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Joe Adams, Ph.D.

On Good Theories:

On the characteristics of a good theory, see the work of Imre Lakatos, especially his book, The Methodology of Scientific Research Programmes: Philosophical Papers Volume 1 (1977); and Harry G. Frankfurt's On Truth.

Good theories exemplify the characteristics of parismony (simplicity, elegance), explanatory power (apply in a wide variety of situations), robustness (they operate in contaminated environments), and empirical support (fit facts better than others).

Recommended Reading:

Martin E.P. Seligman, Authentic Happiness.com (Book Website). See his What You Can Change and What you Can't and The Optimistic Child; also see The Science of Optimism and Hope: Research Essays in Honor of Martin E. P. Seligman.

Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi's Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience.

Also, see The Good Work Project website for applications of these theories.

Also, check out the The Child Trauma Academy at Baylor College of Medicine and works by Dr. Bruce Perry.

On Bad Theories:

Harry G. Frankfurt, Professor Emeritus, Princeton University, On Bullshit.

An excellent site for identifying intellectual errors is: Carl Sagan's Baloney Detector

On Philosophy & Social Science

The Acheivement of Alasdair MacIntyre

MacIntyre suggests that we stand at a historical-conceptual crossroads, between Nietzsche and Aristotle. Basically, it's the difference between "Cuz I say so," and some other testable form of knowledge.

Friederich Nietzsche (1844 - 1900)

In particular, Section 335 of The Gay Science (morality) is worth reading and responding to at a personal level. When MacIntyre describes Nietzsche as "the moral philosopher of the present age," it is not a compliment.

Aristotle (384 - 322 BCE)

In particular, Aristotle's Nicomachean Ethics provides an answer to Nietzsche. See also St. Thomas Aquinas' Summa Theologica; or the short version: Aquinas' Shorter Summa for the Christian understanding of what Aristotle discovered.