Thank you for this. It is so easy to get sidetracked by our social motives for appearance and influence when trying to live virtuously. I’m thinking that the way I have tried to apply these rules is to ask myself “am I actually being helpful to someone here?” The tricky part is that it’s so easy to rationalize that we’re being helpful. T…
Thank you for this. It is so easy to get sidetracked by our social motives for appearance and influence when trying to live virtuously. I’m thinking that the way I have tried to apply these rules is to ask myself “am I actually being helpful to someone here?” The tricky part is that it’s so easy to rationalize that we’re being helpful. That’s where it seems to me thinking through this proposal may help.
Todd, yes, we are very good at rationalizing our behavior. But the very fact that we ask the question helps us slow down and, as Epictetus would put it, analyze our impressions.
Thank you for this. It is so easy to get sidetracked by our social motives for appearance and influence when trying to live virtuously. I’m thinking that the way I have tried to apply these rules is to ask myself “am I actually being helpful to someone here?” The tricky part is that it’s so easy to rationalize that we’re being helpful. That’s where it seems to me thinking through this proposal may help.
Todd, yes, we are very good at rationalizing our behavior. But the very fact that we ask the question helps us slow down and, as Epictetus would put it, analyze our impressions.