The hottest Morality Substack posts right now

And their main takeaways
Category
Top Faith & Spirituality Topics

"Child of God" (Cormac McCarthy)

Outsider Art • 19 implied HN points • 27 Nov 23
📚 Literature American Literature Character Study Morality
  1. Sevier County is described as a forgotten corner of America, peopled by grotesque characters like Lester Ballard.
  2. Lester Ballard, the central figure in the story, is portrayed as cunning and resourceful, living on the fringes of society in seclusion.
  3. The novel suggests that the darker aspects of human nature, as exemplified by Ballard, are inherent and timeless, rather than products of specific circumstances.
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Love Your Enemies

Based Meditations • 19 implied HN points • 29 Sep 23
📖 Philosophy Human nature Morality Conflict Nature Perspective
  1. Enemies are not just human-made, but also a fundamental force of nature due to competition for survival and resources.
  2. Embracing and understanding enemies can lead to personal growth and motivation, culminating in greatness.
  3. Conflict and competition, even with enemies, can lead to creativity, abundance, and mutualistic relationships, showcasing the importance of both love and hate in life.

Good Lessons from Bad Men

Castles in the Sky • 52 implied HN points • 23 May 23
🎭️ Culture Movies Masculinity Morality Lessons
  1. Gangster movies can offer lessons on being a better man and person, despite the characters' flaws.
  2. Being a good man involves being a protector and provider, different from just being a good person.
  3. Contrasts in character arcs in gangster movies highlight the distinction between being a bad person and a bad man.

The Holy Fool

Unverified Revelations • 42 implied HN points • 08 May 23
📖 Philosophy Archetypes Morality Activism Ethics Principles
  1. The holy fool is a political archetype who confronts society's moral values without concern for status or effectiveness.
  2. Holy fools are powerful because they challenge the status quo and are willing to pay external costs for internal coherence.
  3. There are false fools who mimic the holy fool's outward appearance but lack the genuine commitment and self-consistency.

Introducing: The Pole | #0

The Pole • 19 implied HN points • 16 Jan 22
📖 Philosophy Truth Knowledge Ethics Communication Self-awareness Game Theory Morality
  1. Truth is what's consistent with reality, and knowledge is the relevant, useful part of truth that helps us understand and better ourselves.
  2. Making mistakes is inevitable, but learning from them can lead to positive outcomes like saving time, making money, and achieving great things.
  3. The Pole newsletter aims to explore self-awareness, game theory, investing, engineering, and more to help readers understand how to obtain good results.

Nonsense, Irrelevance, and Invalidity

Ethics Under Construction • 5 HN points • 29 Oct 23
📖 Philosophy Knowledge Free will Morality Ethics Logic
  1. Certain philosophical statements can be nonsense, like the liar's paradox, lacking basic truth-value and conveying no information.
  2. Statements can also be irrelevant, failing to provide any useful information, like stating obvious facts or redundant phrases.
  3. Logical gaps, like the is-ought gap, show that certain ideas are invalid and should be disregarded as meaningless.

How my relationship with religion mirrors my relationship with my ex

blurry electron • 2 HN points • 16 Feb 23
⛪ Faith & Spirituality Religion Relationships Belief Morality Commitment
  1. Relationships with religion and exes can have parallels and teach lessons about commitment and faith.
  2. Support and understanding from others, even in times of doubt, can impact one's journey and beliefs.
  3. Navigating complex moral dilemmas and personal struggles may lead to insights about self-growth and acceptance.

The game theoretical foundations of morality

Optimally Irrational • 4 implied HN points • 15 May 23
🔬 Science Game Theory Morality Behavior Evolution Cooperation
  1. Game theory shows that cooperation can be rational even in self-interested settings like the Prisoner's Dilemma.
  2. The Folk Theorem explains how sustained cooperation can emerge in repeated interactions through strategies like tit-for-tat.
  3. Simple and intuitive reciprocity-based strategies like tit-for-tat can be successful in promoting cooperation and may underlie our moral intuitions.

Do We "Resemble" God?

