While waiting to pick up a delivery yesterday, I meditated a bit on some things I had recently read. I have two thought fragments that I'll attempt to reproduce here and in the Religion sub-topic in a bit. The first: "If one is taught as system of right/wrong that hinges upon an eternal carrot/stick system (heaven/hell), how can one say that he acts out of conscience? Is it morality or consequence which drives his behavior?" That's what I jotted down yesterday on the back of an old...

I used to think that I didn't have a good work ethic. On the drive home today, I imagined a conversation with someone I had never met. (Six hours in the car does this to me.) I was talking with her about kids and motivation. I said, "I didn't have a very good work ethic when I was younger," but then realized that wasn't totally accurate. At the time, I was describing why I had never gotten Eagle Scout... and that's what made me think of this. I was a Boy Scout until I enlisted in the...

I have always had a strong sense of conscience, a sense of right vs. wrong. Not Jiminy Cricket strong, not a loud annoying voice, but a knowledge ingrained on me by my religious upbringing. For whatever reason, it has gotten stronger of late. And I'm not talking about "not doing the wrong thing" but in fact "doing the right thing," avoiding erring by inaction. Just the feeling, as I've felt the tug and altogether ignored it so often that it's bothering me. It led me to this quest...