Anthony Curtis

The Crime I Didn’t Commit Part 3 of my series on Ledger Ethics, Architectural Humanism, and Criminal Justice

What leads two men on the same road to different destinations?

Hint: it’s not only the choices they make…

#ethics #criminaljustice

How often do we find ourselves satisfied with our lives because we know someone has it worse?

What would happen if instead we reacted with motivation to make sure no one had it worse?

What Do I Know About Crime? My Moment on The Knife’s Edge Part 2 of a series on Architectural Humanism, Ledger Ethics, and Criminal Justice.

I once chased down a shoplifter in my pawnshop. He pulled a knife. Then claimed to have a gun.

That moment taught me more about crime, desperation, and society's ledger of harms than any statistic ever could.

On Substack, the story I'm not proud of, but can't stop thinking about #moralphilosophy

Not familiar enough, thank you for sharing the resource!

I’m Not a Vegan but I Should Be But I’m doing the best I can in a system not designed for optimal moral choices

I 100% agree with the idea that veganism is the moral high ground when compared to its alternatives.

But yet… I am not a vegan. Today’s post wrestles with the morality of that choice within a morally compromised system.

#Vegan #Climate #Labor #Ethics #RadicalKindness

Revenge Isn’t Justice, Even When We Cover It with the Sheen of Law True Justice is Restoration, Not Retribution

We have handled "justice" for centuries as officially sanctioned revenge and retribution.

How do we prevent crime?

How do we restore the victims?

How do we treat those who’ve done harm?

What is restoration, and how is it different from retribution?

#justice #moralphilosophy

I don’t post a lot of memes here, but I came across this and damn if it doesn’t sum up the Sisyphean task I’ve assigned myself.

Who knew that asking people to show basic human kindness would be so hard?

Net worth ≠ Self worth

This is true for you. This is true for me.

But how often does the bottom line get factored into our judgement of others?

What happens if we take money off the scales?

A better world? Probably.

Start changing how we see ourselves, and each other.

#peopleoverprofit

The Boundaries We Choose We cast others as villains, NPCs, or scenery in our hero's journey. But where we draw the line between 'us' and 'them' isn't natural—it's chosen. Here's why that matters.

New essay on the boundaries between self and other. Where we draw them. Why hierarchies feel necessary. And a wager about what kind of world each choice creates.

Not about being better. About better design for a survivable world.

#philosophy #ethics

What I found instead: the stories we tell ourselves—where we're the hero and others are villains, NPCs, or scenery—aren't just comforting fictions.

They're moral architectures. They determine who deserves care and who we can ignore.

🧵 25 years ago my twin sister survived an abusive childhood, graduated high school, found love, started a career.

Then an aneurysm killed her at 19 while she drove home from work.

People said "everything happens for a reason."

I looked for the reason. I found none.

Taking Refuge in a Dwarf Fortress Dealing with chronic pain, a world on fire, and werebeasts

Chronic pain made the real world feel unplayable. So I hid in a Dwarf Fortress.

But then I had to ask myself, in hiding from the world was I committing an evil of indifference?

Refuge, not residence. #DwarfFortress #ChronicPain #Philosophy #Gaming

Taking Refuge in a Dwarf Fortress Dealing with chronic pain, a world on fire, and werebeasts

When we are compromised, what we can do beats what we think we “should” do. An essay about chronic pain, self-kindness, and goblins. #chronicpain #selfkindness

Donald Trump is Not a Bad Person And I am Not a Good Person. The Trap of Moral Labeling.

There are no good people. There are no bad people.
There are good choices, good thoughts, and good acts. There are evil choices, evil thoughts, and evil acts.

And there are people. Anyone can be better tomorrow.

No halos, no horns.

#Ethics #Empathy #MoralPhilosophy

Freedom Isn't Yours to Keep The discourse this week around a certain “free speech advocate” and simply quoting, ya know, their speech has me ruminating on the nature of freedom.

In a world quick to punish 'wrong' speech, Simone de Beauvoir reminds us: Freedom isn't an individual trophy, it's collective, fragile. "Freedom isn’t mine to keep if it’s denied to you."

#Philosophy #RadicalKindness #Freedom

Radical Kindness: Empathy as Rebellion | Anthony Curtis | Substack Practical philosophy for everyday ethical decisions, without the academic jargon. Anthony Curtis develops moral frameworks through lived experience of grief, trauma, and the search for meaning not cla...

7/7 And what’s an existential crisis if I can’t try to “grow my brand”? Yay capitalism. Like and subscribe. anthonyscurtis.com

6/7 Am I doing moral harm because I cannot empathize with myself? #RadicalKindness #LedgerEthics #ArchitecturalHumanism #MentalHealth #writingcommunity

5/7 But the abused little boy at the core of my psyche cannot understand the idea that anyone would truly care. Despite my emphasis on empathy that would tell anyone else that they are wrong for thinking that. #TraumaSurvivor

4/7 But am I doing more harm not being honest with those people? I honestly can’t tell, even though I have created and use a framework for understanding moral decisions. #MoralDilemma #Ethics #WhatIsHarm

3/7 I don’t want to tell them because I believe they can’t help, because it’s just messed up brain chemistry. It’ll pass, and I’ll be fine. Why make them worry for no purpose? #Vulnerability #BrainChemistry

2/7 Here’s my current conundrum. I’m hella depressed. I know the people who care about me would want to know, and want to help. #Depression #MentalHealthMatters

1/7 What’s the point of writing about moral philosophy if you can’t wrestle with moral questions in public? #Philosophy #MoralPhilosophy

10/10 What are you doing to be better tomorrow ? #BeBetter #Philosophy anthonyscurtis.com

9/10 I am choosing to see myself for what I am. And making the choices that help me, and hopefully the world I can influence, be more good. #PersonalGrowth #LedgerEthics

8/10 Do we see ourselves for what we are, and try to build systems that help us do more good? #CollectiveAction #SocialChange

7/10 Where things matter is when we have a chance to influence or even change the systems that govern our circumstances. #SystemsThinking #Sociology

6/10 And that’s what’s amazing about people. I don’t believe there are good people. Or bad people. Just people, and the choices we make. #Humanism #VirtueEthics

5/10 It’s not absolute, I can truly be only as good as my circumstances will allow. But yet, I still have choice. #Existentialism #PersonalResponsibility

4/10 But that’s the thing; I do not have to be the person that my baser instincts push me to be. I have choice; I have agency. #Agency #FreeWill

3/10 My mask is a pretty good person, but beneath is a roiling tempest of contradiction and true darkness fomented by a life of trauma and grief. #ShadowWork #Psychology