After the last crash, many of us railed against “casino capitalism” but we’re all living in the casino now, feeding the slots while complaining about the brash high-rollers at the roulette wheel. Individuals like me refusing to up my stakes change nothing. Somehow, we’ve got to shut this gambling house down.
ReadDetective Ed Gillespie has made the ancient Greek philosopher part of Baltimore Police Department’s annual in-service training. Here are some suggestions for what should be on any police force’s reading list.
ReadSeeing animals as too like or too unlike ourselves are equal and opposite mistakes. The way to avoid this error is not to imagine that other animals are more human-like than they really are, but to accept that we are more like other animals than we generally believe.
ReadGiven a choice between complex cogitations and simple emotional reactions, most of us, most of the time, opt for the latter. This choice is usually automatic and unconscious. The emphasis on empathy encourages us to indulge this weakness, to believe that feelings are all we need to be better people in a better world.
ReadIt is easy to profess allegiance to the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, but in a world where opponents are using every trick in the book to defeat you, can anyone afford to be so high-minded?
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