Don’t let justified terror or rage cause you to do immoral things

Image made by Spencer using Midjourney
When extremely angry, or extremely wronged, or when one has undergone incredible suffering, or when filled with belief in one's righteous mission, it becomes very tempting for many people to ignore very strong moral norms. But that's also how so many others in the past made grave moral errors. Right now, it seems important to make an assertion that is so obvious that one shouldn’t have to say it: Even in a war, all militaries/armed groups should be very careful to avoid unnecessar...
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Understanding Relationship Conflicts: Clashing Trauma

Artwork by Alexander Milov | Photograph by Adam Hornyak on Unsplash
Here is a common situation that you might have noticed: close friends (or romantic partners) suddenly have their relationship explode – both people feel like the other one hurt them and that they themselves did nothing wrong. These heart-breaking and all-too-common situations can arise from a pattern we call "Clashing Trauma." It has been estimated that over 70% of adults in the world have experienced at least one traumatic event in their lifetime. Consequently, the majority of fr...
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Soldier Altruists vs. Scout Altruists

Photo by Aramudi on Unsplash
There is an important division between people who want to improve the world that few seem to be aware of. Inspired by Julia Galef's new book (The Scout Mindset), I'll call this division: Soldier Altruists vs. Scout Altruists. 1. Soldier Altruists think it's obvious how to improve the world and that we just need to execute those obvious steps. They see the barriers to a better world as: (i) not enough people taking action (e.g., due to ignorance, selfishness, or propaganda), and ...
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