How to Be Good

How to be good is one of the biggest questions we humans can ask ourselves.

Journalist Simran Sethi employs nine thinkers to explore this question in a New York Times article of the same name.  

Philosopher Ann Kerwin joined Bryan Crump to discuss the article and the different perspectives on goodness that it offers.

Sethi got nine perspectives from nine people all from different walks of life, Kerwin says.

“Sethi had gone on a little personal odyssey to try to figure out how to be good in this complex world, where we have so many problems coming to our attention, so many complex problems that are very difficult to deal with.

“And as she began to try to sort things out, she contacted some people she regards as experts on thinking about doing good,” Kerwin says.

The people are - psychologist and author Harriet Lerner; Brother Chan Fap Dung, a senior Buddhist monk; William J Barber II, an activist; behavioural economist Dan Ariely; Rachana Kamtekar a professor of philosophy at Cornell; Rose Marcario, CEO of Patagonia; Ron Freund, VP of the Social Equity Group; Cheryl Strayed, author and columnist and British author Nick Hornby.

Hornby wrote a novel called How to be Good in 2001 and his was the last contribution in the article, Kerwin says.

“‘And no matter what keep trying,’ Hornby wrote. ‘I think all one can ever really do is to try and keep goodness close to you as an ambition - make sure it's one of the ways in which you think.’

“And even though that's only one sentence, it's quite profound,” says Kerwin.

Being good requires action and constant work.

“We are a work of life. Many of our philosophers from the East and the West have said that, so we can consider ourselves constructions.

“And so, if we want to be good-making constructions, we want to do good in life, we want to be kind, be gracious, be thoughtful, be considerate, make a positive difference.

“Then we sort of build that into our system - as Nick Hornby said, ‘make it your ambition.’”

Kindness

Psychologist Harriet Lerner places kindness at the centre of what it means to be good. Kerwin says.

“She makes some fairly bold pronouncements, she said everything that can be said with kindness.

“Every tough position we have to take can be taken with kindness. And being a good person means that we have to honour and respect the dignity and value of all human beings.”

Paying attention

Attention as an act of good is explained in Sethi's article by Brother Chan Fap Dung

“That's a lovely suggestion…what he said is that Buddhist training is that we learn to be present with ourselves. And so, we tune into our breathing and he uses a lovely phrase, ‘we enjoy our breathing’.”

Buddhist training enables us to connect with others, Kirwen says.

“It enables us to feel as one with other people and to know ourselves, to know where our flashpoints are, to know where tender points are and to proceed in the world.”

Asking hard questions

This is the heart of goodness for activist William J Barber.

“He's a civil rights activist in the US. He leads poor people's marches. He’s a very deeply good man, he shows up for many things. And so, his view is' remember when you were at your lowest - what brought you up? What called you to a better place?'

“And then think about people who are in a hard place and give that.”

Barber believes we are collectively responsible to resist injustice, Kirwen says.

Scale the problem

Economist Dan Ariely has an answer for when you start to feel crushed by the weight of the world’s problems, Kirwen says.

“Ariely’s written a book on the irrational, he writes about decision-making and he says put challenges in perspective.

“So, if you want to do good in the world, and you're looking at these huge, massive problems, find something and scale the problem, find something that you can do that will have an impact, and then have that impact.”

Be accountable

Holding yourself accountable is at the core of goodness, says philosopher Rachana Kamtekar in the NYT piece.

“If you decide to that you're going to be good, then you hold yourself accountable for some good action in the world or some good actions in the world - you make it count.”

Buy with intention

Entrepreneur Rose Macario says goodness comes with viewing ourselves as citizens, not consumers, who "buy with intention".

“Her phrase is really good, she says; ‘Think of yourself as a citizen, instead of a consumer, and vote with your dollars.’

“And this is powerful because most of us buy things. I mean, we may say that we're all pure and everything, but we do buy things. And there's a lot of buying that goes on and even people that are being good and doing good in a whole variety of ways are still buying things.”

Engage

Engaging with others is central to Cheryl Strayed's notion of goodness.

“[Strayed is] an interesting woman. She was an advice columnist. So she has a list of things that I think are good …..cultivate a sense of optimism, remember to be grateful, be happy for others when good things happen to them, stop complaining about the people, jobs or situations that make you miserable - and find a way to change it or end it instead.

“Go for a walk every day. Goodness is action. It's being kind, honest, considerate, respectful and generous. It's holding love in your heart.”