A Plea for Critical Thinking

Posted on September 15, 2010 by zoeweil

A couple of months ago, I was watching a film with my colleagues that was largely aligned with our general worldviews, and I tried to the best of my ability to bring the same critical eye to this film as I would to one that was not aligned with my worldview. It took effort, obsessive [...]

Filed under: accurate information, critical thinking, mindfulness, perspective, politics, responsibility | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments »

Imagine a Different Experiment: Ted Kaczynski and the Murray Experiment at Harvard

Posted on July 19, 2010 by zoeweil

I recently read an article from The Atlantic Monthly online titled “Harvard and the Making of the Unabomber.” The author, Alston Chase, has corresponded with Ted Kaczynski at length and also wrote the book A Mind for Murder: The Education of the Unabomber and the Origins of Modern Terrorism. I first came across Alston Chase’s [...]

Filed under: Cultural Issues, human rights, responsibility, social psychology | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , | 5 Comments »

Let No One Else Decide How You Will Act

Posted on May 24, 2010 by zoeweil

My good friend and colleague, Mary Pat Champeau, once offered me some words of wisdom, ones that helped her to maintain integrity, equanimity, and calm no matter what the situation. She said, “I try not to let anyone else determine how I will act.” This has been one of the most important pieces of advice [...]

Filed under: Inner Peace, MOGO (Most Good), responsibility, values | Tagged: , , , , , , , | Leave a Comment »

More on the Bystander Effect

Posted on May 19, 2010 by zoeweil

Just days after delivering the sermon, A Better World, A Meaningful Life, at the First Unitarian Society of Milwaukee, which included a discussion about a shocking example of the “bystander effect,” Hugo Tale-Yax died after being stabbed while coming to the aid of a threatened woman on the street in Queens, New York. He died [...]

Filed under: citizen activism, Cultural Issues, integrity, MOGO (Most Good), responsibility, social psychology | Tagged: , , , , , , , | 3 Comments »

Zoe Weil Guest Post on CrazySexyLife: “Action is the Antidote to Despair”

Posted on May 18, 2010 by zoeweil

Give yourself & your soul a boost! IHE President, Zoe Weil, has a guest post on the blog CrazySexyLife: “Action is the Antidote to Despair.” Here’s an excerpt: “There are myriad systems that need transformation: food production, electronics production, energy, schooling, conflict resolution (can’t we come up with an alternative to war?!), architecture, suburban sprawl, [...]

Filed under: citizen activism, MOGO (Most Good), responsibility, systemic change, values | Tagged: , , , , , , , | Leave a Comment »

A Better World, A Meaningful Life: A Service at the First Unitarian Society of Milwaukee

Posted on May 17, 2010 by zoeweil

I recently had the great honor and joy of being the first Morton Series Lecturer on individual responsibility at the First Unitarian Society of Milwaukee (FUSM), and below you’ll find a copy of what I shared at the services on April 25. Last week I read Erik Reece’s essay, “In the Presence of Rock and [...]

Filed under: changemakers, citizen activism, MOGO (Most Good), responsibility, systemic change | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a Comment »

Letting a Blind Man Fall: Thoughts on Responsibility

Posted on May 3, 2010 by zoeweil

I just finished Erik Reece’s essay, “In the Presence of Rock and Sky” in the April issue of The Sun magazine. Reece is a writer and environmental advocate who has written about strip mining in the Appalachians, and in this essay he shares his experience of climbing Mount Fanaraken in Norway, the country of his [...]

Filed under: compassion, Cultural Issues, goodness, responsibility, social psychology | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments »

Moving Forward Toward a Sustainable World

Posted on April 26, 2010 by zoeweil

Among some environmentalists, there is a strong anti-civilization movement and the belief that the only hope for a sustainable world entails a return to a veritable Stone Age, a time when humans had neither the capacity, the desire, nor the wherewithal to create havoc within ecosystems, cause the extinction of myriad species, and utterly despoil [...]

Filed under: economy, Environmental Preservation, humane education, responsibility, systemic change | Tagged: , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment »

MOGO is for Pessimists, Too

Posted on January 27, 2010 by zoeweil

Here’s another excerpt from my book, Most Good, Least Harm: A Simple Principle for a Better World and Meaningful Life, that I wanted to share with you. “Some may be pessimistic that MOGO (most good) living can truly change intractable problems and create a peaceful, humane, and healthy world. Yet the MOGO principle is not [...]

Filed under: changemakers, MOGO (Most Good), responsibility | Tagged: , , , , , | Leave a Comment »

My New Year’s Resolution: Stop Complaining

Posted on January 1, 2010 by zoeweil

In 2010 I’m going to endeavor to stop complaining. This shouldn’t be too hard, as I am profoundly blessed and privileged. I have all my needs met and so much more. I have a happy 20-year marriage and a healthy, bright, generous son. I share my warm, spacious home with three great dogs and a [...]

Filed under: MOGO (Most Good), positive choices, responsibility, third side thinking, values | Tagged: , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment »

« Previous Page — Next Page »
Follow

Get every new post delivered to your Inbox.

Join 31 other followers