Recently the issue of assholes came up and whether one had a duty to not be an asshole and whether it was a moral issue. This got me goggling somewhat randomly about assholes - and there are a lot of nooks and crannies on the topic.
What makes an asshole?
Is it a personal issue or a social issue (or something else?)
Do you benefit from responding?
Can you fix the issue in yourself or others?
I ran across a couple of interesting articles that I’ll share here and open for discussion. What are your thoughts?
A Stanford psychologist on the art of avoiding assholes
What makes an asshole?
Is it a personal issue or a social issue (or something else?)
Do you benefit from responding?
Can you fix the issue in yourself or others?
I ran across a couple of interesting articles that I’ll share here and open for discussion. What are your thoughts?
A Stanford psychologist on the art of avoiding assholes
Sean Illing
Before we can talk about surviving assholes, we need a proper definition of assholery. Can you give me one?
Robert Sutton
There are a lot of academic definitions, but here’s how I define it: An asshole is someone who leaves us feeling demeaned, de-energized, disrespected, and/or oppressed. In other words, someone who makes you feel like dirt.
Sean Illing
So an asshole is someone who doesn’t care about other people?
Robert Sutton
I would make a distinction between temporary and certified assholes, because all of us under the wrong conditions can be temporary assholes. I'm talking about somebody who is consistently this way, who consistently treats other people this way. I think it’s more complicated than simply saying an asshole is someone who doesn’t care about other people. In fact, some of them really do care — they want to make you feel hurt and upset, they take pleasure in it.
ASSHOLE TYPES
Prvides some descriptions of types of behaviors and how it impact othersDo You Have to Be a Jerk to Be Successful?
A little bit of ego is still important though, right?
Allow me to address that fear right now: One does not need to be an egotistical asshole to be successful. In fact, this is one of the most misleading and destructive myths in all of Western culture, right next to the idea that one must be a drug addict to be a successful musician or starving to produce great art.