Weekend Reads: September 25 2020

Welcome to Lowercase Weekend Reads. Grab a warm drink, a comfortable seat and get ready for our weekend reads highlighting the most important articles of the week.

Why I Believe Climate Change Is Not the End of the World

This is a really cool perspective on the climate issue. I enjoyed it because it challenged my views on the subject. I think we can all use a bit of cognitive dissonance these days. 

Common mental processes often underlie different diagnoses

I liked this article because it sheds light on how hard and complicated it is to diagnose mental health issues.  “emerging ‘transdiagnostic approach’ to mental health is potentially so important. It defines mental health along a continuum; according to this view, we all share the psychological processes, such as irrational beliefs, anxieties and low moods, that underlie so-called ‘disorders’, but we exhibit them to varying degrees. This helps to account for the apparent overlap between traditional disorders, and makes more sense of the broad spectrum of mental health experiences – from more common, everyday stresses and anxieties understood by almost all people, to anxiety, mood, psychotic or eating difficulties that interfere with someone’s ability to function in their daily life. The transdiagnostic approach promises to shine a light on the common factors that underlie poor mental health, so as to improve classification, research into biopsychosocial processes, and treatment development.”

Can We Have Equality of Opportunity Without Curbing Free Speech?

Equality of opportunity is key for a civil society. It essentially means that everybody has a chance to achieve something if they wish to. Very different from equality of outcome, which history has demonstrated can be catastrophic. I.e Cuba and Venezuela. But now, some are arguing that to achieve equality of opportunity it is ok to sometimes curb free speech. This article explores whether this is possible. 

A Letter on Justice and Open Debate

We are late to the Harper’s letter but here it is. Worth  the read and just look at the list of people who signed it. I feel strongly about the letter and agree with its content, but as it is to be expected the backlash has been big. 

I was tempted to include an article about the recent developments surrounding the Breanna Taylor case. I decided against it for a few reasons. Mainly because I think there has been enough said about the subject. My issue here is that there is a lot of anger, hate and irrationality attached to this issue and rightfully so. The African American community is in pain. We are trying to inform you on current issues that promote culture, civil society, and spark curiosity.  More specifically we are trying to promote these things through art and at the moment I don’t feel like we have to weigh in on the subject. 

What we are reading: 

The Honor Code by Kwame Anthony Appiah. 

Next in line:

Capital in the 21st Century by Thomas Piketty