IMPACTivism: Get better at doing good

The #MeToo movement has shaken a lot of men, yet most remain silent. But without their voice, we can't move forward. In this episode, host Logan Sullivan explores the #MeToo movement and why people hesitate to speak out on behalf of injustices they're not the victims of, and what fears rest at the root of this hesitation. This is a male response to the #MeToo movement addressed to the men who want to join the conversation but fear being misinterpreted, and to the people of all genders who want to build on this momentum to continue fighting against sexual and gender based violence into the future.

Full transcript and show notes available here: logansullivan.com/building-on-metoo/

Thanks to HÄANA (one of my absolute favorite artists) for the beautiful music in this episode. You can find her music here: https://soundcloud.com/thisishaana

19 Needs vs Desires - PechaKucha Talk by Logan Sullivan - Advocate, seeker, writer, humanitarian

Humanitarians believe vulnerable human beings deserve not to suffer and that the powerful should be prevented from harming or exploiting them. But what if we replace 'human' being with 'sentient' being?

A special thank you to HÄANA for permission to use the music in this episode. You can find all her links in the show notes right here: logansullivan.com/e18/

Peter Singer's famous pond thought experiment threw me in to philosophical dilemma over a decade ago. My mind urged me fish for any reason why it's conclusions were invalid, for any escape from accepting its inconvenient implications. I never found one.

Longterm fulfillment lays at the intersection of joy and high impact. This episode will help you find the ideal intersection, and understand it. We also discuss push-decisions vs. pull-decisions and our global circles vs. social circles.

A special thank you to HÄANA for permission to use the music in this episode. You can find all her links in the show notes right here: logansullivan.com/e16/

Self-regarding actions improve our own wellbeing, which incidentally rubs off on those around us. Other-regarding actions directly target others' wellbeing, and we find fulfillment in turn. In this episode, we explore how kidnapping all the world leaders for a magic tea ceremony would only be the second best way to solve all the world's problems at once -- logistically unlikely to work out. And the very best is even less likely to happen in our lifetime. So, in knowing the difference between those actions that impact our direct social circles and those actions that impact the wider world, we can focus on more pragmatic approaches.

A special thank you to HÄANA and Cello Joe for permission to use the music in this episode. This episode includes music from HÄANA's Nyxyss project, as well. You can find all their links in the show notes right here: logansullivan.com/e15/

"The death of one man is a tragedy, the death of millions is a statistic." When unaware of our natural Scope Insensitivity Bias, individual, relatable humans become masses, and masses become abstract, unrelatable statistics.

A special thank you to HÄANA and Cello Joe for permission to use the music in this episode. You can find all their links in the show notes right here: logansullivan.com/e14/

Selective perception allows our expectations or existing frames of mind to affect how we perceive inputs. If we aspire to impact positive change, we ought to seek the most accurate model of the world we're capable of perceiving?

Unfortunately, we're wired to seek potentially inaccurate, yet convenient models of the world instead, the type that does not threaten our current way of life or require from us energy from us. So why don't some people believe in science? Well, selective perception is part of the answer.

A special thank you to HÄANA and Cello Joe for permission to use the music in this episode. You can find all their links in the show notes right here: logansullivan.com/e13/

Remember those Thursday nights in college when you passed up on the party to stay in and study like the good student you aspired to be, but just ended up watching TV instead...

Well, we do the same thing when trying to be the good people we aspire to be. But we don't have to.

Actualists and possibilists often make different choices. One makes the best possible choice, regardless of its feasibility and their likelihood of honoring that choice, and the other makes the pragmatic one they believe they’ll stick to.

In moments of ambition, we can set energized goals, make resolutions, sign up for gym memberships and diets, and try to radically commit to methods of living more ethically. But if it’s the case, as is often is, that this energy and ambition won’t last at this level over time, we sometimes set ourselves up for failure. When it comes to the gym and weight loss, little harm is done. But when considering our ambitions to increase our positive impact, and decrease our negative impact, failure to act ethically as a result of setting unreasonable goals and giving up, this comes with more substantial consequences.

In this episode, I discuss actualism and possibilism as frameworks for thinking about our commitments and ambitions, as well as the actions that follow, or sometimes fail to follow. I also delve into the potential downsides of militant commitments to ideals.

A special thank you to HÄANA and Cello Joe for permission to use the music in this episode. You can find all their links in the show notes right here: http://logansullivan.com/e12/

When we want to improve the world, we sometimes find ourselves stuck in analysis paralysis, searching for the perfect, catch-all solution to solve all the world's problems, all at once. But, unfortunately, this one-pill-weight-loss-solution to all human, non-human animal, and environmental problems does not exist. But specific solutions to isolated priority issues do exist, and we are capable of doing the research to understand, given our circumstance, which of these solutions are within reach.

In this episode, I speak from a great deal of experience in how we can find ourselves inactive, standing behind a stubborn idealism that renders us useless. And I attempt to offer some encouragement and advice for avoiding this trap.

A special thank you to HÄANA (www.thisishaana.com) and Cello Joe (www.CelloJoe.com) for the music in this episode.