The Goodness Movement

The purpose of this site is to improve the world. That task is really not as hard
as it sounds. If you pick a piece of trash up from the sidewalk, or call a cab for
your drunk friend, you have accomplished the same thing. If I give one person
one good idea that improves their life, then I will have succeeded.

My orienting intent is to resurrect the moribund--if not fully gone--idea of
Goodness, without necessary recourse to specific cultural forms.

As we all know by now, in this stage of our cultural evolution, what is
acceptable in some cultures is not in others. What is Good for some--for
example, blowing up unbelievers, killing abortionists, or advocating abortion--will
be opposed by others.

We all live on this planet together. My focus is on what I term "Moral
Sustainability". This is the idea that we can retain our culturally unique
forms--or most of them--while continuing to grow in harmony as a human race;
that we can not only survive, but do so happily, and as a community. I don't
want everyone to be the same. This would be deadly dull, and as I will show,
counterproductive.

My analysis attempts to be comprehensive. At the same time, my argument is
that all truths are contingent, and therefore exist in contexts, which must be
included in all arguments. Very few general principles will stand up in all places
and times. I have proposed three. You may disagree.

On the left, of course, you will see navigation buttons. I recommend you read
my short introductory essay on Goodness first, as it sets the basic framework in
place for everything else. All the others include essays on various topics, the
nature of which is explained on the pages.

I have degrees from the University of California--Berkeley, and the University of
Chicago. Beyond that, my qualifications are unimportant. I am a sentient human
being, who is advancing what I believe to be coherent arguments that need
appeal to no authority, or uniquely advanced perspective argued implicitly in 2
and three letter "stamps of authenticity."

As to my name: if my ideas are good, they speak for themselves; if poor, likewise.
If you are overly vexed by my anonymity, simply call me Ishmael. You will then
have a placeholder--a symbolic representation of me to which you can refer--and
the universe will be right again.

If you click on the tab labelled "Goodness: Intro, it will lead you to my first
essay. Every tab has (or will have) more tabs, linking to relevant essays.

Thank you for visiting!!!!!!