idealawg

Which is senior partner, reason or intuition? Or are they equal partners?

The thought-provoking debate between the rationalists and the intuitionists is a focus of the current edition (March 2010; 5 (2)) of Perspectives on Social Science (Association for Psychological Science). Interested? Then read these three articles.

"Moral Complexity: The Fatal Attraction of Truthiness and the Importance of Mature Moral Functioning"

Abstract:

Recently, intuitionist theories have been effective in capturing the academic discourse about morality. Intuitionist theories, like rationalist theories, offer important but only partial understanding of moral functioning. Both can be fallacious and succumb to truthiness: the attachment to one’s opinions because they “feel right,” potentially leading to harmful action or inaction. Both intuition and reasoning are involved in deliberation and expertise. Both are malleable from environmental and educational influence, making questions of normativity—which intuitions and reasoning skills to foster—of utmost importance. Good intuition and reasoning inform mature moral functioning, which needs to include capacities that promote sustainable human well-being. Individual capacities for habituated empathic concern and moral metacognition—moral locus of control, moral self-regulation,

Another lawyer meditating (and some reasons why)

From "Meditation goes mainstream" (Press Democrat - Santa Rosa, CA):

Gary Devine, a Santa Rosa attorney, believes the arthritis pain in his lower back has been relieved in large part by sitting quietly for 15 minutes every morning.

...

OK, get rid of the stereotypes. You don't have to curl up like a pretzel. You don't have to chant. You don't have to shave your head, sit barefoot, burn incense or wear a robe.

...

Meditation, the centuries-old mind and body exercise used in many religious practices and designed to lead to awareness and relaxation, has remodeled its psychedelic 1970s Beatles-Maharishi image.

Today, the Dalai Lama's on Twitter and meditation is going mainstream, judging by the one out of

What is the difference between self-respect and self-esteem?

There's a very big difference, according to Dr. Theodore Dalrymple of in character: A Journal of Everyday Virtues. He says, "Self-respect and self-esteem are as different as depth and shallowness."

From Theodore Dalrymple on Self-Esteem vs. Self-Respect:

Self-esteemists, if I may so call those who are concerned with the levels of their own self-esteem, believe that it is something to which they have a right. If they don't have self-esteem in sufficient quantity to bring about a perfectly happy life, their fundamental rights are being violated. They feel aggrieved and let down by others rather than by themselves; they ascribe their lack of rightful self-esteem to the carping, and unjustified, criticism of parents, teachers, spouses, and colleagues.

The twin qualities leading to self-esteem are (an allegedly) just appreciation of one's own importance and of one's own worth. Neither importance nor worth, however, are qualities to be found in nature without an appraising mind; it is the appraising mind that confers them upon their object.

...

In other words, the self-esteemist wants something for nothing, and, because in his heart he knows that what he wants is impossible, he is wretched and ascribes all the many failures of 

"Revolutionary Science": The 22nd Annual Convention of APS (with several programs relevant to conflict resolution)

This year's conference of the Association for Psychological Science (being held in Boston on May 27 - 30, 2010) is offering some programs that look very worthwhile for conflict professionals. Here are a dozen samples:

• Stereotype Threat and the Nature and Nurture of Intelligence with Joshua Aronson
• Grit: Perseverance and Passion for Long-Term Goals with Angela Duckworth [click to read my blog post on grit]
• Why Is It So Hard to Behave Ethically? with Robert Sternberg
• Determinants of Risk Taking: Who Takes Risk When and Why with Elke Weber
• The Battle in Your Brain Between Risk and Reward with Brian Knutson
• Social Neuroscience of First Impressions chaired by Angela Gutchess
• Culture and the Brain chaired by Richard Lewis
• Less Than Human: Dehumanization and Lack of Empathy Hurt Intergroup Relations chaired by Michael Inzlicht
• Aging and Memory: The Glass Is Half Full with Lynn Hasher
• Illusions in Everyday Prophecies: Causes and Consequences chaired by Zlatan Krizan and Kate Sweeny
• Cognitive Ability, Values, Personality and Entrepeneurial, Corporate and Academic Performance chaired by Jordan Peterson
• When Head and Heart Tell Different Stories: Determinants and Consequences of Explicit-Implicit Motive Incongruence chaired by Nicola Baumann and Veronika Brandstätter

