and the Many Paths Through Grief

9/30/2025

I have something a bit different for you this month. October will feature a series of 5 guest posts, run on back to back days. Topics include grieving, the impact of AI on critical thinking, finding a career that aligns with your values, raising a resilient family, and how to find work in the helping professions while avoiding burn out. I hope you enjoy this diverse series of posts! Here is is the first:

Mourning is a universal human experience, yet no two people walk through it in the same way. For some, grief is immediate and raw, while for others it emerges in fragments over weeks, months, or even years. Rather than a straight road, mourning is a landscape filled with detours, moments of clarity, and unexpected returns to sorrow.

Some are present at the moment life ends, while others hear about it from afar. Some must continue providing professional care even while carrying their own unresolved grief. One thing is clear: grief can be overwhelmingly hard for some to bear.

Studies have found that one-third of adults aged 40 and older reported experiencing severe grief. Moreover, the APA notes that between 4% and 15% of bereaved adults will experience grief persistently. The better we understand death and dying, the greater our chances of coping better. Let’s explore further.

4 Ideas For Living Seasonally and In Tune with the Natural World

9/19/2025

Summer is almost over, and we are headed for cooler nights and autumnal days where brilliant colors abound. It's easy to spend far too much time indoors doom scrolling and never touching grass. But with the changing seasons and more moderate temperatures coming, I'm always looking for ways to get outside and enjoy nature before winter.

Building on the previous post's theme of Aristotelian leisure, here, I suggest some easy ways to live more seasonally, creatively, and in-tune with nature:

Aristotle's Way: Why Leisure is More Important Than Work

7/24/2025

I've just finished reading Aristotle's Way: How Ancient Wisdom Can Change Your Life, by classicist Edith Hall. It's a great book that I would recommend for my readers, as Hall capitalizes on popular interest in ancient philosophy and substantive self-help. Aristotle addresses the issue of how to live a good life in his Politics, and Nicomachean Ethics, written in the fourth century BC. In Aristotle's Way, Hall codifies Aristotle's most important ideas on how we should live, addressing topics such as happiness, love, communication, and mortality, among others.

Chapter Seven of Aristotle’s Way is all about Aristotle’s philosophy of leisure, which I think is one of the most interesting chapters, and that's what I'll be writing about in this post. If you want to read a review of the entire book, I recommend this one by Donald Robertson, since I'm focusing on only a part of it here.

Aristotle’s philosophy of leisure is tied to his broader understanding of human flourishing. Aristotle thought that most people tend to misuse leisure time if they haven’t learned how to spend it meaningfully, preferring instead to spend their non-working hours on trivial pleasures and amusements. However, learning to use leisure time for growth oriented pursuits can greatly improve our lives. Let's examine that idea in depth in the next sections.