Content on Behavior (Page 6)
3 Cognitive Science Books That Have Influenced My Judaism
As someone whose shelves are overflowing with books about cognitive science, and who often integrates these findings with Jewish teachings, I want to share three books that teach Jewish ideas.
Should We Really Label Our Children? Yes…Sometimes.
Passover reminds us that we are free, which means that we have the freedom to choose how we act. Yet those actions will ultimately define who we are.
To Be a Jew is To Give Thanks — By Definition
Our greatest Jewish responsibility is to give thanks, because when we give thanks, we recognize the holy potential of our world and bring more of it into people’s lives.
Even if We Are Not Free, We Are Still Responsible
“Freedom” is not a binary state – either we are free, or we are not. Rather, “freedom” is a matter of degree, but while we may not be completely “free,” we still are responsible.
A-Rod May Be Guilty, But We All Are Responsible
Obviously, Alex Rodriguez has issues, and there is no excuse for his behavior. But the larger issue for us to reflect on is our own views on cheating, morality and ethics.
Why Time Isn’t Money
Money doesn’t have value in and of itself — its power comes in what it allows us to do. The question then is, are we using our money to help us do what we truly want to be doing?
“As If”: The Two Little Words We Too Often Ignore
If we act “as if” we were trying to improve who we are and how we behave, we actually do improve who we are and how we behave.
It’s Not About Being Happy — It’s About Doing Good
There are two Hebrew words that we say many, many times over these High Holy Days. Those two Hebrew words are, of course, shanah tovah. And yet we almost always mistranslate them.
Jonah Lehrer and the Betrayal of Trust in the Internet Age
In the internet age, we are all not only consumers of content, but producers of it, as well. Anything we say or share might become the basis of others’ work, and more likely than not, they will simply have to trust that we are telling the truth.
What Believers and Atheists Can Learn From Each Other (co-written with Sam McNerney)
It’s inherently challenging for believers and atheists to have productive conversations. But one bright person interested in broadening the conversation is Sam McNerney, a science writer who focuses on cognitive science and an atheist interested in religion from a psychological point of view. So as two people with different religious outlooks we wondered: what can we learn from each other?
Why Bernie Madoff Didn’t Lurk in Dark Alleys
Different forms of stealing have different “feels” to them. Physically taking money from another person feels more violent, more immediate, and less justifiable of an action. “Cooking the books,” however, can easily feel explainable by the perpetrator.
The Science of Compassion — A Conversation with Professor David DeSteno
There often is tension between our religious beliefs and our religious identities — between our religious teachings that tell us to be compassionate to all people, and the way religious groups can create an “us” and “them” mentality. But “who we are” is very much “what we do.”