Outspoken with Dr Naomi Wolf • 5 implied HN points • 27 May 23
⛪ Faith & Spirituality Religion Spirituality God Beliefs Morality
  1. The original Hebrew texts portray God as more emotionally connected and present to ordinary people, seeking to comfort and connect with them.
  2. The relationship between God and humans in the Hebrew Bible is depicted as a passionate love story rather than just a set of rules.
  3. Humans are believed to resemble God, not just physically, but in qualities like the need for love, connection, creativity, and the drive to form relationships.

Moral drain

Tom Thought • 1 HN point • 05 Jun 23
🎭️ Culture Ethics Society Morality Organizations Influence
  1. It's important to consider the impact of good people leaving bad organizations, as it can lead to a decline in overall moral character within the organization.
  2. Loyalty to an organization, even when it does something wrong, has shifted from being seen as honorable to being perceived as weak and cowardly.
  3. To prevent 'moral drain,' it's suggested to either ensure organizations always do the right thing or encourage people of good character to stay even when the organization behaves badly.

Steelmanning Anti-Utilitarianism

Superb Owl • 1 HN point • 04 Mar 24
📖 Philosophy Ethics Utilitarianism Morality Mathematics
  1. Quantifying morality through Utilitarianism can be limiting, as it may lead to extremist views and overlook other sources of moral guidance.
  2. Trying to quantify morality using mathematical frameworks can obscure the complexity of human well-being and lead to oversimplified moral judgements.
  3. Mathematizing ethics can allow for biases to be disguised as objective truths, potentially leading individuals to act against their own moral compass.

Smiting the Pooch

American Dreaming • 1 HN point • 16 Feb 24
⛪ Faith & Spirituality Religion God Morality Beliefs Ancient Texts
  1. The author discusses the idea that the God of the Bible kills dogs, presenting examples from biblical stories where dogs were harmed or killed.
  2. The post challenges readers to reconcile the portrayal of God in religious texts with concepts of morality and personal beliefs.
  3. It highlights the theme of divine actions in various religions that might conflict with modern ethical standards, prompting reflection on personal values and interpretation of ancient texts.

Have the Ancient Gods Returned?

Outspoken with Dr Naomi Wolf • 3 HN points • 23 Feb 23
⛪ Faith & Spirituality Morality
  1. The author explores the idea that ancient gods have returned with a seemingly sudden shift towards darkness in global events.
  2. The Western world has moved away from its Judeo-Christian roots, possibly allowing negative forces to re-enter and influence society.
  3. Symbols and events hinting at pre-Christian, occult, or dark themes in society may indicate a resurgence of ancient pagan energies.

Three Components of Social Order

In My Tribe • 1 HN point • 08 Mar 24
🇺🇸 U.S. Politics Politics Government Morality Ideology
  1. Society functions well when people engage in positive-sum games like voluntary exchange, instead of negative-sum games like taking things from others.
  2. Social order depends on economic/technological, political/legal, and moral/intellectual components, each contributing in unique ways.
  3. Concerns arise over centralization in economic/technological issues, stability in political order, and decline in moral/intellectual values.

Scenic Imagining

Mag’s Monthly • 0 implied HN points • 08 Apr 23
📖 Philosophy Imagination Reality Morality Ethics
  1. Visualizing the fourth dimension involves anthropomorphizing realities for easier comprehension.
  2. Understanding smaller dimensions (1st, 2nd, 3rd) is essential before delving into the concept of a fourth dimension.
  3. Anthropomorphizing variables can help in imagining and navigating through higher dimensions, contributing to a deeper comprehension of complex realities.

Saturday Sprouting Reads (Indian Agri-Fintech, Ag Drones Business Models, Agri-Input Supply Chains, Morality of Food, ESG Pushback)

Agribusiness Matters • 0 implied HN points • 08 Apr 23
💼 Business Agriculture Technology ESG Supply Chain Morality
  1. Agricultural credit usage in India differs based on land holdings, with larger holders relying more on institutional credit.
  2. Drones in agriculture have potential for spraying services and precision agriculture, with a future trajectory similar to call centers.
  3. Agritech startups are focusing on digitizing the agri-input supply chain to enhance operations and revenue growth.