Am I Right?

Attachment

Are We Hard-Wired for Love?

Arthur Dobrin D.S.W. on February 9, 2023

Is love necessary, like food, or is it more like a healthy diet?

Empathy

Save Your Life: Read Poetry

Arthur Dobrin D.S.W. on February 1, 2023

The humanities may not pay off in the marketplace, but they pay off big in life.

Fear

Why Good People Do Bad Things

Arthur Dobrin D.S.W. on January 3, 2023

Sometimes well-intentioned people don't act ethically. Here are some of the reasons why.

Ethics and Morality

Forget Niceness—Just Be Kind

Arthur Dobrin D.S.W. on December 1, 2022

Be kind: It will make you and others better people.

Loneliness

Here's Why There Are So Many Lonely People

Arthur Dobrin D.S.W. on October 30, 2022

Some turn to hero-celebrities to assuage their loneliness. The Pledge of Allegiance offers a better answer.

Body Language

What You Wear Can Signal a Part of Your Identity

Arthur Dobrin D.S.W. on October 17, 2022

The clothes you wear make an impression. So what is it that you want to convey?

Ethics and Morality

What Is a Person?

Arthur Dobrin D.S.W. on October 3, 2022

How can a secular society settle the debate on abortion? Here is a place to start.

Empathy

Empaths Can Be Jerks Like Anyone Else

Arthur Dobrin D.S.W. on September 6, 2022

Being highly attuned to others' feelings by itself is value-neutral. It all depends upon what is done with it.

Anxiety

Why Active Shooter Drills May Be a Bad Idea

Arthur Dobrin D.S.W. on August 12, 2022

Everyone wants to protect children, but active shooter drills in school may be a bad idea. There are better ways to protect children without making them anxious.

Trust

What Blackworms and Australia Can Teach Us About Covid

Arthur Dobrin D.S.W. on July 5, 2022

Blacks worms and Australia have a lot to teach about how to best protect society against future pandemics.

Trauma

Pity, Reconsidered

Arthur Dobrin D.S.W. on May 10, 2022

Pity is a moral emotion and something important is lost when it is no longer part of our emotional makeup.

Child Development

Let Your Child Go

Arthur Dobrin D.S.W. on April 18, 2022

If it is okay to be a soldier at 18, why can't you drink? Maybe we've gotten it wrong about when people become adults

Race and Ethnicity

You Aren't Who You Think You Are

Arthur Dobrin D.S.W. on April 6, 2022

One day Italians weren't white and Japanese and Chinese people were separate races. Today, things are reversed. What happened has nothing to do with genes but with society.

Ethics and Morality

Conspiracies Are Everywhere—But They Aren't All True

Arthur Dobrin D.S.W. on February 7, 2022

Do you wonder how to respond to preposterous claims offered by many conspiracy theories? It isn't easy, but there are ways.

Ethics and Morality

The Right to Your Body

Arthur Dobrin D.S.W. on January 12, 2022

The arguments around abortion and mandatory vaccinations are confused. Here is a clearer way to think about them.

Artificial Intelligence

Machines Aren't Moral, People Are

Arthur Dobrin D.S.W. on January 7, 2022

Robotic machines reflect the biases, prejudices and limitations of those who program them. No machine can be more moral than those who program it.

Social Life

Living Only in the Moment Isn't Possible

Arthur Dobrin D.S.W. on January 2, 2022

Living life fully means knowing the moment for what it is—our past experiences and the anticipation of the future with all we've done, experienced, thought and hope for.