Category Archives: morality

Am I enough? Am I doing enough?

Posted on June 19, 2022 by Sarah

I’ve been struggling a bit lately with a sense of mediocrity and a feeling of confusion about what I should be trying to do with my life. I can’t seem to shake the belief that I owe someone something for … Continue reading →

Posted in absolute goodness, morality, personal reflection, philosophy, self-improvement, suffering | Leave a comment

Stoicism, acceptance and happiness

Posted on March 22, 2016 by Sarah

I have a negative bent, a tendency to see the bad in life more clearly than the good. I get very affected by bad news – and there’s a lot of it: worsening inequality, dismantling of the welfare state, another financial crisis potentially … Continue reading →

Posted in absolute goodness, meditation, morality, personal reflection, philosophy, Stoicism, suffering, Sunday Assembly | Tagged , , | 6 Comments

Shame, pain, and protective ideologies

Posted on February 28, 2016 by Sarah

In the previous post, I discussed what I had learned from Brene Brown’s book “I Thought It Was Just Me (But It Isn’t)” about the way shame can arise from failing to meet expectations. A second major route into shame … Continue reading →

Posted in feminism, morality, personal reflection, politics, social justice, suffering | 3 Comments

God Revised

Posted on August 11, 2013 by Sarah

A while ago, I attended a service at my local Unitarian church led by a guest minister: Galen Guengerich from New York. I enjoyed it enough to want to read his book “God Revised: how religion must evolve in a … Continue reading →

Posted in God, is religion good or bad for you?, morality, philosophy, science, Unitarian | 7 Comments

Suffering and the need for a good story

Posted on March 24, 2013 by Sarah

A few years ago, one of the big things that stopped me believing in an underlying purpose and intention in our existence (i.e. that the universe was created by some kind of a god) had to do with suffering. I’ve … Continue reading →

Posted in absolute goodness, God, morality, myth and metaphor, personal reflection, philosophy, science, suffering | 4 Comments

Clarity: my new understanding of mindfulness

Posted on February 24, 2013 by Sarah

I have been interested in meditation as a way of improving quality of life ever since I first read about it in 2004, and have even dabbled in it from time to time. I find its track record in healthcare … Continue reading →

Posted in is religion good or bad for you?, meditation, morality, personal reflection, philosophy, science, self-improvement, spiritual, suffering | 8 Comments

The Happiness Hypothesis, part 2: morality

Posted on April 26, 2012 by Sarah

Being a moral psychologist, Haidt has included plenty on the subject of morality in his book. He is a self-professed liberal atheist but his sympathy towards religion and conservatism, evident in his TED talk, comes across in the book as … Continue reading →

Posted in Humanism, is religion good or bad for you?, morality, science, social justice, spiritual | 2 Comments

Stuck in infancy

Posted on May 31, 2011 by Sarah

I’ve watched Richard Dawkins’ two-part Channel 4 programme, “The Root of All Evil? – The God Delusion”. It’s a few years old now, but someone had posted it so I watched it. You can see part 1 here and part 2 … Continue reading →

Posted in God, Humanism, is religion good or bad for you?, morality, science | 42 Comments

Moral conflict and religion

Posted on March 21, 2011 by Sarah

In talking of right or wrong, we seem to instinctively regard ethical conduct as something fixed throughout time, black-and-white, clear-cut and absolute. Law makes it seem that way. Reflecting on moral dilemmas reminds me that it’s not that simple. Predators … Continue reading →

Posted in absolute goodness, God, morality, philosophy | 4 Comments

Authority, submission, and self-responsibility

Posted on February 1, 2011 by Sarah

A commenter recently said something that got me thinking: “I am sure that our next step as humanity is to mature up to self responsibility after the disastrous failing of all hierarchical “elite” concepts”. It’s a very optimistic stance, but … Continue reading →

Posted in absolute goodness, morality | 3 Comments