Tag: ethics

The Agenda Shaping Our Worldview (via It Could Be Simpler)

On By southwerkIn business ethics

The idea of a “comforting illusion” is one you can easily think of when confronted by the apathy of so many. Myself I’ve studied the mortgage crisis (more like crimes) and have seen how little it bothered so many that this was going on. So many people still say, “They made a contract, they owe the money, things didn’t work out, they should pay up or get out of the houses.”

No one seems to care whether the original contract was fair, laden with fraud, or sold to those least able to understand what they were signing.

I see a lot of comforting illusions. I don’t like them. This fellow doesn’t either.

James Pilant

My thanks to “It Could Be Simpler.”

“If we choose, we can live in a world of comforting illusion.”- Noam Chomsky Manufacturing Consent For the majority of people journalism is still the primary source for their view of the world, it doesn’t just show how events unfold from day to day, but how the world is defined. This obvious power has not gone unnoticed, since the inception of mass media governments have understood the abilities of radio, TV and print to enhance the propaganda el … Read More

via It Could Be Simpler

Do No Harm — my UU sermon from May 1, 2010 (via Ironicschmoozer’s Weblog)

On By southwerkIn business ethics

In the last three generations of my family, there have been a good number of ministers. Of course, my family were Free Will Baptists and not Unitarians. (There is a lot more certainty in the sermons of the Baptists.)

I don’t attend church much anymore but I still like sermons. This gentleman has put one of his up as a post. It’s well written, choppy tight paragraphs, messages that seem to go in different directions but tie up like little bows into the big message by the end, and a couple of good personal stories to round it out.

I like what he has to say, I believe in ethics and morality. In the field of doing the right thing, the best move is often to do nothing at all, thus, do no harm. It’s a good topic.

James Pilant

Do No Harm Sunday, May 1, 2011 Unitarian Universalist Society Sacramento, CA Hymns: 126, 21, 162. Music:  “Trouble,” Coldplay; sung by Eric Stetson Reading  “To Be of Use,” a poem by Marge Piercy, from Circles on the Water Shared Offering: Turning Point Community Programs:  A Path to Mental Health Do No Harm.  What does this mean? This world is full of harm and woe.  We human beings feel it, and cause it, at a staggering level.  Modern-day slaver … Read More

via Ironicschmoozer’s Weblog

Lost in the Stacks 4: Writers and Readers (via The Labyrinth Library)

On By southwerkIn business ethics2 Comments
Public Domain

Some days, I do not want to write. I want to do anything but write. My mind says, “Please James, let’s watch a movie, go shopping, have a nap, anything that isn’t typing into that machine.”

I still drag myself to that online beast and write once again. You cannot not post. Your readers will leave, not all of them, but some. And I prize every reader I have. They are like gold coins to a miser. I remember all too well getting 35 hits for the entire month I began posting.

My readers are supportive and kind. Their comments enrich my thought and change how and what I write about.

I am greedy for more readers but I don’t want as much encouragement as the picture and caption indicate!

James Pilant

Lost in the Stacks 4: Writers and Readers With the debut of HBO’s “A Game of Thrones” miniseries and a new article in The New Yorker, the strange story of George R. R. Martin and his fans has been on my mind. So, in this episode of Lost in the Stacks, we examine the weird, often dangerously codependent relationship between the Writer and the Readers. What does the writer owe to his or her readers, if anything? What can the readers honestly expect of their writer? What promises, implicit … Read More

via The Labyrinth Library

Marketing as a Four-Letter Word_ Round 2 (via Heretical Thoughts of an Archivist)

On By southwerkIn business ethics

Any time I see someone talk like this, I feel a certain pride in the tenacity of the human spirit to refuse to conform to the culture of greed, conformity and that abomination, “emotional intelligence.”

I think this post represents a high standard of morality compared to much of the marketing I see. I am pleased to re-post this work.

