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My psychologist suggested I partake in 1 act of kindness every day, doesn't matter if in favor of a loved one or a stranger. This was to help me deal with some

My psychologist suggested I partake in 1 act of kindness every day, doesn't matter if in favor of a loved one or a stranger. This was to help me deal with some mental problems I had. Following this advice in multiple occasions I actively helped people on the streets, be it by helping them put the groceries in their cars or by taking something that fell off their pockets. I would say this helped me immensely, would you find it super sketchy?

sirmarksalot 5y ago
It gets complicated, doesn't it? I mean, in your example, you're doing things that help people, vs. the author creating social pressure to do unreasonable things, but in either case, you're both still pulling people out of their comfort zone without their consent. The way society works vs. community makes all of these things ethically difficult. Communities get built when people step out of their comfort zones and help each other, but society only works because at some point people mind their own business and let people go about their day. So I think it's a delicate balancing act, and there's no easy test for whether it's good or bad. I think holistically it can come down to what kind of energy you're putting into your environment, and whether it's positive or negative.
- beaconstudios 5y ago
  I'm not sure how social alienation (everybody just pretending each other don't exist) can be framed as a good thing for keeping society together. In my eyes, it's an extremely negative side effect of economic individualism. We'd be better off if we were all a bit more connected to the people around us.
  - sirmarksalot 5y ago
    Social alienation is a coping mechanism, and like most/all coping mechanisms, it provides some value, but at a cost. The value of social alienation is that you can walk down a crowded street and not be asked by every single person how your day is going, what you got up to last night, how your cat's doing, etc. etc. Caring about the intimate details of everyone else's life just doesn't scale. At some point you need to be able to call out some people as being more important to you than others, and ignore the rest. And of course, this can damage you emotionally, make you numb to the needs of others, and prevent you from forming a community with the people around you.
    - beaconstudios 5y ago
      I don't believe that's the origin point of social alienation - it's a cultural bias that develops as societies embrace capitalism. Social forces encourage people to engage in profitable activities like media consumption over unprofitable activities like community engagement, and the transient and impersonal nature of employment prevents people from easily making connections in the place they spend most of their time around others.
nuclearnice1 5y ago
I prefer this at least because you are performing an act of kindness rather than taking a random favor. To the extent we do not have enough pro social behavior, injecting random kindness encourages more. Showing up and demanding nonsense favors encourages less.
munificent 5y ago
Not at all. You're offering someone help in a way where they are free to decline it. That's pretty different to me from making a request that's pushy enough that someone has to "reject" it in order to say no.
mytdi 5y ago
Not sketchy at all, in my opinion. Please keep doing it. We need more acts of kindness in this world.

sirmarksalot 5y ago

It gets complicated, doesn't it? I mean, in your example, you're doing things that help people, vs. the author creating social pressure to do unreasonable things, but in either case, you're both still pulling people out of their comfort zone without their consent. The way society works vs. community makes all of these things ethically difficult. Communities get built when people step out of their comfort zones and help each other, but society only works because at some point people mind their own business and let people go about their day. So I think it's a delicate balancing act, and there's no easy test for whether it's good or bad. I think holistically it can come down to what kind of energy you're putting into your environment, and whether it's positive or negative.

beaconstudios 5y ago
I'm not sure how social alienation (everybody just pretending each other don't exist) can be framed as a good thing for keeping society together. In my eyes, it's an extremely negative side effect of economic individualism. We'd be better off if we were all a bit more connected to the people around us.
- sirmarksalot 5y ago
  Social alienation is a coping mechanism, and like most/all coping mechanisms, it provides some value, but at a cost. The value of social alienation is that you can walk down a crowded street and not be asked by every single person how your day is going, what you got up to last night, how your cat's doing, etc. etc. Caring about the intimate details of everyone else's life just doesn't scale. At some point you need to be able to call out some people as being more important to you than others, and ignore the rest. And of course, this can damage you emotionally, make you numb to the needs of others, and prevent you from forming a community with the people around you.
  - beaconstudios 5y ago
    I don't believe that's the origin point of social alienation - it's a cultural bias that develops as societies embrace capitalism. Social forces encourage people to engage in profitable activities like media consumption over unprofitable activities like community engagement, and the transient and impersonal nature of employment prevents people from easily making connections in the place they spend most of their time around others.

nuclearnice1 5y ago

I prefer this at least because you are performing an act of kindness rather than taking a random favor. To the extent we do not have enough pro social behavior, injecting random kindness encourages more. Showing up and demanding nonsense favors encourages less.

munificent 5y ago

Not at all. You're offering someone help in a way where they are free to decline it. That's pretty different to me from making a request that's pushy enough that someone has to "reject" it in order to say no.

mytdi 5y ago

Not sketchy at all, in my opinion. Please keep doing it. We need more acts of kindness in this world.