In Good We Trust

There’s a long history of music as a healing agent. As Confucius taught, “Music produces a kind of pleasure which human nature cannot do without.” But it’s more than pleasure. It’s like medicine. One of the founders of western medicine, Hippocrates, treated mentally troubled folks he called “frenetic” by bringing them to temples to listen to healing symphonia. According to Chad Woodford, who writes on music technology, “When we listen to harmonious music, we are attuning our entire being to something beyond itself: our minds, our hearts, our bodies, + our souls. He calls this energetic chiropractic adjustment in the sense that it is restoring order and wholeness to a system out of alignment. SOME SOURCES Listening To Music As Spiritual Practice, Chad J Woodford - July 6, 2023 https://medium.com/atha-yog%C4%81nu%C5%9B%C4%81sanam/listening-to-music-as-spiritual-practice-d373ecbb0be Music As Medicine by Daniel Levitin review – musician, heal thyself https://www.theguardian.com/books/2025/jan/14/music-as-medicine-by-daniel-levitin-review-musician-heal-thyself Howard Gardner https://www.howardgardner.com/howards-blog/the-intelligences-of-making-music-a-personal-exploration https://www.simplypsychology.org/musical-intelligence.html Why I love Music, Spiritual Experiences, J. C. King https://medium.com/real-stories/why-i-love-music-1d4f14896e3b Music as Spiritual Practice - September 2, 2021, Judi Neal https://edgewalkers.org/music-as-spiritual-practice/ Listening To Music As Spiritual Practice, Chad J Woodford - July 6, 2023 https://medium.com/atha-yog%C4%81nu%C5%9B%C4%81sanam/listening-to-music-as-spiritual-practice-d373ecbb0be Spirituality and Humanism, Jeremy Rodell https://humanists.uk/humanistlife/spirituality-and-humanism/

Music seems to be everywhere - in the origins of the cosmos, the sounds non-human animals produce, and the habits and hearts of homo sapiens. Why is it so universal? Hugh Taft-Morales explores some of the sociological and evolutionary impact of music.

Let’s share the image of earth however we can this Earth Day. We must find more common ground - our time is running short. President John Kennedy artfully blended idealism with pragmatism, saying, "If we cannot end our differences, at least we can help make the world safe for diversity. For, in the final analysis, our most basic common link is that we inhabit this small planet. We all breathe the same air. We all cherish our children's future. And we are all mortal." The earth is our most basic common link - it is the common ground we share.

Charles Darwin yearned to unify both human understanding and human beings. As Marek Kohn, a British scientist, explains, “Evolutionary thinking enabled [Darwin] him to rescue the idea of human unity, taking it over from a religion that no longer provided it with adequate support, and put the idea of common descent on a rational foundation.” Evolution connected our insignificant, subjective lives into a grand narrative. But as I shared in my last podcast, Charles correctly anticipated the resistance his work would foster, and the anguish it would cause Emma who believed in a heaven where they would both reunite after death.

Critics of evolution ridicule it as being "just a theory." But it's so much more than that. It includes a vast collection of test results, gathered over decades and analyzed publicly by thousands of researchers. It’s the best our collective community of inquiry offers. Charles Darwin’s voyage around the world that led to his theory took nearly five years of painstaking collection, rough seas, bouts of seasickness, and stretches of monotony. The scientific process is arduous and humbling. It is a human creation, so it must involve human limitation. It offers us refreshing humility.

If the current political situation in the U. S. is making you feel raw, exhausted, depressed, angry, frustrated, sad, or fearful, think about others who are in more challenging spaces. Then consider how you might defend marginalized populations. Consider the following work and groups: Defend immigrants: United We Dream https://unitedwedream.org/ Defend LGBTQ+ youth: Lambda Legal https://lambdalegal.org/ Defend women: Planned Parenthood https://www.plannedparenthood.org/ Defend a free press: Freedom of the Press Foundation https://freedom.press/ Defend our system of government: Protect Democracy https://protectdemocracy.org/ Defend the environment: The Sierra Club. https://www.sierraclubfoundation.org/ Defend the rights of everyone: The American Civil Liberties Union. https://www.aclu.org/

Martin Luther King was raised to appreciate his own inherent worth – a worth independent of background or resources. When speaking in Cleveland in 1967, he said, "In order to be truly free, the first thing we must do is to develop within ourselves a deep sense of somebodiness. Don't let anybody make you feel that you are nobody."