James Pilant

Peter Drucker said that “the aim of marketing is to know and understand the customer so well the product or service fits him and sells itself.” He uses a similar maxim, quoted by former pupil William A. Cohen, to the effect that good marketing makes sales unnecessary. In the first case, he is discussing knowing the customer well enough to know his need, and then apply innovation and find a way to meet that need. In the second he is speaking of kn … Read More

via Heretical Thoughts of an Archivist

Urban permaculture (via Only Ed)

On By southwerkIn business ethics

Permaculture is a relative recent concept (1960’s) but it has developed nicely in concert with our increasing curiosity into the advantages of living with nature as opposed to being in conflict with it.

This post offers some links to other sites with more information. If permaculture is something you have heard about or are curious about interesting concepts, this is an excellent starting point.

James Pilant

Urban permaculture Posted 27 April 2011, by Staff, Little City Farm, littlecityfarm.blogspot.com I’ve been doing more reading on urban permaculture, and getting wholly inspired by what is possible in cities and urban areas.  Urban permaculture design and initiatives are the next step beyond what is already taking place in the vastly expanding urban agriculture movement – permaculture addresses not just food production, but also sustainability, co … Read More

via Only Ed

Cross Stitches (via Achilles & Aristotle)

On By southwerkIn business ethics1 Comment

Here we are talking about Montaigne again! (I discussed another Montaigne blog post a week or so ago.) There is always an undercurrent of classicism in the United States. I have been a fan of Mortimer J. Adler and the Great Books project since I was 14 and read his masterpiece, How to Read a Book. Years later when the book was put in the discards, I bought it for a few cents and it is still a part of my library.

I like and appreciate this kind of talk, this kind of reading. Once these deep waters are explored, a person’s thoughts are never quite the same. I remember Adler talked about this and he said that after you have read great books you never need to fear boredom when you are alone. I think that’s true.

This fellow writes intelligent essays. I’m sure you’ll enjoy it as much as I do.

James Pilant

Cross Stitches I’ve subscribed to Montaigne’s Essais on dailylit.com which breaks him up into comparatively bitesized chunks. Still the discovery that there are 426 daily episodes to look forward to sometimes feels a long haul. I’m up to episode 62. Some days I skim him, some days I ignore him completely. But sometimes he discusses something with himself, in his meandering way, which speaks to my own day. Whenever I’m close to cancelling my daily dose of Montai … Read More

via Achilles & Aristotle

on walking the walk. (via bee thousand)

On By southwerkIn business ethics2 Comments

How much to give? And who to give it to?

The eternal questions of those fortunate to have enough resources to give.

Here is a good discussion of a person trying to make the right charitable choices.

(In the United States, not getting your money diverted to private pockets when giving is very difficult. Scam artists masquerade under the sweetest and most persuasive names. They love names like veteran, children, etc. Be very careful who you give your money to and remember, the most important factor is what proportion of the charity’s contributions actually go to the charitable purpose. If you can’t find that out after a few minute web search, you are better off buying lottery tickets. In both cases your money is lost, but with the lottery, you know up front that your money is gone for no purpose.)

James Pilant

Special thanks to bee thousand.

So far, my dissertation research has consisted mostly in talking the talk but not yet walking the walk. But I’ve mulled over this for sort of a long time now and think I’ve finally come close to a decision regarding my participation in Peter Singer’s The Life You Can Save plan (which is tied to his work on charity, which is sort of a central focus of my dissertation research). The algorithm which Singer recommends is donating 1% of your annual in … Read More

via bee thousand

Reap the Whirlwind (via Sects and Violence in the Ancient World)

On By southwerkIn business ethics

Fantastic. Exactly. Disasters are not harbingers of the Apocalypse, the are (usually) natural phenomenon. What do they demand of us – that we act in a spirit of brotherhood, with compassion.

It is incredible that people who are taken seriously in some quarters consider compassion as a negative, a damaging idea that handicaps the intelligent and entrepreneurial.

But compassion is not a negative, it is one of the basic pillars of a civilized society. Civilization is propelled by cooperation and due consideration for the status of others.

