Top 5: Truthfulness
“Lies and honest mistakes” (Aeon Magazine)
Because: “Truth is empirical, but truthfulness is ethical. Truth is the end product; truthfulness a vital element in its production. The epistemological crisis has been blamed on populist politicians, and on technological platforms, and on profit-seeking celebrity trolls. These are all important. But the real problem is a loss of virtue, specifically the virtue of truthfulness. The epistemic crisis is an ethical crisis; and will require ethical solutions.”
“We Are Two Nations, Divisible” (New York Magazine)
Because “And while I do pray a benevolent God may keep us Americans from ripping one another apart over our political and cultural differences, it’s time to recognize that they are real, not contrived; deep-seated, not superficial; and an authentic reflection of divisions in our population, not an invention of manipulative elites, politicians, or the news media.”
“Thresholds of Artificiality” (Substack — The Convivial Society)
Because “In other words, technology is not one thing, and we should take care to discriminate. There are various forms of artificiality, and they are not all equal.”
“A Packed Schedule Doesn’t Really ‘Enrich’ Your Child” (NYT)
Because the title of this piece is designed to get you to click, but the fundamental idea is less controversial sounding — that kids should have more unscheduled unstructured time in their day.
“The Great American Reboot” (Washington Post Magazine)
Because this essay on returning to normalcy post-vaccine is hilarious. T.M. Shine is a delightful writer.