Doubt, if tempered with optimism and curiosity, can encourage dialogue and exploration. It offers more opportunity for the changing of minds. If nothing else, doubt will help us follow one of the most rudimentary rules taught to us: look before we leap. Doubt can inhibit rash behavior. That’s important because despite our relatively advanced intellects, we can be spectacularly stupid. Also for the show notes: For the philosophers out there, Hugh recommends Hume’s The Natural History of Religion (1757) and Dialogues Concerning Natural Religion (1779) for some early empirical support of doubt.

Felix Adler who founded Ethical Culture warned about the certainty of religious fanatics. Certainty can lead people to condemn heretics and burn witches in the fires of fanaticism. Crusades, inquisitions, and jihads have slaughtered men, women, and children. Some true believers are eager to kill each other to prove a point. That’s why Adler founded a movement based not on competing metaphysics, but on ethical cooperation. Atheists can be certain too, but usually they don't kill because of it.

There are lots of psychological reasons for why so many of us believe in ghosts: they thrill, they sell books, movies, and ghost tours, they can give us a sense of control over death, and they can connect us to those we’ve lost. But as a humanist, I’ll work to help the need for ghosts fade away by offering a way to satisfy the deep yearning for human connection with those dead and gone. I'll promote remembering the best in the lives of others and trying to live as they did. Perhaps we’d feel less haunted if we more effectively manifest in our lives and in our actions the ideals of the dead we most admire. Some sources used: — Spook: Science Tackles the Afterlife, Mary Roach — The Ghost Story Persists in American Literature. Why? by Parul Sehgal - Oct. 22, 2018 FROM: https://www.nytimes.com/2018/10/22/books/review/ghost-stories.html — “Ghosts in the Ancient World”, Joshua J. Mark, founder of World History Encyclopedia FROM: https://www.worldhistory.org/ghost/

NOTE: Join me live at 11AM this Sunday at the Philadelphia Ethical Society or on Zoom at this link (https://phillyethics.us17.list-manage.com/track/click?u=9cec56ee52334352d6170df51&id=189378f503&e=00d62d4f4e) to hear more reflections about Stoicism and peace. Those living in or near Philadelphia can also learn more about Stoicism by checking out Philadelphia Stoa, a lively philosophical group meeting at the Ethical Society. Their website is https://philadelphiastoa.org/. And wherever you are, I recommend A Handbook for New Stoics written by Massimo Pigliucci and Gregory Lopez. May your week be full of serenity! -- In honor of the United Nations International Day of Peace, Hugh Taft-Morales explores how the philosophy of Stoicism can help us build peace from the inside out. It can help us nurture peace within by contemplating the "big picture" and by understanding what we can control and what we cannot. Stoicism can help us manage the relationships between our thoughts, emotions, and behavior. This can lead to greater equanimity and more effective peacebuilding in the world.

Like all human institutions, organized labor is not perfect. But I believe that no other movement has done more to uplift average people and offer hope for a fairer society. We need it revived today more than ever. Right now 40 million Americans suffer from poverty and the gap between the richest and poorest citizens continues to grow. As we approach Labor Day, I suggest that we improve our nation by celebrating and supporting the role of working women, both historically and for our future.

I want to explore what we can learn about personal heartbreak that can help us heal as a nation. I try to keep my eyes and heart open, but I struggle. It’s not easy to be both aware and empathetic when so many in the world suffer. It breaks my heart. And it’s not always easy to get over heartbreak. It can be on-going, as if parts of your heart break every day. Florence Williams in Heartbreak: A Personal and Scientific Journey writes, “heartbreak is not a condition to be bandaged and cured. It is more like a bruise in the brain. It never really disappears.” But there are ways to heal sufficiently so that the joy of life and the harmony of our nation can be revived.

