The World's Best Book Summaries
What is second-order thinking? How can it help you make better decisions? Because we live and act within large, interconnected systems—such as our workplaces or professional communities—our actions have consequences that ripple outward. Since anything you do has downstream effects, you should consider the immediate and secondary effects of any choice. Read more to learn how to use second-order thinking to everyone’s advantage.
Why should we have sustainable forest management strategies? What do we need to do to have healthy forests? Suzanne Simard’s research in Finding the Mother Tree has led to a shift in thinking about ecological relationships. She argues that in we need to create a sustainable forest management strategy to ensure the long-term health of trees. Continue reading to learn why we need to change how we take care of forests.
Is an obsession with true crime a bad thing? Does true crime exploit tragedies for profit and entertainment purposes? Stories about true crime are everywhere—from television series to documentaries to podcasts. But the consumption of tragedy as entertainment might be crossing some ethical boundaries and affecting audiences psychologically. Let’s look at how true crime is presented in entertainment and social media, and discover the issues that may arise from society’s true crime obsession.
Do you care about something that needs to be improved? How can you raise awareness for a cause? In Stolen Focus, Johann Hari explains there is an attention crisis caused by external factors outside of your control. One of his solutions is a citizen-led movement, which highlights the important steps people can take to raise awareness. Below we’ll look at how to raise awareness for a cause with the example of an attention rebellion.
What are systemic changes? What are examples of systemic changes that will stop the attention crisis? Systemic changes are fundamental changes in a system (often education, government, etc.) that are necessary to make improvements. In Stolen Focus, Johann Hari suggests a systemic change to address people’s inability to focus. Keep reading for examples of systemic changes that are necessary to reduce stress and concentration issues.
Do doctors really care about their patients? How much of health care is about the appearance of care as opposed to substantive help? In The Elephant in the Brain: Hidden Motives in Everyday Life, Kevin Simler and Robin Hanson say that many of our social systems are driven by ulterior motives. That means that some of our most important institutions—including health care—are built around goals we’re not even aware of. Keep reading for the authors’ argument on institutional hidden motives.
What are some of the best quotes from Nicomachean Ethics? What captures Aristotle’s message? In Nicomachean Ethics, the ancient Greek philosopher Aristotle attempts to determine the best possible way a person can live their life. He’s not trying to explain the best way to deal with any given situation. Instead, Aristotle aims to provide a general overview of what an ideal life is and how people can achieve it. We’ve collected some of our favorite Nicomachean Ethics quotes, along with some context and explanation. Take a look.
What’s “the good life”? How is moral virtue achieved? What’s the greatest virtue of all? These are some of the questions that ancient Greek philosopher Aristotle discusses in the Nicomachean Ethics book. He argues that the best and happiest life consists of the rational pursuit of virtue. He explains the different kinds of virtues, how to become virtuous, and the greatest virtue of all: wisdom. Keep reading to learn more about this classic work.
What is moral virtue? Is it simply being good, or is there more to it than that? In his Nicomachean Ethics, Aristotle concludes that happiness comes from consistently making the right choices over the course of a lifetime (rational activity aligned with virtue). Not only must the actions be right, but the motives behind them must also be right. Keep reading to understand how, in Aristotle’s view, virtuous actions and virtuous reasons add up to moral virtue.
Why do we lie about our motives? Why do we seek to deceive others and ourselves about the reasons for our behaviors? At first glance, the idea of hidden motives may seem convoluted. The answer, according to Kevin Simler and Robin Hanson, is that, as a cooperative social species, we evolved to advance our own interests while appearing as selfless as possible—and it’s easier to deceive others if we’ve already deceived ourselves. Let’s explore this theory about why we tell lies about our reasons for doing what we do.