Common Sense Ethics
  • Blog
  • About
  • My Books
  • Parenting Resources
  • Personal Growth Resources
  • Book Summaries
  • Contact Me

The Top 5 Reasons Political Independents Are Misunderstood

2/14/2017

6 Comments

 
Picture
In this environment of political tension, being angry is de riguer. I have recently been criticized for not being morally outraged about some public policy issue. It got me thinking, in light of how complex human society is, why the rush to judgment? Why let anger over some abstract political issues get in the way of your relationships with others? 

The give and take necessary for discussing controversial subjects in a reasonable way is a learned skill. I'm the first to admit that am not as good at it as I would like to be. My own failure of articulation aside though, I don't want to rush to judgement about complex issues without being able to research and think them over carefully first. The philosopher Jaques Ellul stresses caution in rendering our convictions: 

The propagandist can mobilize man for action that is not in accord with his previous convictions. Modern psychologists are well aware that there is not necessarily any continuity between conviction and action, and no intrinsic rationality in opinions or acts. Into these gaps in continuity propaganda inserts its lever. It does not seek to create wise or reasonable men but proselytes and militants.[1]

I have written before that being quick to anger makes you vulnerable to propaganda, which is why you should try to be cautious with your thought process. But in doing so, you are likely to leave yourself open to being misunderstood. In fact, these 5 seemingly reasonable behaviors of political freethinkers and independents might really piss people off: 
​

Read More
6 Comments

Stop Doing This if You Want to Be Happy

2/2/2017

3 Comments

 
Picture
Have you ever felt like you would be so much happier as soon as you fulfilled some desire, only to end up unsatisfied soon afterwards? Why is it that getting something we want doesn't always make us consistently happy over the long term? What are we meant for? Merely the experience of pleasure, or something more profound? 

Hedonic adaptation is the observed psychological tendency to revert back to prior levels of happiness soon after experiencing something pleasurable. The psychologists Brickman and Campbell began studying this phenomenon scientifically in the 1970s, calling it the Hedonic Treadmill. Hedonic adaptation accounts for our tendency to overestimate how happy pleasurable experiences will make us, and the fact that we tend to maintain a relatively stable level of happiness regardless of our material circumstances. It also explains our unfortunate human habit of taking what we have for granted.

Even though the Hedonic Treadmill was scientifically observed in recent history, it turns out that Kant possessed a remarkably similar insight into human psychology, simultaneously defining hedonic adaptation and changing the course of one man's life in an impromptu late night meeting in 1789.
​


Read More
3 Comments

    Don't Miss A Post!

    Sign up to receive updates and special announcements!

    Thank You For Subscribing to Common Sense Ethics!

    You have successfully joined my email list. 

    .
    Picture

    About Me:

    Thank you for your interest in Common Sense Ethics! I'm Leah, a librarian and freelance editor with a background in history and philosophy.
    ​

    Most Popular Blog Posts:

    3 Unpopular (But Likely Correct) Opinions According to Cicero

    Beauty in Philosophy, Ethics and Art: A Conversation with David Fideler

    5 Ways to Counterbalance an Ugly and Barren Cultural Landscape

    How Propaganda Makes us Psychologically Totalitarian

    5 Things That You Need to be Happy According to Cicero

    5 Wholesome Character Education Books to Read to Your Child

    Why is Politics so Divisive?

    9 Great Critical Thinking Books for Children and Teens

    Why You Should Create Your Own Culture to Be Happier

    How to Make Yourself Immune to Propaganda

    ​The 10 Best Philosophy Books For Beginners

    The 13 Types of Modern Stoics...Which One Are You?

    How to be a Badass According to Cicero

    Quick Guide: Understanding and Applying Stoic Ethics in Modern Life

    Download My Stoic Printables For Tough Days:

    Picture

    Watch Common Sense Ethics On YouTube:


    Support CSE:

    Picture
    Picture
    Buy Me a Coffee at ko-fi.com


    Topics:

    All
    According To Cicero Series
    Aesthetics
    Alasdair Macintyre
    Albert Einstein
    American Revolution
    Ancient Greece
    Ancient Rome
    Anger
    Antiauthoritarianism
    Applied Philosophy
    Aristotle
    Assertiveness
    Beauty
    Book Reviews
    Books And Reading
    Buddhism
    Carl Jung
    Cause And Effect
    Character Flaws
    Cicero
    Classical Education
    Cognitive Bias
    Consequence Based Ethics
    Consumerism
    Cosmology
    Covert Manipulation
    Critical Thinking
    Culture
    Cynicism
    Death
    Descartes
    Destructive Behavior
    Economics
    Edmund Burke
    Education
    Egalitarianism
    Emotions
    Epictetus
    Ethical Objectivism
    Family
    Fortitude
    Francis-bacon
    Freedom
    Freedom Of Speech
    Free Speech
    George-r-r-martin
    George-r-r-martin
    God
    Golden Rule
    Good Character
    Government
    Gratitude
    Happiness
    Heraclitus
    History
    Immanuel Kant
    Individual Rights
    Information Literacy
    Inner Life
    Integrity
    Introspection
    Intuition
    Iron Law Of Oligarchy
    Jaques Ellul
    John Locke
    John Sellars
    John Stuart Mill
    Jules Evans
    Karma
    Left-right Brain Balance
    Left-right Political Spectrum
    Liberal Democracy
    Literature
    Logic
    Marcus Aurelius
    Marriage
    Marx
    Mastering Emotion
    Media
    Metaethics
    Mindfullness
    Moderation/temperance
    Modern Stoicism
    Moral Relativism
    Moral Universalism
    Mortality
    Movies
    Musonius Rufus
    Musonius-rufus
    Natural Law
    Natural Rights
    Natural World
    Negative Freedom
    Negative-rights
    Neoplatonism
    Non Aggression
    Normative Ethics
    Normative-ethics
    Objectivismsubjectivism
    Oligarchy
    Parenting
    Personal Development
    Philosophy For Beginners
    Pierre Hadot
    Plato
    Politics
    Propaganda
    Psychology
    Pythagoreanism
    Relaxed Mental State
    Renaissance
    Responsibility
    Rhetoric
    Right Vs. Wrong Actions
    Robert Nozik
    Roger Scruton
    Self Defense
    Self Discipline
    Seneca
    Sexuality
    Simple Living
    Socrates
    Socratic Method
    Stoicism
    Stoic Meditation
    Stoic Virtues
    Television
    The Shadow
    Thomas Hobbes
    Traditionalism
    Trivium
    Utilitarianism
    Videos
    Violence
    Virtue Ethics
    War

    Archives:

    April 2024
    March 2024
    February 2024
    January 2024
    December 2023
    November 2023
    October 2023
    September 2023
    August 2023
    July 2023
    June 2023
    May 2023
    April 2023
    March 2023
    February 2023
    January 2023
    December 2022
    November 2022
    October 2022
    September 2022
    August 2022
    July 2022
    June 2022
    May 2022
    April 2022
    March 2022
    February 2022
    January 2022
    December 2021
    November 2021
    October 2021
    September 2021
    August 2021
    July 2021
    June 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    September 2014
    August 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013
    September 2013
    August 2013


    ​Book of the Month: Journal Like a Stoic by Brittany Polat

    Picture


    ​Personal Growth Resources:

    Picture
    Use this in-depth questionnaire to learn more about your faults and subconscious motivations.


    Understanding and Applying Stoic Ethics In Modern Life:

    Picture


    ​Follow Common Sense Ethics on Pinterest:

    Picture


    ​Join the Stoic Parents Facebook Group:

    Picture
Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.