Journal on the topic of mindfulness

Springer publishes a journal entitled Mindfulness. You may access the articles online. For example (all pdf):

• "Mindfulness: A Finger Pointing to the Moon"
• "Ronald D. Siegel: The Mindfulness Solution: Everyday Practices for Everyday Problems" (book review)
• "Shauna L. Shapiro and Linda E. Carlson: The Art and Science of Mindfulness: Integrating Mindfulness into Psychology and the Helping Professions" (book review)

Blog Glob: "Charlie Daniels' signature song at heart of copyright dispute"

Excerpt:

Decades after writing “The Devil Went Down to Georgia,” Charlie Daniels is still chasing his own shiny fiddle made of gold: full rights to that classic song and dozens of others he wrote when his career was heating up.

The country and Southern rock icon is waging an attempt to regain his copyrights decades after he signed them away — placing Nashville at the forefront of a simmering legal issue that stands to put countless writers at odds with publishing companies over when a song, story or other work returns to its creator.

That potential has federal officials considering reform of U.S. copyright law that could have a sweeping impact on who gets legal control and financial rights over reams of written work in future years.

Click to read the rest of "Charlie Daniels' signature song at heart of copyright dispute" (Nashville Business Journal).

The goal of the G.Y.Joe blog is cross-generational communication

G.Y.Joe is a blog written by a millennial named Brant Choate. His goal: "[Write] about ways that Generation Y, Generation X and the Baby Boomers can communicate with each other more effectively." I only read a couple of posts, but enjoyed his perspectives on mentoring and learned what his generation is doing on their laptops in class.

When "justice" becomes "just is," it becomes a reminder to practice law (and live) mindfully

 I am very impressed with Scott Rogers' Jurisight program for lawyers. He teaches it to both practicing lawyers and law students; course attendees find Jurisight very helpful in both their personal and professional lives.

Learn more about his program in these past posts:

• Interview of Scott Rogers: Mindfulness in the law
• Video of Scott Rogers talking about mindfulness-based methods for lawyers

One of my favorite components of Jurisight is the way Scott has creatively turned "justice" into "just is." I am glad to see he did the latest Mindfulness Memo on "just is." From that memo entitled "The Elusive Pursuit of 'Just Is'":

In the law, the term “Justice” looms large.  It forms the bedrock of our legal system – perhaps even of society. The concept of “Justice” may have played a role in your decision to attend law school and to become a lawyer. In this month’s Mindfulness Memo, we’ll explore how a mindful sense of “justice” can offer you insights for optimizing desirable outcomes in your life and the law.

...

In the language of “Jurisight,” the term “Justice” becomes “Just Is,” as a reminder that to notice what “Just Is,” is to align oneself with the natural flow of life – the arising and passing away of things that we desire along with those that we do not.  The challenge is learning how to notice what “Just Is,” when our protective ego is eager to interpret and define it for us.  You see, “Just Is” is an experience, not a thought. That is why when we deeply appreciate the “Just Is” nature of life, we become more at ease with what arises, even when it is not what we want.

Click to read the rest. Be sure to click the link as there is much more to be read about the clever concept and practice of "just is." (I needed a little "just is" when writing this post. The way it shows up at TypePad is not the way you see it. Well, that mismatch just is.)

Trying criminals in a new way: How about problem-solving courts?

Here's Judge Peggy Hora of California talking about her mission to change the way criminals are tried. Click to hear the interview (666 ABC Canberra).

In negotiation: "Make more out of less"

Excerpt:

Adapted from “When More Is Less,” first published in the Negotiation newsletter.

It’s an article of faith in negotiation that expanding the pie of value enhances parties’ welfare. When there’s only one issue on the bargaining table, the size of the pie is fixed. If one party gets more, the other party must get less. But when multiple issues exist, negotiators can expand the size of the pie by engaging in give-and-take trading that leaves everyone better off. The more issues there are to trade, it would seem, the happier negotiators should be.

Work by Charles Naquin, a professor at DePaul University, challenges this conventional wisdom. Naquin found that subjects who negotiated a four-issue simulation were significantly more satisfied with their outcomes than were those who worked with eight issues. Although the latter group created demonstrably more value, they were less pleased with their results.

Click to read the rest of "Make more out of less" (Negotiation newsletter)