A Serious Man

There are some who contend that kindness is irrational because it isn't self-interested.

Personally, I can't decide which is more insulting: the suggestion that kindness can't be justified or the assumption that it has to be justified in the first place.

To put reason and ethics at odds does both a disservice. Reason becomes something unethical, and ethics becomes something unreasonable. What I appreciate about Judaism is that it teaches us that reason and ethics are not only compatible but mutually inclusive.

In any case, who says kindness isn't self-interested? I'm kind because I'm interested in living in a kind world.

But an action's reasonability depends on your goal. Regarding ethics, reasonability depends on your vision of paradise. If your paradise doesn't include Jews, it's easy to "reason" your way to Auschwitz.

A rational position is one you can explain (explain, not explain away), and a commitment to goodness can be easily explained so long as you know what kind of world you'd like to live in. I don't know about you, but the world I'd like to live in is filled with kind people. If that's the goal, then it makes sense to be kind. Could you ask for a better rationale?

Evil's prevalence makes goodness rational. Every kindness tips the scales.

And even if I can't find a good reason to be kind, I'll settle for a good excuse: Kindness makes life better.

In order to make a rational decision, we have to know what kind of world we're aiming for. That's easy: It's the world we want to live in.

Larry is nice. He's humble. He has principles. He gives people the benefit of the doubt. He believes his wife when she says she and Sy haven't slept together. A world of Larrys wouldn't be so bad, though we might not get much done.