Let us do what we can.

I recommend you look at some of the other writing on this web site, Sects and Violence in the Ancient World.

James Pilant

Reap the Whirlwind Something seems to be absent. The blazing rhetoric of televangelists and others proclaiming the wrath of God on New Orleans when Katrina blew ashore are strangely silent as a massive outbreak of tornadoes has ripped through the Bible Belt. Hundreds have unfortunately died as nature’s most severe weather-weapon has raked the south. In an apo … Read More

via Sects and Violence in the Ancient World

Ethics vs Modern Economic Realities (via thenewgoodlife)

On By southwerkIn business ethics1 Comment

I would like to have a try at answering the question posed by the author of this post.

It seems to me that a great many of the population are in your position – unable to have a full range of choices in where they buy things. There are many choices in where to buy goods and many of those businesses do things that are immoral or unethical. We would prefer to shop elsewhere.

When a firm is unethical or immoral, it often develops a competitive advantage that makes its products cheaper, in many cases much cheaper.

And I don’t think you have to think very hard before you can think of one of the worst offenders.

If you are in a poor economic situation, buy where you can. There is no point in damaging your health or your family.

Ethics requires action but all choices are never available to us.

So, when one avenue of action is denied us, we seek others. Here we have regulatory agencies, representative government and public advocacy. There is also investigative journalism but this is denied most of the public.

Your most likely remaining options are encouraging awareness by blogging, etc.

I don’t want to try to explain in any detail what you will want to decide yourself, which is what’s your best options?

There are many places where total ethics are impossible by one reason or another, you can still fight the good fight.

We do what we can.

James Pilant

A question for you, is it possible to maintain ethical shopping practices on a budget?  I have been trying for the last year to maintain an equilibrium between these two ideals, to buy products that are as local as possible and ethically manufactured by companies with strong ethical and environmental practices, yet doing so within fairly tight budget.  And I would say I was doing pretty well until recently.  In my efforts to meet these goals I di … Read More

via thenewgoodlife

Inaction Is the Unethical Standpoint (via *fashion martyrtard*)

On By southwerkIn business ethics1 Comment

Yes, it is.

The passivity generated by the modern media and its focus on a royal wedding of utter and complete insignificance, every kind of celebrity news down to shoes, and a deep and abiding concern for news of the strange, is damaging the fabric of our society.

The United States was founded at the very end of the Enlightenment. The basic ideas were that human reason and logic would enable human to make good decisions for the conduct of their lives, that humans were capable of self-improvement and were no longer locked into the roles of their parents or larger society.

Where is logic and reason now? How can we expect humans to self improve with these news-networks and their junk reporting? How can their be respect and usage of critical thinking in a society in which science is a punching bag for fools and industry financed front groups (organized fools)?

The simple, straight forward answer is, “It cannot.” We are either developing or are currently living in a thought free society focused on profit and a pathetic incoherence more expected of small children than of citizens in a democratic society.

I am not sure this can be remedied. There are many powerful interests whose purposes are well served by a non-thinking crown mentality. We live in the era of the mad billionaire, whose conduct is more that of one of the more unethical Bond villains than responsible citizens.

The supreme court’s bizarre respect for corporate persondom may well spell an end to any hope of a free people’s ability to govern themselves by elections.

There may well be no remedy except inevitable decline. The forces that are destroying our ability to think are happy with what they have accomplished living only for their own selfish interests and ever ready to abandon the United States once their economic greed has been satisfied and new pastures of exploitation beckon.

Nevertheless, I believe in struggle, in the good fight, and I will not walk away from it.

James Pilant

Inaction Is the Unethical Standpoint The other day I was watching a video about nanotechnology and a guy was talking about how many critics there are who refuse to support nanotechnology out of fear but he said “I think when you understand what kind of impact nanotechnology could have on some of the global problems… I think that inaction is actually the unethical standpoint. I think stasis is unethical in this case.” That’s exactly how I feel about feminism and the cause for chang … Read More

via *fashion martyrtard*