Politicians from both major parties and with a wide variety of political perspectives often seem more interested in power than character. In the case of too many male politicians, this manifests in misogyny and sexism. Bill Clinton and Donald Trump were criticized for callous attitudes and behavior toward women. And yet, in the wake of the "Me Too" movement, outrage over this seems to have subsided. Have we become inured to politicians who we hand over power but would not want as role models for our children?

Patriotism is defined as “the love, devotion and sense of attachment to a homeland (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Homeland) and alliance with other citizens who feel the same.” It’s a term that goes all the way back to the Greek word “patrios,” meaning, “of one’s father.” In and of itself, attachment to one’s ancestors seems unproblematic. Ethical questions arise for me when patriotism evolves into its modern form – militarized and nationalistic. In the late 18th century, patriotism became more exclusionary, tribal, and chauvinistic.

The psychologist Lawrence Kohlberg believed humans developed through stages of moral reasoning in their lives, from doing good because we are told to do good, to doing good for rewards, to doing good to fit into social groups, to doing good because reason impels us. I think, I “do good” for all the reasons Kohlberg identifies, but also because I’m biologically hard wired to do so due to evolutionary pressures. Cooperation is a highly valued personality trait that probably contributes more to our survivability than we give it credit for. Sources: Psychologist Lawrence Kohlberg Stephen Post, Director of the Center for Medical Humanities at Stony Brook UCLA professor Naomi Eisenberger Robert Ingersoll, 19th century agnostic activist Sue Brewton discusses Lincoln in this article: https://suebrewton.com/2016/01/31/no-that-is-not-what-abraham-lincoln-said/

As a species, human beings love and kill. We can empathize deeply each other, and treat each other with dignity and respect. But we can also dehumanize one another to the point of becoming mortal enemies. This juxtaposition is bizarre. As technology makes killing easier, we’d better develop more empathy, maybe even for those we label our enemy.

What lessons we can draw from solar eclipses? They've frightened animals and fueled the supernaturalism of our ancestors. While science now offers us logical explanations, eclipses still provoke wonder and awe. For the scientist Ann Druyan, they offer “informed worship" - experiences that might help us have greater respect for the fragility of life. Strangers from all over the country gathered in peace along the path of our April 2024 celestial event. Can we capitalize on this harmony and use the darkness of future eclipses to brighten our lives?

All around the world people celebrate springtime. The return of warmth and light can make us feel revived and rejuvenated. Smell the flowers, reach up toward the sun, or try some "tree-bathing" by walking through the woods as the buds open. Children seem the most open to the wonder of spring. Let's follow their example and find a way to access this energy and life. You just may be healthier and happier.

We have so little time and there are so many good deeds to do. When prioritizing how to do good, let’s strive to: 1) honor inherent worth of every person; 2) build social justice; 3) nurture ethical personal and organizational relationships grounded of mutuality and respect; and let’s do so by, 4) nurturing pragmatic cooperation where we agree; 5) using evidence and reason; and, 6) sustain commitment through a fulfilling and joyous life. CHOOSING ETHICAL ACTION PROJECTS In choosing concrete ethical action projects, it is important to keep in mind which ones best represent the values and mission of Ethical Culture. Ethical Culture is not simply a social justice or community service organization. It is a humanistic ethical movement dedicated to inspiring people to do good. The following are some suggested criteria when choosing an ethical action, community service, and/or social justice project. Ideally, the project should reflect: 1) the importance of inherent worth; 2) the development of potential of individuals (i.e. consider where potential is least realize and how to maximize our leverage); 3) the importance of relationships, mutuality, and community; 4) the long-term goal of social transformation; 5) a pragmatic conviction to work together where we can agree on ethical action; and, 6) the importance of reason (at least not violating reason, i.e. balancing emotional appeal by logic/science/empiricism/reality checks.)