Summary We invent reasons not because they are true, but because having no reason is psychologically unbearable. Even if a higher reason exists, it is unknowable, and what is unknowable is unusable. No one knows the answer, no state is permanent, and change is the only constant. That is the nature of life. Time is finite, outcomes are uncertain, but the process is entirely yours. Invest there. Abandon the metaphysical “why” that leads nowhere....
This blog proposes a simple criterion for distinguishing good people from bad people. The answer, I have come to realize, is not complicated at all. Setup Consider two running examples: (i) A cheating wife who gets caught, and her husband gets hurt. (ii) A rude boss who mistreats their employees, and the employees get hurt. Thesis: Both these people are bad. For the longest time, I resisted judging people. A couple of years ago, I would have said there is more nuance to this — maybe they had reasons for why they acted a certain way....