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Respect and Tolerance

by Jeffrey Rubin, PhD

Welcome to From Insults to Respect. As the title of this blog indicates, here we are interested in respect. The topic of respect is quite broad, and for a fairly complete coverage of its different definitions I recommend the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy’s article on respect that can be retrieved for free HERE. The article covers not only the different meanings of the respect concept, it…

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Bob Dylan On Mothers

by Jeffrey Rubin, PhD

Welcome to From Insults to Respect. I hope you all are all having a splendid week, especially you mothers out there for my calendar indicates Mother’s Day is just around the corner. Regular readers of this blog well know that from time to time I like to utilize aspects of Bob Dylan’s entertaining show, Theme Time Radio Hour, to highlight some important issues regarding the nature of…

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Why Was William James Respected?

by Jeffrey Rubin, PhD

Welcome to From Insults To Respect. Here on this blog, I aim to shed light upon how folks might improve their self-respect and the respect others have for them. With this end in mind, from time to time I describe someone who has handled a difficult situation in a respect enhancing manner. For example, in one post I describe how Abraham Lincoln skillfully handled insults (see…

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Bob Dylan On Walking

by Jeffrey Rubin, PhD

Welcome to From Insults to Respect.  On this blog, we have been exploring the various characteristics that help people earn self-respect and respect from others. Today we focus on one of these–staying in physical and emotional shape by taking a daily walk. It is, of course, true enough that some good people have earned an enormous amount of respect even without bothering to stay fit, but let’s…

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Is Viewing Someone As Acting Immature Insulting?

Welcome to From Insults To Respect.  As someone with considerable training in developmental psychology, I sometimes view certain styles of behavior on a scale ranging from immature to mature. When I do that, might I be insulting those who I view as acting immature? For those of you, who like me, prefer not to insult anyone, I invite you to join me in considering this question….

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Trump and Respect

An Exercise for Deepening One's Understanding of the Nature of Respect

Welcome to From Insults to Respect. As I write this post, Election Day, with all of its turbulence, has now passed us by. Perhaps now is a good time for us to take some deep calming breaths and reflect on all that transpired. Along this line, I’m thinking it would be a useful exercise at this point if we attempted to integrate what we have learned…

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Learning About Respect Through Baseball

Welcome to From Insults To Respect.  My last post, Baseball and Respect, aimed to provide keen insights about the nature of respect, insights that are relevant way beyond the world of baseball. To this end, we looked at the reasons some players and fans have given for singling out ballplayers they particularly respect. As I was getting ready to finish that post, I felt frustrated because I had…

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Baseball and Respect

by Jeffrey Rubin, PhD

Welcome to From Insults to Respect. The game of baseball offers us a unique look at the nature of respect for two reasons. First, the game provides several unusually objective statistics that give us a pretty good idea of the talent of a player. In many other fields, such as art or teaching, the criteria for talent is far less objective. Second, we find that despite…

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Leadership: A Lao Tzu Perspective

by Jeffrey Rubin, PhD

Welcome to From Insults To Respect. From time to time, many of us find ourselves in a position of leadership. This may come about because we are a parent, or asked to plan a trip with some friends, or hired to be a supervisor in some business, or elected to some political office. Each time we take on the role of a leader, we also take…

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Bob Dylan On Money

by Jeffrey Rubin, PhD

Welcome to From Insults To Respect. Today’s topic–money. The way we handle money can influence how much respect we have for ourselves and others have for us. A classic illustration comes from Charles Dickens’s A Christmas Carol where we find the unforgettable Ebenezer Scrooge transformed by ghostly experiences from a disrespected miser to a lovable, generous employer. As we delve into our topic, we will draw upon a…

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